Maha Episodes- The new trend in Hindi serials

The USP (Unique Selling Point) for Hindi serials is the fact that all of them mostly run for half-an-hour-just enough time to take a story a few steps forward up to an interesting point and then leave it, so that the viewer is never satiated. Maintaining the curiosity levels of viewers depends upon the amount of viewer interest that is piqued. Too little will not make the viewer turn on the television the next day and too much will lead to dissatisfaction.

Of late there has been a rising trend to do Maha-Episodes, where the show runs for an hour. The extended show timing means there is more scope to build drama and tension and to resolve it too. Colors was the first channel to start this trend. It was meant to be a gift for loyal viewers so that they could enjoy the company of their favorite characters for some time more. Soon other channels picked it up and now doing Maha Episodes have become the right thing to do. So you had Colors doing Maha Episodes of serials like Bhagyavidhata, Uttaran, Na Ana Is Des Mere Lado and Balika Vadhu. Similarly you had Zee TV doing Maha Episode of its prime time blockbuster Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Ki Jo. It has another one planned for this weekend (29th January) for Pavitra Rishta wherein they will try to resolve the conflict between Manav and Archana’s relation.

The moment a serial reaches the culmination point of a major story track, channels start planning for Maha Episodes as it then helps to start a new track. A major track like one involving murder, betrayal of trust or the culmination of a relationship takes a long time to build up. After a point audience interest levels reach saturation point and thus it is best to satisfy this curiosity at one go. For dragging on things (as it used to happen earlier on in Hindi serials) is not what works now, as people have very little time and even less patience. Maha Episodes for that one day runs for a little more time but it prevents viewers from losing interest. In fact it helps to create more buzz.

However channels should remember that like all good things, the trend of Maha Episodes should not be overdone. For this will then kill the novelty factor for the viewing audience. Too much of anything can be a killjoy.