Colors as a channel had a fabulous time as the magic of Salman Khan and the contestants line-up in Bigg Boss 8 created wonders. Now with the huge reality show drawing to a close, Colors will now be concentrating on the magnum-opus historical saga, Chakravarthin Ashoka. And the channel has few more interesting projects lined up for the coming months. 

Tellychakkar.com spoke to the CEO of Colors, Raj Nayak on the present and upcoming line-up of shows on the channel.

Ashoka on Colors is being launched after a long time since its last historical Shivaji. Reason?

Historical shows are expensive and need time to develop. Thus, the time gap between the two projects. I believe that historical and mythological shows always work on television. If you add the right ingredients then the show is bound to be a successful one. Now, I feel that pulling off Veer Shivaji was a mistake on my part. At that point of time other shows on my channel were doing better in terms of TRPs; but now I feel that it was not that bad and I should have continued with the project.

The show, Ashoka, will air on the prime time slot for an hour. Why did you put the show for an hour instead of half an hour like other shows?

Firstly, after the closure of Bigg Boss 8, the slot was vacant for an hour, so we decided to put Ashoka in its place. Moreover, I personally believe that it is very difficult for any historical show to describe a character within twenty minutes. While describing a historical character one cannot simply switch on to the next episode. If one remembers, even Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana used to air for an hour,, why not provide viewers that experience once more.

Do you think that Ashoka will appeal to a larger audience?

Yes, I think so. The tale of one of the greatest Emperors of India will be liked by all. Since he is one of the greatest figures of Indian history, it will appeal to both rural and urban India and to all age groups.

Do you think that historical shows are now trending?

Historical shows will always trend. From time to time different channels have come up with different historical shows, but now with so many channels coming up it is becoming more prominent. Otherwise it has always been a trend.

Do you think the controversy which occurred after the launch of Ashoka trailer with Star Plus has now died down?

Which controversy are you talking about?

Initially Star Plus was set to come up with the historical show Ashoka, but before the announcement Colors launched the trailer of Ashoka. So what do you have to say about that?

See anyone can come up with any historical show. And Ashoka was a prominent historical figure, so everyone can think of making a show about him. Colors and other channels have their own team of creatives, who are continuously working. So they might have come up with the same idea.

Colors has always come up with different type of shows; do you think that this one will add a feather to your cap?

Every show is a feather added to our cap (laughs). On a serious note we try to give our best to every show. We have high expectations from this show and expect a good run.