Sony TV looks at life after ‘Bigg Boss’

With over 50 days yet still to go until the end of Sony Entertainment Television Asia’s big ticket show ‘Bigg Boss’, the channel has already begun looking at life after.

According to Indian newspaper DNA, Sony will replace ‘Bigg Boss’ with a soap inspired by a classic piece of Bengali literature, ‘Durgesh Nandini’.

‘Bigg Boss’ has remained steady in the TV ratings game. Initially the show garnered huge media publicity but unfortunately this has not generated big viewing numbers. The programme has barely featured inside the competitive Top 100 TV ratings chart in India.

Anyway, the channel is not losing the opportunity to grab on to the new viewers that have switched to watch ‘Bigg Boss�۪; it�۪s hoping ‘Durgesh Nandini’ will consolidate the 22:00 slot. The show, to be produced by Shobhana Desai, will launch either on 29th January 29 or 20th February 2007.

The story is about a village girl, who is named heir to a large estate, when her businessman father passes away. She has to shift to the city not just to manage the fortune but also to deal with a family who are alien as well as hostile to her, as she has turned up out of the blue and is the custodian to the entire business empire.

The cast is yet to be finalised, but indications are that Tassnim Sheikh, Anupam Bhattacharya and Shubhaavi will find their way into the serial. The hunt is still on for the lead actor. With ‘Durgesh Nandini’, producer Shobhana Desai will now have two consecutive shows on Sony�۪s primetime – ‘Thodi Khushi Thode Gham’ at 21:30, and the new show at 22:00.