Aahat (Indian TV series)
| Aahat | |
|---|---|
| File:Logo aahat.jpg Inter-title of Aahat | |
| Genre | Horror Supernatural |
| Created by | B. P. Singh |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by |
|
| Creative director | Christabelle D'Souza |
| Starring | See below |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language | Hindi |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 14 Season 6 (as of 26 March 2015)[1] (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers | B. P. Singh Pradeep Uppoor |
| Production locations | Mumbai, India |
| Cinematography |
|
| Editor | Sachindra Vats |
| Running time | 42 minutes approximately |
| Production company | Fireworks Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Sony Entertainment Television India Sony Entertainment Television Asia |
| Release | 12 October 1995 – Present |
| Related | |
| Ssshhhh...Koi Hai Raat Hone Ko Hai | |
Aahat (English: An Approaching Sound) is an Indian thriller/horror television anthology series created by B. P. Singh for Sony Entertainment Television India and Sony Entertainment Television Asia.[2] The location of the series is set in Mumbai, India. The series which premiered on 12 October 1995, is the longest running horror television series in India, completing five seasons. The episodes of first, second and fifth seasons were half–hourly, while episodes of third and fourth seasons were one–hourly. Many leading actors and actresses of the Indian film industry have acted in the series namely Om Puri, Mandira Bedi, Tom Alter, Ashutosh Rana, Shivaji Satham, Virendra Saxena and many more. Canadian actor, Remi Kaler, also worked in this series in 1999 and 2000. The sixth season premiered on Wednesday, 18 February 2015, starring Shakti Anand.[3]
Plot
Every week two new stories are aired and each story airs for one hour. The series is based on fictional stories. The first season was more of a crime thriller-whodunit with only occasional episodes on the supernatural. The episodes were full of murder mysteries with twist ending. Than after the first season, each story focused on a different aspect of paranormal activity, such as ghosts, zombies, phantoms, undead persons, possessed objects and witches and wizards. The current (sixth) season showcases stories that are bolder, terrifying and daunting than before. Each episode is as sleek as a movie with real stories and sinister ghosts. Each episode features a popular television actor, making the narration exciting for the viewers.[3]
Production
Series creator, B. P. Singh, before working on the concept of Aahat, he used to work as a cameraman at Doordarshan, for ten years between 1973 and 1983. He was interested in making thriller programs. He said "I have had a great fascination for thrillers."[4]
He made a film called Sirf Char Din - a murder mystery - which was relayed on Doordarshan. Then he produced Ek Shunya Shunya for Doordarshan again. Then he made a few Marathi serials for Doordarshan. Then, Sony TV was launched in October 1995. He said "Those days, the satellite channel invasion was being talked about a lot." He thought to do something on satellite channels. During his days at Doordarshan, he had started with C.I.D. (Indian TV series). Then he produced Aahat.[4]
Series overview
| Season | No. of episodes |
Originally aired | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | ||
| 1 | 290 | 12 October 1995 | Late 2001 |
| 2 | 28 | 19 November 2004[5] | 10 June 2005 |
| 3 | 21 | 13 January 2007[6] | 9 June 2007 |
| 4 | 66 | 13 November 2009[7] | 26 June 2010 |
| 5 | 78 | 28 June 2010 | 25 November 2010 |
| 6 | TBA | 18 February 2015[3] | TBA |
Seasons
Season 1
Aahat was first shot in 1994 as a suspense thriller, and began broadcast on 12 October 1995, each story being split across two episodes. The season aired on every Thursday at 10 PM IST, later shifting to every Friday at 10:30 PM IST. After about 40 episodes with the same theme, one episode with a supernatural theme was made and when audiences for the series rose sharply, it made the switch.[8] In August 2002, Sony TV reran the season.[9]
Season 2
The second season aired on every Friday at 9 PM IST, later shifting to 9:30 PM IST in March 2005. The episode format was same as of the first season.[10]
Season 3
The third season was titled as Aahat: Dahshat Ki Teesri Dastak (English: Light Sound: The Third Coming of Horror). The season aired on every Saturday at 10 PM IST, each story being shown in a single episode.[6]
Season 4
Cast
- Chaitanya Choudhury as Harsh
- Vishal Gandhi as Raghav
- Krystle D'Souza as Yamini
The fourth season was titled Aahat: The All New Series, which aired on every Friday and Saturday at 11 PM IST. These three protagonists Harsh, Raghav and Yamini who dealt with a new supernatural power every week with the story being split into two episodes.[7] They worked for PASAR (Paranormal And Supernatural Activities Research) where the head was Durjan, an old man who used to collect powers from the spirits for his boss. In each episode, he used to give a new assignment to these protagonists.[11]
Crossover episodes
The season had three crossover episodes with C.I.D. (Indian TV series). First on 13 November 2009, second on 12 February 2010 and third on 25 June 2010.[12]
Season 5
The fifth season aired 4 days a week on every Monday–Thursday at 10:30 PM IST, later shifting to 11 PM IST on 20 September 2010. Every week, two stories were shown, each story being split across two episodes.[13]
Maut Ka Khel
On 20 September 2010, there was a featured 16-episodes of the story "Maut Ka Khel" (English: "The Game of Death") - the 15-years of Aahat celebration story. The story is about the twelve noted celebrities who lived in a 200 year old haunted house fighting against all the horror stricken odds. These celebrities tried their best to survive in a haunted house. The shooting was shot in Satara. The one who survived till the end was to be declared the winner. Roshni Chopra and Gautam Rode were declared the winners at the end. This special series ended on 14 October 2010.[14]
Cast
Season 6
The first episode of the sixth installation of the series premiered on 18 February 2015.[3] The season previously aired two days a week, on every Wednesday and Thursday at 11 PM IST. Now the series airs four days a week on every Monday–Thursday from 23 March 2015, due to the good response of the season.[15]
Special appearances
- 20 and 27 May 2005 - Urmila Matondkar to promote her Bollywood film Naina[16]
- 25 and 26 October 2010 - Jimmy Shergill to promote his Bollywood film A Flat[17]
- March 2015 - Sunny Leone to promote her Bollywood film Ek Paheli Leela[18] (but the question remains - the date as well as the number of Sunny Leone's episode)
Critical reception
Crtical response
The first and the fourth seasons were the only seasons that gained popularity than its previous seasons. Rest of the seasons didn't got very good response. Currently, the sixth season is receiving mixed response from the audiences. When asked B. P. Singh about why the series was shut down in 2001, he replied "When Aahat hit the target, a lot of other horror serials cropped up too. Plus, the other similar shows were being put head-on at the same times as Aahat. Seeing similar shows on different channels at the same time, the people got confused and tired as well."[4] On the other hand, Shakti Anand said "Aahat saw a decline because they were showing the same kind of story and effects that we used 20 years back with things like "bhoot bangl", "bangle ki rani" and "Aatma"."[19]
Ratings
The first season garnered nearly 4.0 TRPs, and the season was declared as "Hit". The fourth season too picked up good TRPs with every passing week. The season had fetched great numbers and children formed a major chunk of the viewership. The season opened with the TRPs of 2.66, which means that the season garnered positive ratings.[20] The sixth (current) season had a viewership of 2.9 million in its launch episode and average 2.8 million for the week.[21]
Accolades
Fireworks Productions was nominated for Best Continuing TV Programme and for Best Thriller/Horror Show Of The Year of Indian Telly Awards in 2002. Sujit Pattnaik and Tanmoy Ghosh won Indian Television Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects in 2010,[22] while Himanshu, Yogen and Kamal were nominated for the same category of the same award in 2005 and 2012, however, winning in 2011.[23]
International broadcast
Aahat has been dubbed in other Indian languages. It was dubbed in Tamil and was broadcast on Raj TV on 6 June 2005. It is also dubbed in Bengali and Urdu languages and is broadcast on Sony Aath and A Plus Entertainment respectively.[24]
References
- ^ "Aahat - आहट - Episode 14 - 26th March 2015". Setindia. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- ^ "Hello darkness, my old friend..." Indian Express. Retrieved 3 November 1997.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b c d "Sony's rebooted 'Aahat' to go on air from 18 February". Indian Television. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ^ a b c "Interview with Fireworks Productions' B P Singh". Indian Television. Retrieved 9 January 2004.
- ^ "SET to premiere 'Aahat 2' on 19 November". Indian Television. Retrieved 16 November 2004.
- ^ a b "The all new "Aahat" on Sony Saturday 10 pm". The Hindu. Retrieved 8 January 2007.
- ^ a b "Set to telecast 'Aahat-All New Series' from 13 Nov". Tellychakkar. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
- ^ "I have made mistakes". Indian Express. Retrieved 18 December 1998.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Sony readying new shows in thriller band". Indian Television. Retrieved 3 June 2002.
- ^ "Exit 'Idol', enter refurbished, reslotted SET". Indian Television. Retrieved 1 March 2005.
- ^ "Aahat resurfaces to spook". Tellychakkar. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- ^ "CID Aahat teams get cracking for a bumper episode". Tellychakkar. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
- ^ "Indiantelevision.com's interview with Sony Entertainment Television business head Ajit Thakur". Indian Television. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- ^ "The 'dirty dozen' in Aahat". Tellychakkar. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ "Aahat to air four times a week!". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ^ "Television getting all cine-starry". Indian Television. 20 May 2005.
- ^ "Jimmy Shergill tiptoes into Aahat". Tellychakkar.com. 18 October 2010.
- ^ "Sunny Leone Appear In Aahat to Promote Ek Paheli Leela". Just Bollywood. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ^ "'Aahat' will increase horror quotient in genre: Shakti Anand". The Indian Express. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ "Aahat TRPs grow in strength, kids give it a thumbs up". Tellychakkar. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
- ^ "TV This Week - Colors back on track, grabs second position". Adgully. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ "The Indian Television Academy Awards for 2010". Indian Television Academy.
- ^ "The Indian Television Academy Awards for 2011". Indian Television Academy.
- ^ "Raj targets global audiences with new design positioning". Indian Television. Retrieved 6 June 2005.