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Last year on 6 May, 2012 popular Indian film actor Aamir Khan made his debut on television with the show Satyamev Jayate (Truth only triumphs). Though it has been a long time since the season ended I still feel inclined to talk about it in a series of posts. For those unaware, each episode of Satyamev Jayate dealt with an important social issue plaguing India. However, some could even be happening in other parts of the world for you to identify with.
This particular post is about the events preceding the show's premiere.
Aamir Khan is known to do his films selectively. Most years we get to see him once a year on the big screen and some times not even that. The fact that he would be making an appearance for 13 weeks in a row was enough to excite fans like me. In relation to the show a specially composed love song for the country was released in movie theatres. The short teasers gave us a peek into the thought processes behind the programme's conception. The Hindi tag line "dil pe lagegi tabhi baat banegi" meaning when it hurts the heart only then will it resonate left everybody in no doubt that Satyamev Jayate wasn't going to be a regular fare.
When the unusual time slot of Sunday morning 11 o' clock was chosen to air the show, it created further debate. People's lifestyles have changed a lot in the last few years. With their busy schedules on weekdays, Sunday is the day to catch on sleep and go out for movies and shopping. In this scenario hoping that people would specially take time out for watching Satyamev Jayate in the manner we used to in the bygone era for serials like Mahabharat, Chanakya and Chandrakanta could be considered as being naive. In reality it was a well thought out and bold move.
In an interview that I saw on television Aamir Khan revealed his strategy. Choosing a non-prime time meant no competition. If everything went well there would be no flipping of channels. Secondly the viewers would not have to sacrifice any of their favorite soaps in order to hook to the new show. So he would get their undivided attention, a must for a show like this.
In an interview that I saw on television Aamir Khan revealed his strategy. Choosing a non-prime time meant no competition. If everything went well there would be no flipping of channels. Secondly the viewers would not have to sacrifice any of their favorite soaps in order to hook to the new show. So he would get their undivided attention, a must for a show like this.
There was also some criticism that came his way when large sums were spent on promoting Satyamev Jayate on a wide scale. In the same interview Aamir Khan gave an interesting analogy in reply. He said marketing is like one wanting to tell an exciting story to a room full of partying people. You then create an atmosphere where everybody just has ears for you. For instance, you make the music stop, clap your hands to direct them towards you and then tell your story. Of course on the flip side your story may fall flat on its face if its not good enough.
In addition varied attempts were made to see that the show reached audience across the length of the nation. So for the first time two television channels (Star TV and Doordarshan) buried their competition to simultaneously broadcast Satyamev Jayate. Being sensitive to the viewers' preferred language, as not everybody in India is fluent in or even knows Hindi, Satyamev Jayate was telecast in different Indian languages: Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu on the local Star TV channels.
What I came to appreciate most about Aamir Khan, even before I saw any episode of Satyamev Jayate, was his decision to not endorse any products during the period of those 13 weeks. From what I hear even now he is taking great care in choosing any advertising campaign. I have seen big names sell themselves too short, accepting everything coming their way. For instance, Amitabh Bachchan has endorsed a hair oil and Shahrukh Khan a fairness cream for men. So seeing Aamir Khan not try to make the most (earnings) of it was a revelation. He could have easily hosted a game show or a reality series which is what Star TV had approached him for. Instead he took up something that demanded a lot from him in terms of time, energy and resources. I feel just for that Aamir Khan deserves our respect and ovation.
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Image (top) adapted from www.satyamevjayate.in
What I came to appreciate most about Aamir Khan, even before I saw any episode of Satyamev Jayate, was his decision to not endorse any products during the period of those 13 weeks. From what I hear even now he is taking great care in choosing any advertising campaign. I have seen big names sell themselves too short, accepting everything coming their way. For instance, Amitabh Bachchan has endorsed a hair oil and Shahrukh Khan a fairness cream for men. So seeing Aamir Khan not try to make the most (earnings) of it was a revelation. He could have easily hosted a game show or a reality series which is what Star TV had approached him for. Instead he took up something that demanded a lot from him in terms of time, energy and resources. I feel just for that Aamir Khan deserves our respect and ovation.
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Image (top) adapted from www.satyamevjayate.in
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