Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Ankhein, Ankhen, Aankhen ...

I've settled into a life without television. Thursday nights are an exception though. Preethi and I spend Thursday nights at my parents' place to catch Ankhen (she's got addicted too.)

The latest happenings involve a kingdom named Jabbar. Kangaroo has taken over the kingdom as General K N Garo. Last week's episode had the Ankhen team in a brainstorming session where an Einstein in the team went from "K N Garo" to "Ka Na Garo" and figured it all out. It was only bettered by a boat chase scene done entirely in the studio with cheap props. The serial is very interestingly poised at the moment with the Colonel having penetrated Kangaro's hideout.

Meanwhile, the fan club is growing. Kamath, Mohan and Subhash are regulars now. Kamath did some research on the web (apparently looking for boxed DVD sets of the first season) and stumbled upon some links. One of the links he found says that the serial has 52 one hour episodes, so the fun should last for an year. Here are the links:

http://www.sagartv.com/profile.asp - End of page has the number of episodes planned.
http://www.sagartv.com/Serials.asp?serialid=10 - The serial's synopsis at the Sagar TV site.
http://www.sagartv.com/team.asp - Profile of the director, Amrit Sagar. Note that Ankhen is the top serial on DD.
http://wartsanddimples.blogspot.com/2005/06/ankhen-sight-for-sore-eyes.html - Another blogger who got hooked.

Excerpt from an interview with Prem Sagar found by Mohan:

Are you surprised with the success of your serial Ankhen on DD National which has been climbing peaks of popularity?

The Sagar family was at its peak in Bollywood after giving a row of hits like Arzoo, Ankhen, Geet, Lalkar. It, however, surprised everyone by venturing into the world of television. The decision invited a lot of criticism. Now, the third generation scions of the Sagar family - Amrit and Shakti Sagar - are still keeping the flag aloft with their latest hit serial Ankhen. These young boys have returned from Hollywood after imbibing the latest tools and techniques. When they saw their grandfather (Ramanand Sagar)'s film Ankhen, they expressed a desire to convert it into a TV serial.

Through Ankhen, we have advocated the view that that there is a need to be perceptive; keep our ears and eyes open in these trying times. There is a need to be alert in this age of terrorism wherein there is a constant threat from insiders. We cannot depend on the military and the police alone.

Ankhen, which is airing on the 10 pm slot on Thursdays had a TRP of 10.8 (23 February to 1 March) and 11.5 (2 March to 8 March). The serial has already won awards and has captured the imagination of the people in these troubled times. Good content with a soul always sells irrespective of cricket mania or war-related pre-occupations.


Unrelated stuff:
http://www.sulekha.com/expressions/column.asp?cid=245347 - Hilarious review of Baba.