To tell you the truth, Indian television is getting more and more unbelievable. And I don't mean that in a good sense. Even a serial that starts on a good note ends up being a saas-bahu sob story. More fantastically, the bahu of Indian telly is now getting tortured even by witches, shape changing snakes and ghosts! Truly unbelievable. Some comedies are good (mercifully!) but most are just cheap farce. And the reality shows have started feeling old and stale as well.
So when I heard that a mobile-only sitcom has launched on NexGTV, my first thought was 'I hope it would be better!' Whether my hope was fulfilled or not, I'll tell you later. Let me first tell you what this mobi-series is and by whom.
India's first 'mobi-series' has been created by Fluence (India's largest celebrity network) and produced by Endemol-Shine India and Priyanka Chopra's Purple Pebble Pictures. The show is titled ' It's My City.' It is a bi-weekly (Tuesday and Friday) series that will be available exclusively on (a mobile entertainment app featuring movies, TV Shows, Live TV). I think it's a premium content so you need a paid account on NexGTV to watch this.
Just a little while ago, NexGTV had also launched an ininterestingg initiative in association with Imtiaz Ali. This initiative is called Spotlight inviting all video creators to submit their short videos for a chance to win big prizes. Now the launch of this mobi-series gives ample evidence of NexGTV's attempts at increasing their hold in mobile internet sector.
It's My City is a show featuring four young and spunky girls living as tenant in a house owned by Priyanka Chopra. It shows the daily life struggles, celebrations, fun and frolic of these four girls as they try to make their dreams come true. It is an original bi-weekly series with 14 episodes or 'mobisodes.'
Speaking about the show, Priyanka Chopra said, "Digital is the new frontier of content and I'm diving right in! It's a super exciting world in which I find myself equally fascinated with and immersed in completely. The thought behind 'It's My City' is progressive... to go where the young audience has moved towards... to connect with them in a style that they can identify with and for me personally, to engage with them in a whole new way. I'm excited to be embarking on this journey with such amazing partners...nexGTV who not only have created a robust platform for mobile entertainment but have also made a firm commitment to creating and delivering quality, original content. I'm thankful to Fluence and Endemol-Shine India for being such a formidable force and co-producers in our maiden digital venture. It's time to just press 'PLAY'!!!'
As for It's My City, I checked out its first episode today. It's just about 15 minutes long. Yes, it does feature Priyanka Chopra too, but only as a mentor talking to the audience or talking to the four girls through computer. The main cast consists of the four girls who are the tenants of Priyanka Chopra's house. I guess the creators of the show wanted it to be like the famous sitcom Friends. The idea of four girls living together seems to suggests the Friends living together. However, the similarity stops there. The first episode, at least, didn't seem very promising. The whole show seemed very forced. It had girls taking revenge against each other by pouring water on bed or putting super glue on water bottle. And when there is a power breakdown, the girls wonder whether the world is ending! That scene definitely won't impress anyone living in India where power outages are a routine. In short, the first episode didn't leave me asking for more.
However, this is the first of its kind initiative in India. A mobile only series. I hope we'd have more such mobi-series in future as I quite like the idea. But with better content, please!
