Exclusive | Life OK, setting a new benchmark in entertainment: Ajit Thakur

India’s fastest growing general entertainment channel Life OK celebrated its first birthday on 18th December 2012 thus completing an eventful and highly successful year of redefining content and inspiring imaginations through its core philosophy of “Cherish what you have”.

The channel has captivated its vast set of viewers with its refreshing and diverse blend of content ranging from mythology, comedy, thriller , reality and drama. Life OK, in a short span of one year, has carved a niche for itself in the Indian television industry. The young, dynamic and innovative channel has not shied away from experimenting with content to set new benchmarks in entertainment.

The channel has been rewarded for its unconventional yet appealing approach, achieving record ratings and winning laurels from its viewers. Popular mythological saga Devon Ke Dev…Mahadev accomplished a rare feat when it achieved an 8.2 TVR for its Maha-episode, which till date remains untouched across the genre.

On their first year anniversary of the launch of the channel Ajit Thakur, General Manager, Life OK, said: “Today is a big day for us. We have completed a year of providing refreshing entertainment to India. Every journey starts with a single step and for us, that step was taken last year. I’m overwhelmed to see that Life OK has successfully managed to become an integral part of millions of Indian homes. We are thankful to our audiences for welcoming us into their lives and hope that we celebrate many more anniversaries like this.”

Their initial journey began with an eight-hour countdown to the channel launch – Rockathon, that was streamed live across various digital platforms. The channel has since pioneered the concept of seven-days a week programs and 20 minutes of uninterrupted content, ensuring that the audience gets the best from entertainment. Minimal intrusions have won the channel accolades from audiences while its emphasis on upholding values has strengthened its bond with Indian households.

Every show on Life OK is a reflection of its philosophy that inspires viewers to believe in themselves and their values. Devon ke dev… Mahadev, the channel’s flagship show, has set a gold standard in Indian Entertainment. It carefully transformed an ancient mythological tale into a gripping story by thoughtful use of high-quality programming. Their other shows include Dil Se Di Dua… Saubhagyawati Bhava to raise their voice against domestic violence while Savdhaan India, the docu-drama showcasing real-life crime cases, instilled confidence in viewers to never leave their battles for justice mid-way. 2612, the latest addition to Life OK’s kitty, is a thriller that provides a much-needed respite from daily dramas. The evolving content on the channel has continued to keep viewer’s engaged.

Delightful programs on special occasions have proved to be trump cards for the channel. Right from Azaadi – the Independence Day special, to Ram Leela with Ajay Devgn, a Dusshera to Diwali musical extravaganza, the channel has always had a reason to celebrate. It tried to bring build novel perspectives for its viewers by a strict No Tears - No Competition reality show Hindustan ke Hunarbaaz that celebrated talent in every child.

Life OK has commenced its journey on a positive note and is on course to lead the general entertainment space. The channel stands firm on its commitment to promote and showcase exceptional content as it embarks on its promising journey into the future. The channel has indeed lived up to its expectations and has enthralled viewers with some unique and happy viewing. The shows of Life OK have never followed the usual run-of-the-mill format and this has come as a refreshing  change for it’s viewers.

Adgully caught up  with Ajit Thakur, General Manager, Life OK  to discuss about the channel’s completion of one year , their content strategy ,  their philosophy , the ratio of fiction versus non fiction on the channel , their visions for year 2013 and much more.

Content meant to inspire beyond entertainment

Touching upon their content that has never failed to entertain viewers Thakur said , “What ever content we do will be based on the ‘Life is Good’ philosophy. Life is OK when we learn to balance what we aspire for with what we have hence Life OK reinforces that and reassures viewers . He further added , “Every show has to pass the filter of the Like OK fit .  Secondly we are genre agnostic so we have done comedy, crime , thrillers mythology, non fiction talent shows , non-fiction comedy shows and now coming up with a historical kind of reality show so every show we have done is of a different genre that allows people to get a sense of variety and thirdly the content should not just appeal to women or men  it should appeal to the entire family  as a whole.” It is meant to  entertain and also inspire. Their idea was to create content that can go beyond entertainment. When Star one was shut down they wanted to come up  with a channel that was exciting and they considered a real challenge to take up a channel like Life OK. The basis of insight was to tell India stories on a daily basis. The content plan was something that would relate to inspire beyond entertainment. He said “I think it was great and one year down the line everybody is happy with what we have created.” In terms of numbers and market share they are pretty much in line with what they had planned. We have created a brand that people have noticed that this particular channel is different. It talks about contemporary issues whether it is through Mahadev, terror or crime. “The shows do not  glamorize  life but  inspire the people of India and the numbers are outstanding which is good,” he says.

The Initial 6 months

When asked about the challenges they faced during the initial days of the launch and the improvisations they made , Thakur admitted that they did make a lot of mistakes during the early days of the launch of the channel . It was the balance between philosophy and entertainment that was learnt in the first 6 months and also how viewers reacted to certain shows. “We were very keen to continue seven days a week  but we could not do so as it was difficult to make seven episodes a week . Initial few months we depended a lot on within the network  marketing but later we depended a lot on digital, outdoor and print to promote our show.  But those learnings only helped to make it better,” says Thakur. He also elaborated on the  interesting concept of the ‘sutradhaar’ which was  conceived and initiated by Life OK which was among the many firsts for the channel and not seen on any other channel.

Sutradhaar Factor

He said that the idea was not to  attract eyeballs. It was mainly thought of because their shows are so indexed and secondly they needed someone to contextualize the story since it would   allow audiences to keep track of the story. “It is not to attract eyeballs but to make people understand what Life OK stands for . Our sutradhaar need not be someone like a larger than life personality but it could even be somebody from next door,” he said.

The Ramleela experience

He also said that they want to do things with a sense of differentiation which is very obvious to people. Ramleela  is different from Ramayan . The format is very Indian and the theatrical experience he said is bound to be different compared to the television viewing and their idea was not for people to compare what they saw on a ground vis a vis television viewing. For them it is not the stage show but the fact that it is a live action series. He said that to create a differentiation was an absolute  risk given the fact that pyrotechnics had to be used in the show. Ramleela was concluded within 4-5 weeks and so it was in a very different format from what any other GEC has done till date . Being a five ‘adhyay’ story it was meant to start at Dassera and end during Diwali and that is how they went about it starting the dance ballet with Ram and ending it with the battle.

Aggressive outdoor marketing

“Last two months we have been very aggressive especially in Mumbai & Delhi because a lot of new viewers have come in due to digitization and it is important to stand out for them . For e.g. regarding our show on terror,  if we 130 crore Indians come together we can fight terror so we thought of public service messaging and we thought it important  carry this message outside even on the streets so people think about such issues, said Thakur. Since Mahadev has become a big property for them they want to now explore new markets. So although  show driven , the scale of their show is given prime importance along with looking at new markets and new audiences. “We are going to spend a lot on outdoor than before for this very reason. If you have something good then you should go and talk about and you should do so   tactfully and forcefully,” he adds.

Passion and risk needed to be successful

When asked if any particular business mantras have helped to bring the channel to this position today. Mr Thakur emphatically said, “No business mantras but only personal mantras.   In Life OK we are telling stories that will make a difference to the people of India . So when we are trying to send out messages to the audiences of India and if I do not believe in it I will not be able to translate it  so it is the passion and obsession for the brand and what we stand for. That is source of where the energy comes from. You never get tired because of the passion that engulfs you.” It is also about winning a team. A strong believer in the mantra of personal work ethics which involves working from scratch he admits to have never taken anyone from his previous team. “Building people and getting new ideas and that is my source of strength and I get much joy from this. I always encourage them  to try for themselves and experiment and assure them that I am always there to help them out. I have an insatiable appetite  for taking risks as well. In a business if you do not take risks you can never succeed. So passion, people and  risks are the three things but no business mantras for me ,” says Thakur.

Different from the rest

All the shows on Life OK have gone against the format which are normally seen in the GEC sector. Explaining this angle he said that risk runs through the organization but they have never had discussions on it. The channel wanted everything about the shows to be different hence the writers for the shows are different, the producer is new, the marketing is different hence they are not doing anything standard . Going deeper he said, “We thought over it and asked ourselves if we should abandon the idea of doing things differently, sometimes we thought about it twice but we did not totally abandon the idea because if we did that then how will be differentiate from  any other daily soap channel.”

Fiction versus  non fiction

Ajit Thakur is of the belief that fiction or non fiction is a category we make whereas for the audience the shows do not belong to any particular category. They just enjoy watching the shows. In a latest move they intend launching an impact property every quarter. In non fiction , they are looking at getting a big star on the channel .Sharing about their upcoming shows he said he is looking forward to their new property which will be a fiction without a big star which has been talked about and may probably be a bigger show than Mahadev. It is a fantasy horror, a genre that has not yet been explored with a supernatural context. It is a love story but set with a supernatural context. It will have a lot of visual effects and be better than Mahadev and create an impact  property equal to a non fiction with a big star.

Welcoming year 2013

He also spoke about the shows audiences can expect in the new year . Their new properties Savitri and Welcome are the two shows viewers can look forward to soon . The latter  will be a non fiction  in the reality genre but not a talent show.

The  Internal team

With regard to producing their shows he informed that Mahadev is a co- production. The co producer is Nikhil of Triangle films. Nikhil was originally a director but has turned a first time producer with Mahadev. “ We do all the writing ourselves and all the production is done by Triangle films. We are applying this to our next show as well which is to be launched early next year. Even in the case of Savdhaan we have a script consultant inside who works for the  channel along with the writers and the producers so Savdhaan is the only show on television today  that involves four  producers. So you get different points of view and different types of narratives hence we have experimented with a lot of  things in the production eco system as well,” says Thakur.

Savdhaan & Mahadev- shows with a difference

Were they accused of  copying other channels who had already experimented with this genre?

He agrees to this fact. He said , “Yes when we launched this show people  accused us of copying other shows and I have no qualms in acknowledging that it does copy other crime shows. We have always been trendsetters and there is a big difference .Savdhann was never a show about crime and cops but one where the viewer as an individual or with his or her family needs to take a stand and fight back. But now audiences have realized that the show is different and one which concerns India fighting back crimes and injustice.” It concerns the individual who was involved in the crime scene, abduction or kidnapping cases and have taken the onus  and borne the brunt of the social evil. It encourages them to take a stand to fight back for their cause and in most cases the criminals are brought to book. It is positive, empowering and most importantly it sows the seed in our minds that we can fight crime if we wish. But in Mahadev which is much superior the narrative which is set in the ancient  times the topics relate to the contemporary times like nature pollution, equality of gender , parenting , Ganga pollution which are not normally associated with mythological shows.

So in both cases topical issues are dealt with . “Life OK must make a statement of anything that is a part of our lives and since crime and terror are a part of our lives it was necessary for us to make a show on this and not to make a sensational drama because however much we want to ignore it, it  is a part of our lives. If we are very vigilant we can fight back and not wait for it to happen to somebody else ,” he adds.

A larger than life brand

Thakur reiterates that he does not believe in fiction or non-fiction but believes in creating an impact . So when  a show so huge in nature  is aired it becomes  necessary to inform the viewers that it is different and as a result it is imperative that they mount it on a scale both in terms of how the show looks and in terms of marketing. They also have to ensure that everyone samples it at least once though all may not take to it. So it is important for the channel to give a  scale to their projects  in terms of how the shows are shot, edited and marketed.

The genre in demand and related viewership

“We make every show a big show may it be fiction or non fiction. So Mahadev for me is mounted today in a bigger way than any other non-fiction in the country,” says Ajit Thakur. He further went on to say that most channels spend on non fiction than on fiction but at Life OK things are done differently. Most channels spend on the show before launch but for Mahadev they spent after nearly 11 months  when the Ganesh track was introduced in the story. It is interesting to note that Mahadev which is mythology, Savdhaan India which is non-fiction, 2612  a terror tale or Saubhgyavati Bhava which dealt with domestic violence each is of a different genre . The only show that did not work for them was the comedy              which he attributes to have not spent enough time on giving it scale and on the marketing of the show “We have to work very hard where marketing is concerned for each of the show given the fact that they are vastly different from each other and meant for different members of the family . So when we have not given the show its scale and marketing and ambition we have failed other wise where we have given the same we have succeeded,” he said.

Where viewership is concerned most other channels air content for children and women during the week and mixed content during the week end but at Life OK  thrillers are aired  through the week hence they have male viewers who watch right through the week from Monday to Sunday . Savdhaan India viewers consist of both the genders and Mahadev caters to children as well  especially with the Ganesh story being introduced which can be very entertaining for them . The channel plans to come with more programmes for kids. Where ratio of men versus women viewers is concerned he said , “When we started out it was 40: 60 with 40% men vis a vis 60% women, but today on most of our top shows it is 50:50 and that is because women watch more television.”

Finite Format theory

The channel is looking at a finite format. 2612 is an eight month story and they have no plans of coming up with a second season for the show. Mr Thakur is of the firm belief that   one big step Indian television needs to take is to stick to take the finite format to avoid viewership fatigue . A show must end when the story is over and not when the audience is fed up with it he says.

Not digitization but making a difference to people’s lives counts

“I am hoping in 2013 people will say Life OK is real and the stories are relative. They  will come and thank the channel for making a difference in their lives and making it safer while teaching them  to fight crime and also realize the importance of man and a woman portrayed through serial Mahadev,” says Thakur . That is  what they are looking forward to . They wish to take the brand to the next level where life is really ok for people. It is not the digitization that counts but how the shows have impacted people’s lives which is of utmost importance for them. People have to believe that Life OK has actually made life okay for them.

He is grateful to every agency, every advertiser and every journalist they have associated with, from whom they have received immense support in less than a year of the channel being launched and that he finds overwhelming. “This channel’s story has unfolded on the basis of goodwill that we have generated as much as the hard work we have put in . So I want to take the time to thank everyone for making Life OK for what it is today and giving it a chance. It is very easy to write off a channel. So many new GEC’s have failed in the past few years. We couldn’t have done this without the support of every advertiser agency and journalist that we have worked with. We are making it a number one channel that is based on entertainment plus philosophy and that is what keeps me going!” concludes Ajit Thakur of Life OK.