MUMBAI: Is it a sign of things to come or is it the 'fatigue element'? Aruna Irani's Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand, ( DMNHC) has ousted the usual Balaji contenders -Kyunki ..... Kahaani ... and Kasauti Zindagi Kay .....from the top position, reveal the latest TRP ratings (for the week 5 May to 10 May 2003). DMNHC tops the chart with a TRP of 10.9, followed by Kasauti ...at 10.5 and Kyunki ...at 10.3.
Earlier this year, the India-Pakistan World Cup 2003 cricket match on MAX had dethroned the two Balaji soaps and notched up a TVR of 21.8.
Although the producers were not available for comment, industry sources say that the spurt in ratings for DMNHC can be credited to the recently introduced and unusual twists and turns in the 'gripping' storyline.
The story revolves around Pammi (Sangeeta Ghosh) - her dilemmas centred around her love for her husband Dev( played by Varun Badola) who is assumed to be dead. Pammi gets engaged to a doctor named Rohan.
The unusual twist comes when Dev realises that he doesn't have brain tumour as he was forced to believe by his sister-in- law, Anu ( played by Shweta Keswani) . He thus realises that since he was not terminally ill, he could reveal to Pammi that he was alive. Unfortunately, on his way to meet Pammi, he is intercepted by Anu who confesses her love for him and dashes her car into his , in the hope that she would be united with him after death. The accident however leaves Anu with minor scars and Dev in a critical condition in the hospital where Rohan ( Pammi's fiancé') recognises him.
Another interesting twist is not yet confirmed, but according to latest industry gossip, Varun Badola will be replaced by Amarr Upadhyay (Mihir of Kyunki......) post the accident.
Coming back to the ratings, Star Plus continued its dominance in the TRP charts, with its shows bagging 49 out of 50 top programmes in the C& S households.
Kehta Hai Dil, the family show inspired by The Picket Fences has shown an improvement in ratings with its TRPs jumping from 8.0 to 9.3 in a week's time . On the other hand Sanjivani, the hospital series turned soap has not shown much change in its ratings. It remained stable at 7.8 with its position falling down from 20 to 21.
Among comedies, Shararat which airs at 9:00 pm on Star Plus, harnessed a TRP of 6.1. Son Pari the kids programme too got a TRP of 6.1. In the action thriller genre, the series Krishna Arjun which airs on Mondays on Star Plus at 9:00 pm seems to have got a good lead of 5.5 over its counterpart Ssshhh.. Koi Hai... which airs on Fridays on Star Plus at 10:30 pm which has got a TRP of 4.4.
Among the afternoon programmes Kumkum seems to be doing much better than Bhabhi. While the former got ratings between 6.1 and 5.2 through the week, the latter's ratings shuttled between 4.8 and 4.3. Shagun on the other hand got a rating of 3.7.
Interestingly, the last episode of the much hyped short series Kashmeer which (with a TRP of 3.1) didn't figure anywhere in the top 50 programmes last week, found the 47th position this week with its TRP going up to 3.6.
While Star Plus continued its dominance in the TRP charts, it is the Balaji soaps which have lost the top position this week. However, it is only next week's ratings which will reveal which soap rules the roost - the K series or DMNHC Till then let's wait and watch.