Indian television content has a huge audience around the world,Now dups in Russia.

Sushruta Samanta, Senior VP,Strategy and Business Development, International Markets, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited

SHE vividly remembers looking forward to watching Bollywood movies as a child. Although the light-eyed Raj Kapoor was a heartthrob among her fellow Ukrainians, Aneta Krilenko watched the films for their romance, drama, tragedy and happy endings. While her fascination with Bollywood was the reason why, at 21, she decided to explore India, it was the opportunity to work in the Indian television industry that made her stay. Now married to an Indian, Krilenko is settled in Mumbai and earns her living by dubbing Indian television shows in Russian.

“Indian shows have been popular in Russia, Ukraine and several other Commonwealth countries since a decade. I was hooked to some that were dubbed in Russian. But when I came to India, I got to watch them in their original form, which also helped me pick up Hindi. This worked in my favour and I soon found myself dubbing for several Hindi shows to be telecast back home,” explains Krilenko, 27, who dubs for Zee’s Pavitra Rishta.

While Commonwealth Independent States and the Middle East are the likely markets for Indian content, channels are also airing dubbed versions of their shows in up to 20 other countries, including Serbia, Croatia, Kenya, France, Malaysia and Indonesia. According to Sushruta Samanta, Senior VP, Strategy and Business Development, International Markets, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, “Indian television content has a huge audience around the world. It doesn’t only comprise Indian origin people. The countries which do not create good local television content usually rely on the UK, US and India,” he explains. Among the channels that air their content internationally, Zee, Colors and Star Plus are the key players.

This comes in spite of the fact that Indian intellectuals snub Hindi general entertainment shows, sighting production quality and commendable scripts on offer by American and British channels. But Gul Khan of 4 Lions Films, the producers of shows such as Arjun and Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? on Star Plus, explains that the family-oriented stories of Indian shows connect with these audiences. The culture in many of these countries — unlike the US and UK — emphasises on family values. That is where these shows strike a chord with the audience.

At the same time, says Gaurav Gandhi, COO IndiaCast, Colors, the fascination with exploring the colourful Indian culture also plays a role in the popularity of Indian content. He cites the example of Balika Vadhu and Uttaran, which are dubbed for Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Canada and Afghanistan. Sasural Simar Ka, Laagi Tujhse Lagan and Na Aana Is Des Laado, on the other hand, have syndicated across markets like Japan, Mauritius, Israel, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Singapore with subtitling and voiceovers in local languages. “The emotions and drama have a universal appeal,” he points out. Samanta seconds that, recounting the encouraging response that a focus group screening of Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo yielded in a few Middle Eastern countries. “The subject of women’s plight had a huge connect with women,” he explains. Also, reality shows have a huge fan following. “Since most reality shows are centred around dance and music, they have a universal connect. The Indian film celebrities are a huge draw too,” says Gandhi.

However, these shows need the right packaging, points Samanta. Zee, for example, uses its wide network to operate full-fledged channels in Russia, the Middle East and Malaysia, where all the shows on their Hindi GEC are dubbed and aired in their respective local languages. “But that is not enough, for we have to pitch these to the audience as their own local content. So we get local hosts for these channels, local advertisers and intersperse the shows with small segments that are produced in these countries and address the audience directly,” he explains.

Credit: Star Telly News Blog