The Hindu : New Delhi News : Making history more interesting

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 28, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Making history more interesting

Madhur Tankha

History Channel comes up with a new line-up of films, serials and documentaries on historic figures

A file photo of Adolf Hitler

NEW DELHI: It may have decided to shift from infotainment to entertainment, but The History Channel -- the only international network devoted exclusively to historical programming -- on Thursday announced that it would not tinker with facts even while making its programmes more interesting.

The Channel has an exciting line-up of films, serials and documentaries on historic figures like German dictator Adolf Hitler in a new format from May onward. "The History Channel will remain committed to its unique theme of history. It is not just content that we will be changing but also the mind-set. We have invested in television movies by buying stuff from Sony TV and British Broadcasting Corporation.

To enlarge our audience, we have also decided to make the channel available in Hindi," said the Channel managing director, Nikhil Mirchandani, at a press conference here.

The new strategic direction of the Channel stems from its need to continuously stay relevant to its viewers.

From Rome to Hitler and Helen of Troy to Spartacus, the Channel will explore the vast gamut of history.

To deliver to its viewers a spectacular combination of fact and fiction, the Channel will beam the film "Marilyn and Me" along with the biography of the once-popular celebrity Marilyn Monroe. Every month will have a distinctive theme. May would be identified with the theme of war and showcase films and serials such as "Hitler" and "Haven", while June will be dedicated to the theme of Rome.

"We are moving onward and adding to our well-researched and entertaining documentaries and serials a whole new line-up of the most interesting stories from history presented through mini-serials, re-enactments and films. Audiences can now live the story while watching Martin Sheen, Omar Sharif and Daniel Craig enact some of the most popular and interesting characters. It is what I call the Devdas effect, where we will inform in an entertaining format and allow viewers to live the stories that are historically relevant," said the Channel's Senior Vice-President (Programming) Joy Bhattacharjya.

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