Big B fails on the small screen

The much-hyped Amitabh Bachchan starrer mega television series Yudh, opened to dismal ratings, despite Big B’s tag on it, reported Mail Online India.

Created by Anurag Kashyap and directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, the show that marked the debut of Big B in the fictional scene first aired a fortnight ago and received a lukewarm response of 0.7 Television Viewership Rating last Monday and closed the week at a low 0.6.The average rating for the first week of Amitabh Bachchan’s Yudh stood at 1.6 TVM, reported Bollywood Life.

Yudh, which is considered the most expensive fiction show made for Indian television with each episode costing around INR 30 million, is a 20-episode show, revolving around a real-estate baron who is tackling business rivalries and dealing with his neurological disorder.

Indian audiences openly embraced the idea of different storylines offered by Pakistani dramas as a fresh breeze of air from the typical saas-bahu dramas. But the moderate response to a show with a stellar cast has confirmed that couch potatoes are not ready to accept innovative fictional shows just yet.

Shows such as Diya Aur Bati Hum has the highest ratings with an average viewership of 10.5 TVM.  Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, which has been around for a few years now, has maintained its position among the top three at 8.3 TVM. The weekend continues to be dominated by Comedy Nights with Kapil, which gets about 6.8 TVM weekly, followed by the reality dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa at 5.6 TVM and The Anupam Kher Show at 2.6 TVM.

When Big B was asked if it will be challenging to mold the conventional pattern of daily soaps, he said: “It’s an attempt to narrate a new story. If we fail, we’ll introspect and make another attempt.”

“Yudh’s work is over. I always feel that an artiste is never satisfied with his work. I always try to improve my work. I hope I get the opportunity to work more,” said Bachchan, when asked if is satisfied with the response Yudh received, reported Glam Sham.

“I don’t know how TV business works. When a film releases, by weekend you come to know (through box office figures) whether a film has earned or not. In TV, you have TRPs and GRPs. I just do my work and leave.  You will let us know after a few days whether it worked or not. If it works, we will thank you. If it doesn’t then also we will thank you and put in more efforts in the future,” he added.

Admittedly, it is too early to compare, but last year, Anil Kapoor’s thriller series 24 that featured Anti-Terrorist Unit Kapoor foiling a murder attempt on the future prime minister also suffered poor ratings. The Indian version, inspired by hit US series received a lukewarm response with barely 3.4 million viewers tuning in initially. With time the ratings didn’t improve and, in fact, dropped to 2.4 million. The show was completely rejected by audiences from smaller cities.

Another problem with Yudh is that it is aired at 10:30pm, which is a terrible time slot. Crowd enthusiasm dies after prime time. Interestingly, IMDB, known to be the most authoritative online database for shows and movies, has given the show a rating of 9.2, almost at par with international shows like True Detective, House of Cards and Game Of Thrones.  Excited to see this development on IMDb, Bachchan tweeted, “IMDb ratings for YUDH astonishing numbers… it’s 9.2 today, was 9.4 a few days back! House of Cards, True Detective, GOT… same,” reported the Hindustan Times.