MUMBAI: The idiot box has come a long way from making run of the mill ?saas-bahu? sagas and nonsensical comedy shows. Nowadays the focus is on making magnum opus shows, and erecting massive sets to get the right feel and engage TV viewers with the perfect scenic and thematic setting for the storyline.

This apart, there is the fact film promotions have been integrated into TV shows, with big ticket Bollywod stars making appearances. Then casts of two shows have been integrated to get a Maha episode. Clearly, general entertainment channels (GECs) have been resorting to extensive marketing and viewer engagement, leaving no stone unturned to promote shows in the best possible way through all platforms.

Taking this trend to another level is Colors, which is going all out to package and promote its popular daily show Madhubala-Ek Ishq Ek Junoon.

Produced by Nautanki Films, it stars Drashti Dhami and Vivian Dsena as the lead pair- RK, an arrogant yet desirable superstar and Madhubala, an ordinary girl who gives RK an eye for an eye. This unusual romance has carved a place in the hearts of television viewers within a short span of one year garnering high TRPs and becoming one of the most popular shows at Colors. The lead pair recently won an indiantelevision.com?s Indian Telly Award for popular on-screen TV couple as their on-screen chemistry has caught the imagination of millions of fans.

The show is known for its notorious twists and the latest track involves the much awaited and ?demanded? wedding sequence of RK and Madhubala. This sequence is being promoted across social media platforms with a unique contest. RK, unable to decide the perfect gift for his lady love, has reached out to the show?s fans asking them to help him make the perfect choice. The reward: the four best entries get an invitation each to the grand wedding on the sets of Madhubala-Ek Ishq Ek Junoon.

Viewers were invited to send in their advice through an SMS or log on to colors.in.com and drop a 140 character suggestion between 17 and 25 May 2013. At the time of writing the response had been lukewarm with just about 900 visible recommendations being given by fans.

So what is it about contests that GECs are venturing into this space even as far as fiction shows are concerned?

Colors weekday programming head Prashant Bhatt explains: "Contests give us an opportunity to engage with the audiences and at the same time maintain their interest in the show. Also having a contest for a fiction show is a unique thing as we have to think of innovative ideas around the sequence. The response for the Madhubala wedding is exceptionally good given that the show has a good viewership and it has attracted a lot of curiosity as well."

Madhubala-Ek Ishq Ek Junoon is a big ticket show for Colors. It has been averaging about 2.5 TVRs, it was at the No 3 slot amongst its programmes in week 20 of TAM?s weekly ratings. The long-running Uttaran had shimmied up to the No 2 slot in that week, replacing it.

Bhatt adds: "Madhubala is one of our big budget shows. The first few episodes of the show were shot in Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. Post that also, we had the most expensive fight sequence between RK and Balraj. Now, for the wedding, we will be going all out with this sequence as well. Keeping the theme of the show in mind, the wedding is of the biggest superstar, RK to his love, so for us the viewers it cannot get bigger than this. We will be going all out for the wedding."

In the past, the show had a sequence which was shot at a massive budget of Rs 20 lakh. With such a high benchmark, expect a big splurge on the wedding celebrations too. Sources point out that a fabulous set is being created for the same in a five star hotel in Mumbai, and it?s quite likely that stars from other shows on Colors are likely to be invited. Madhubala Fan Clubs have been rooting for superstar Salman Khan to be a celebrity invitee.