TRP's fail to make any sense to me" cries Rupali

by Meenakshi Shankar

Sep 09, 2008, Mumbai  

Two more Tuesday's to go before NDTV Imagine's Ek Packet Umeed goes off air. And the leading lady of J D Majethia's Hats Off Production, Rupali Ganguly is upset over the show being pulled off air.

Seemingly the channel had approached the production house to commence the shooting on a daily basis, but Rupali says, "Hats Off production has always believed in quality. Shooting a daily was a very expensive proposition. If it was another production house, they would have used body doubles and made some cuts here and there to cater to the whims and fancies of the channel. But Hats Off is a notch above the production houses. They have always put their artiste's interest as paramount."

"I don't understand this TRP ka chakkar. Everyone says they want to tune in to a serial with a difference and yet, it's the same old rhona dhona saga that they tune into day in and day out. Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai was pulled off air because the numbers didn't ring in the right note. And yet, there are runs of the hilarious comedy on the channel, which has people tuning in. Ek Packet Umeed was a whole different genre, which was shades different from the regular fare and yet, the numbers didn't ring in right.

Is Season 2 of Ek Packet Umeed on the cards?

According to Shailaja Kejriwal, programming head, NDTV Imagine, all the weekly hour long shows on the channel will have seasons. Rupali hopes that there is a season 2 and is keeping her fingers crossed. And like her, her coterie also hopes on the same note.

Ek Packet Umeed is a show, which revolves around the lives of 11 women who live together after their unfortunate pasts. It's a new genre, a break away from the melodrama and the trials and tribulations that our Indian viewers are used to.