Back home, the tale of a princess and her lover, a swashbuckling prince complete with a Tilism (magical spell) made Nirja Guleri’s mega serial Chandrakanta, adapted from a literary classic of the same name, one of the biggest grossers in the history of television earning a net Rs 67crore for DD with a TRP rating as high as 65 per cent between 1994-96. Of course, it is another story that some of the intrigue and conflict portrayed on screen spilled over offscreen and Chandrakanta was unceremoniously replaced by Ramanand Sagar’s Shri Krishna. The fact remains that Guleri’s magnum opus remained in the number one position for weeks on end, as millions remained glued to the journey of Prince Virendra Singh (Shahbaaz Khan) and his friends through an enchanted land of caves, magical statues and a spell that could be rid off only through the help of a Tilism (magic) book. Currently running on Star Plus, Chandrakanta continues to enchant, though according to its detractors, it offers nothing by way of novelty. Of course, Nirja Guleri, the producer-director, and her team would beg to differ.

“For Star Plus, the programme had to have a different profile and we had to upgrade it technically,” says Guleri. “Most of it was the upgrading of special effects. You can say that almost 25 per cent of the serial was reshot. We added as well as deleted certain portions.” In fact, according to her, it’s number two on Star Plus just now. This despite the fact that almost 60 per cent of the viewers have seen it, she adds proudly. The fantasy bug seems to have really caught on. Sunil Agnihotri, the man who directed 35 episodes of Chandrakanta, (and the more recent Yug) and quit over alleged differences with Guleri, came up with Betaal Pachisi soon after. This desi version of Lee Falk’s evergreen legendary Phantom, The Ghost Who Walks which went on air in May this year, mainly to cater to kids during the summer break, and caught the public fancy, adults included, in a big way. Which is evident from the TRP ratings that moved up 20-25 per cent in a few months. Even though it was pure fantasy from the word go. In other words, the hundred years wait was certainly worth it, so was Agnihotri’s out of court compromise with the American company which had the copyright of the comic strip character Phantom. For those not familiar with the story, The Ghost Who Walks is born every hundred years to vanquish, yes, you guessed it, the evil forces, with magic, thrills, adventure, action and the works. Alongwith an ichhadhari nagin and a witch. In fact the latter has been awaiting the Betaal’s return for a century. Not to forget the spectacular sets, hi-tech computer graphics with a clever juxtaposition of fantasy and realism, romance and emotion with Sonu Walia playing Diana, an obsessed scribe in search of Betaal. In all, just the kind of escapist fare, the masses, currently on an overdose of never ending soap operas, would lap up on a lazy Sunday. Conceived by Agnihotri himself (adapted, would be a more appropriate word), it was written by Kamaleshwar and Prayagraj. According to Agnihotri, he treated the subject more like a film. Fortunately for him however, the serial seems to have paid dividends unlike his feature films Laatsaab or the more recent Daava starring Akshay Kumar, which came a cropper at the box office. Big budgets for such costume dramas does help the maker come up with a good product, emphasises Agnihotri. Just the first three to four episodes of Betaal cost a whooping Rs 25 lakh, Rs 18 lakh was spent on Betaal’s cave while his costume alone cost Rs 60,000. “These serials are expensive, big budget ones and the challenge lies in getting a large audience and big sponsors for them to run,” says B. S. Chandrashekhar, Director, Audience Research Unit, Doordarshan. DD should know since it has always had a penchant for fantasy serials or those based on well-known folklore right from Vikram Aur Betaal in the ‘80s to those like Tilshim-e-Hoshruba in recent times. But what makes these serials click with all age groups? “They cut across all class, section and age barriers,” says Chandrashekhar. “Since they are mostly characters from your favourite comic strip or folklore or well known fairytale, it appeals to the child in every man. It’s escapism at its highest level.” Charu Benegal, Senior Manager, Public Relations & Events, Sony Entertainment Television, has a slightly different view: “It’s the timelessness of the concept that is behind the success of these serials.” The two fantasy serials, purely comedies, currently on in Sony — Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie — are not prime time serials, she points out, yet they have caught the fancy of the viewers. In I Dream of Jeannie, a female version of the legendary genie of Aladdin, the rib tickling encounters between a beautiful genie and astronaut Tony Nelson has proved to be a major draw. Temporarily stranded on a deserted isle, Tony Nelson rubs a stray bottle and lo and behold, there pops out an authentic genie straight from the Arabian Nights. Starring Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman, the presence of Jeannie in modern settings not unnaturally leads to hilarious situations.

The adorable Jeannie is almost always full of riotous antics at her malik’s expense. Much to his discomfort. But then she is indispensable, for who can set a messy house in order just by blinking or save you from an embarrassing situation just by helping you disappear into thin air. Yet another of Sony’s comic fantasies that is fast moving up the popularity charts is Bewitched. A popular comedy of the ‘60s, Bewitched stars Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha who is just an average housewife and mother except that she also happens to be – hold your breath, a witch! Though surely one of the most lovable ones ever. Having promised her husband Darrin (Dick York) that she won’t indulge in witchcraft, Samantha’s resolution is weakened every time her witchy cousin and mother play their pranks on her hapless hubby right from converting him into a statue to a crow! However, Charu admits that the very fact that these serials were dubbed in Hindi has helped in their popularity, “it’s the blend of realism and fantasy that has actually helped to create the real comic effect, making it so endearing.”

While mythologicals sell in the name of religion, fantasy alone doesn’t make a superhit, points out Guleri. The fantasy factor assures a steady viewership, but not the highest TRP ratings. About 40 per cent TRPs was the maximum, a serial like Alif Laila managed to achieve. Tilshim-e -Hoshruba (currently off the air), managed to get a TRP of only 19 per cent. It is the complexity of human relationships with its myriad emotions in this saga of romance, valour, hate and revenge that appealed to the viewers in Chandrakanta, according to Guleri. Also that they were characters with modern sensibilities, despite the settings going back to a few hundred years. There were no black and white characters like your normal fantasy serials, but a mixture of good and bad. Even those who were critical about Chandrakanta, watched it nevertheless mainly for this.Even though interestingly, the main character Shikha Swaroop in the title role of Chandrakanta was missing for a good 65 episodes! Of course the second factor remains —- a fantasy show adds on to the entertainment value with action, song, gimmicks, but this alone cannot ever make a fantasy show successful.

“These fantasy serials are successful since they have a universal appeal,” feels V.Basavraj, Director, Programming, Star TV. “It’s like going on a holiday.” Not so for the makers however, for whom it’s business as usual. Big business at that. Nirja Guleri now has yet another mega serial Baazigar lined up, inspired by the comic strip magician Mandrake. Baazigaar incidentally is also a lavish production with an overall cost estimated at Rs 37 crore (Rs 35 lakh per episode), believed to be one of the most expensive serials ever. Which only goes to prove that fantasy can’t really be taken lightly, at any cost! n