Star Plus takes Aap Ki Kachehri beyond TV space

Televisionpoint.com Correspondent | Mumbai

Kiran Bedi

Star Plus, the leading Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC), is riding high on the popularity of Kiran Bedi's show Aap Ki Kachehri. The channel has taken the show on ground from February 07 through its 'Aap Ke Sheher Mein' campaign.

As per this on-ground initiative, a 'kachehri' will resolve disputes between people who have not yet approached a legal court, but are embroiled in bitter battles. The initiative is similar to the Lok Adalat, and will enable the channel to take up more cases than the show format allows.

Eminent personalities from Mumbai representing different walks of life like social service, judiciary, state administration and the police have come together to create a platform in different cities in India.

Star Plus hosted a three-hour pilot in Mumbai on February 07 at Ambedkar Maidan, BDD Chawl, Worli. Though the event did not have a court room setup, as is the case with the televised show, the cases were resolved in the same format as on the show. For the pilot, three cases were heard, out of the 17 shortlisted by Khushiyan Seva Sanstha (KSS), an NGO.

The panel for Apni Adalat, the first of the series, was attended by prominent panelists such as Sachin Ahir (MLA), Pooja Oberoi (KSS), Vilas Marathe (ACP, Worli Area Zone), Jayashree Akolkar (advocate, Mumbai High Court) and Siddharth Basu (producer, Big Synergy).

The on-ground events will not be televised, but the channel will look at promoting them on the show, once they achieve a scale. The on-ground event has been conceptualised by the channel itself, though it has been executed by an event management company, Market Men.

For the Week 5, Aap Ki Kachehri featured in the top five shows of Star Plus with an TVR of 3.84. According to TAM Media, Star Plus has garnered 26 per cent relative share, with 317 GRPs, and it stands firm at the No. 1 position in the GEC genre.