The trend of big banner films’ release accompanied by the launch of a book on the making of the film or the launch of related merchandise is finding its way to television also. This new development was noticed recently at an event held to mark the success of Jodha Akbar , Zee TV’s historical show that has the viewers glued to television sets in the evenings. Celebrating the success of the show, Zee TV launched an e-book The Zee TV Mughal Empire E-Book on the sets of Jodha Akbar in Karjat near Mumbai.
The book claims to relate actual history from the time of Babar, the founder of the Mughal dynasty to Shah Jahan. The book is claimed to be an attempt to get youngsters hooked to the history. “The digital rendition of India's history opens up an exciting avenue for children who shy away from their history textbooks.” Not just the kids but lots of adults do not remember the broad chapters of Indian history after having gone through the grind at school. Incidentally, there was protest against Ekta Kapoor, producer of the serial at the recently held Jaipur Literature Festival, about the authenticity of the story with some locals claiming that a character like Jodha is a fictitious one..
Zee alongside the e-book also launched an application for smart phones comprising six mini-games related to the period. The app is available on android platforms as of now and will be shortly available on IOS also.
Speaking on the occasion Akash Chawla, Head, Marketing-National Channels, ZEEL said: “At a time when ‘on-demand’ and ‘on the go’ entertainment is the order of the day, we have been successful in providing our viewers with both, on air as well as digital content that has kept them engrossed and engaged. While the innovative e-book packs in it the entire history of the Mughal Empire through vibrant pictorial depictions and a crisp narration, the game will test your knowledge about the era.
The whole cast of the show was present at the launch. When asked about the game, Rajat Tokas who plays Akbar in the serial, replied “I love playing games on my phone but I have not tried this game so far as I have an I- phone. In fact it is not available on the IOS. So, I am just anxiously waiting for it.”
