MUMBAI: "The postal department has met Sony Entertainment Television half way to make it possible," Maharashtra Circles' chief post master general K Noorjehan was quick to offer. The occasion to inaugurate the special cover with cancellation and Meghdoot postcards marking the first anniversary of Sony's flagship show Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi.
Showering the show (Jassi...) with a liberal dose of praise, Noorjehan said that she had been flooded with numerous calls from media about the preferential treatment meted out to Jassi. Rightly so, as she and the speaker before her - Sony Entertainment Television India's CEO Kunal Dasgupta - informed that the special cover with special cancellation was normally offered only to commemorate meretious services of over 50 years and above.
"Even to consider the proposal and to process the demand, the postal department requires one year's time," Noorjehan said. So what makes Jassi so special that she could jump the queue? "She rescued us from the weepy dramas. General masses like you and me can identify with her. She has shown us that its is not really important to be good looking but you can succeed if you have enough grit and determination," she said.
The same sentiment was echoed by the Sony team and as executive vice president programming and response Tarun Katial put it in his inaugural speech, "One year already since we introduced the masses to this unlikely heroine with spectacles and braces. Despite being labeled an ugly duckling, she has shown the world that you can succeed just on merit with your grit, determination, intelligence and hard work."
But hasn't the show been slipping lately. "Not really. It is just a cyclic phenomenon. In fact, we have quite a few changes in the pipeline to pump in the vigour." Although he said that Jassi won't really be shedding her braces and spectacles soon, but viewers will witness a transformation in her attitude, Katial informed. "Plus we will have a climax to the current build up of the plot, where Jassi becomes aware of Armaan and his devious plots and falls in love with Purab," he added.
What the show has offered to television besides a different storyline is a case study for marketing innovations.
"We get numerous phone calls every day from educational institutes, who want to speak to us about the effectiveness of the marketing innovation and the excellent adaptation," DJ Creatives producer Deeya Singh said. But she did admit that the story wasn't following the original very closely. "But it has worked wonders for the show. Look at the way Purab's track has been accepted by the masses," she argued.
A clear indication of the popularity of the show was the Centrium Auditorium at the World Trade Centre in Mumbai, where the press conference was held. Professionals working in the neighbouring offices were trying constantly to sneak in to get a peek of their favourite telly character.
And what did the star of the show Jassi aka Mona Singh have to say about it, "I am extremely honoured and deeply humbled."
It needs to be noted here that in February this year, Sony's sister channel Max had also introduced branded postcards wherein they had tied up with the Indian postal department. The post card, apart from carrying the Max logo, also promoted the 5 pm movies on the channel with a message: 'Har shaam paanch baje dekhiye.'
