Anil Kapoor-starrer '24' to be launched on Colors on October 4

The show will be aired on Fridays and Saturdays at 10 pm, replacing Uttaran and Comedy Nights with Kapil for 12 weeks. The two shows will resume regular airing after '24' ends.

After the launch of the most expensive reality property, Bigg Boss, Colors is set to make another mark in the Indian television space with the launch of one of the most expensive fiction series. The channel is gearing up to launch the Indian adaptation of the popular US thriller series, '24', starring Anil Kapoor.

The show will hit the small screen on October 4 and will be aired twice a week, on every Friday and Saturday at 10 pm, for 24 episodes. It will replace another fiction show, Uttaran, and popular comedy reality show Comedy Nights with Kapil. Comedy Nights with Kapil will now be aired only once a week and Uttaran too will drop a day's programming.

It is pertinent to note here that '24' will be pitted against Sony Entertainment Television's longest running crime-based show, 'C.I.D'.

The channel has got Tata Safari Storme on board as the presenting sponsor for '24', while Videocon's subsidiary, Next Retail India has also been signed as a sponsor. Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors says that the channel is looking at getting four-six sponsors in all. "The show will be sampled by both females and males but I would assume it will be slightly male-skewed and also get youngsters to watch it."

Talking about the reason behind replacing a successful property like Comedy Nights with Kapil to fit in '24', Manisha Sharma, weekend programming head for Colors, says, "24 will help give Comedy Nights with Kapil a breather. It will give the team a chance re-group, re-write."

Sharma tells afaqs! that '24' is not being shot like a regular television show. In fact, it is as big as a movie. On an average, an episode took 10 days to shoot and there is a team of writers for the show. Also, it has been directed by about five directors.

"In the Indian market, there is a huge space for crime-based shows. At 24, we have a political family, which is catering to a slightly soapy lot. We have the edge and crime in the show and it's best suited for weekends. The audience is pretty much the same as Comedy Nights with Kapil and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and we hope that the show will eat into the fiction audience as well," Sharma adds.

"We are marketing 24 like a movie and we believe its cinema on television," says Rajesh Iyer, marketing head for Colors. He tells afaqs! that the channel will use all the traditional media to promote the show, but with a bit of innovation. For instance, majority of radio stations will air mentions of the show every 24 minutes, be it in the form of a spot or a word of mouth by an RJ.

It also plans to include on-ground promotion, wherein Kapoor will go to about 12 cities in the Hindi speaking markets, interacting with the people and opinion leaders in each city.

The show will be promoted across Viacon18 network channels with more than 6000 spots and over 4000 spots in 60 channels outside the network. Kapoor will be seen publicising '24' on shows like Bigg Boss, Comedy Nights with Kapil and a couple of fiction series of Colors. There is a 50-city outdoor plan in Mumbai, Delhi and HSM markets. The outdoor agency for the channel is Milestone Brandcomm. On print, there will be ads in more than 120 publications on the day of the launch.

On the digital medium, the channel is establishing the show's characters in a phased manner. While in the first phase Kapoor's character was established, in the second phase the focus will be on the concept of the show and other cast. There will also be live chats and other interactions at later stages.

24 is co-produced by Anil Kapoor Film Co, and Ramesh Deo Productions, directed by Abhinay Deo and adapted by Rensil D'Silva. The plot revolves around Jai Singh Rathod (Kapoor), the protagonist who is racing against time, being suddenly thrust into a chaotic 24-hour marathon of death, deceit and terror as he struggles to prevent the assassination of prime ministerial candidate Aditya Singhania. To support Rathod in this mammoth task is a cast comprising of industry veterans and actors like Anupam Kher, Shabana Azmi, Mandira Bedi, Tisca Chopra, Anita Raaj, Neil Bhoopalam, Ajinkya Deo, Richa Chadda and Rahul Khanna.