Kehta Hai Dil: A new 'STAR' on the ascendant

A close look at the TVR figures for the last few weeks indicate that this show, starring Grusha Kapoor and Aman Verma, is steadily moving up the ladder

Just how much the TVR of a show is relevant to a broadcaster can be gauged from the fact that a programme, which performs averagely on the ratings chart, is tweaked with to suit audience needs, aimed quite clearly to push up viewership and thereby the TVR of the show.

This is precisely the case with STAR Plus' Kehta Hai Dil, which started on July 2, 2002, loosely based on sister channel STAR World's popular show Picket Fences. Produced by UTV, the show aimed to capture the small-town spirit as epitomised in the English drama, addressing social issues such as dowry, bigamy and teenage infatuation, and, at the same time, staying true to the basic plot of emphasising family values.

Starring Aman Verma and model and actress Gautami Gadgil (she featured in the hugely popular Marathi film Bindhast, a few years ago) in the lead roles of SP Aditya Pratap Singh and his wife Dr Jaya Singh, the show was slotted at 9.00 pm prime time every Tuesday.

Despite the pride-of-place (read slot) enjoyed by Kehta Hai Dil, the show failed to set the ratings chart on fire opening with an average TVR of 4.21 followed by 2.99, 4 and 4.81 in the month of July 2002.

August was no exception with the ratings oscillating between 3.13, 5.81, 3.76, 4.96 and 3.59. September and October last year projected a similar picture. However, in the month of November, the storyline underwent a drastic change with the focus shifting from the lead pair of SP Aditya Pratap Singh and Dr Jaya Singh to their young daughter Karishma.

In fact, the story took a new hue with the shift to the daughter, bringing to the fore the all-too-familiar conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law when Karishma marries into a new family. Grusha Kapoor, who first made her debut a decade ago with ZEE's Tara, is the scheming mother-in-law who will go to any length to bring suffering upon Karishma and her family. Her husband, a corrupt politician who has a personal score to settle with the girl's father, is privy to her plans.

The change in storyline seems to have augured well for Kehta Hai Dil with the show averaging a score of 8.9 in the week of May 25-31, 2003. In fact, for the first time since its launch last year, the show occupies the No 6 slot in the Top 10 this week, moving ahead of the forerunner of all saas-bahu shows Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, which is steadily sliding down the list.

In fact, signs of Kehta's upsurge have been visible for a while now. In the week of May 18-20, 2003, the show stood at No 10 with a score of 7.8. The week before, that is, May 11-17, 2003, it was steady at 7.8 but ranked No 13, while in the week of May 4-10, 2003, the show touched a high of 9.3, ranked No 10.

Will Kehta pull off a coup a la Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand, which briefly enjoyed its place in the sun as the No 1 show in the week of May 4-10, 2003? Only time will tell. © 2003 agencyfaqs!