Star Plus: Shows to go six days a week

Sources say that Star Plus is all set to extend all its primetime shows by a day. The daily soaps that are airing from Monday to Friday will be aired on Saturday too, once Nach Baliye 6 wraps up next week. “All the shows starting from 6.30 pm to 11 pm including Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, Saraswatichandra, Mahabharat and Veera will be aired six days a week. It’s a well-thought out strategy by the channel. The fiction shows get more GRPS (Gross Rating Points) than non-fiction programmes. This move was communicated to the producers a month ago,” says the source.

This means that the actors will have to put in extra hours of work. “Yes, I will have to forgo my three-day leave, which I used to take and travel somewhere every alternate month. It will be tough but this is an interesting move,” says Nakuul Mehta aka Aditya of Pyaar Ka Dard Hai. Devoleena Bhattarcharjee aka Gopi of Saath Nibhana Saathiya feels it’s not a big deal. “Being the main lead I am anyway working for 12 hours 25 days a month. Now I will have to work for an additional day but I am taking it positively. The payment will increase but  honestly I need my five days break!”

For producer Rajan Shahi, this is not a new thing. “In the past when my Bidaai was on, shows were aired for one hour everyday, five days a week. There have also been occasions when they have been extended to six or seven days for a period of one week or two. I look at it as a challenge to not only make them but also maintain the quality,” says Rajan. Extra work will also see the actors getting an increment of about 20 per cent, informs the source.