KOLKATA: In a move to stand out from the clutter, Aakash Aath, a Bengali general entertainment channel (GEC), has launched ‘The Legends’, a show where songs of the ‘golden era’ are sung by the current singers.

The show, which was launched on 3 November and airs Monday to Friday at 9.30pm, pays tribute to legends like RD Burman, SD Burman, Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey, Uttam Kumar, Suchitra Sen and Md. Rafi.

 “The show has an up market and classy look on the lines of Coke Studio wherein songs from the golden era will be sung in both Bengali and Hindi,” highlights Aakash Aath director Eshita Surana.

On what made the channel launch a music show at primetime, she says that old songs are an all-time hit. “We feel at this time of the day people want something soothing and light, hence, we came up with this idea. Game shows are a tried and tested thing in this time slot and we did not want to become a ‘me too’,” she adds.

 After airing 12 episodes so far, the channel is happy with the response. “Many artists are calling us because they want to perform on the show. Renowned artists like Srikanto Acharya, Madhura Bhattacharya and Raghab have gone on record to say that till now they have not gotten a better platform to perform on. We have attempted to take music to the next level,” says Surana.

Apart from OOH and print ads, the channel is also using mass media like WhatsApp to promote the programme.