A show like Everest would not have happened five years ago - Gaurav Banerjee

A promising show Everest on Star Plus will soon hit the TV screens capturing the attention of the viewers with its unique plot and storyline. With a trendsetting show on a leading GEC we ask Gaurav Banerjee the General Manager of Star Plus to know about the idea of bringing this show on Star Plus, his friendship with the ace producer Ashutosh Gowarikar and more...

What was the idea behind bringing this striking show on Star Plus?

The story narrated by Ashutosh Gowariker to me was excellent and I thought it's a very good script for the positioning thought of Star Plus which is 'Rishta Wahi soch Nayi', which revolves around empowering Indian women.

How is your equation with Ashutosh Gowarikar?

It is really very good, we have been working together for two years, I have deep respect for him. I think Lagaan is the great Indian film of my generations and so I respect him for the same.

Do you think that there should be a time constraint for a few daily soaps?

There is a rich story telling tradition in our country where we have good finite stories, epics and soap operas so we should see the entire length and breadth of it. If there are audiences who find that some operas should not run long then there is lot of variety available to them, say for example Everest is a finite series, then we have Mahabharat which was aired for a year and also we are showcasing a new show Airlines - Har Udaan Ek Toofan. I feel there is a lot of variety available on Star Plus itself, I think there is a wide variety of story telling and wide set of audience's so to each its own.

So do you agree that some stories are unnecessarily stretched when it is not required to do so ?

It happens sometimes and it shouldn't , the makers and the audience need a little matured show to see on screen. I think we are improving, television is moving in a right direction. Nowadays we are focusing more on finite series which was not the case five years ago. A show like Everest would not have ever happened five years ago so I think we are really trying to change.

Will you justify with the statement that Star Plus is making a trend by bringing some shows with a complete refreshing concepts?

I hope so and that's what we work towards so whether we are making a trend or not, for that the readers should be the judge. From our side what we try and do is that we are always keen to do new things or doing things first, so the Star Plus team is very excited and happy that we did a show like Airlines. It projects the story of a girl who is a pilot and is trying to make a place in a male dominant society. We have also tried to make a different music show which is India's Raw Star. We hopefully find enough consumers' luck for many of these things to continue.

Is the idea to support women empowerment by bringing such shows?

We are great believers of  the new spirit of empowerment and progress in Indian women. We really believe that women in this country today are really taking charge of their destiny and this spirit is really transforming Indian family so we are supportive of that, this is not something that Star Plus is doing but it is something which is taking place in our society. We hope that some of the stories on Star Plus inspires more women.

We wish luck to the entire team of Everest!

Phalguni Sharma