When television sets exploded onto the scene, it was widely expected that radios would die a slow, natural death. Yet, the radio has managed to survive and indeed thrive. With more and more private players joining, the challenge for radio channels today is to find a way to stay in the hunt.
In an effort to improvise, Big FM has announced that it will broadcast Sivam , a radio play. It is based on the story written by Indra Soundar Rajan and dramatised by in-house RJs. “In our surveys, we found that the 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. slot had more listeners than the breakfast show. We didn’t want to do what we did usually — play film songs interspersed with film trivia. We wanted to do something different,” says Anuradha Unni, programming head, Big FM.
The radio station decided to do an episodic play that would run for around a month. “Television soaps are very popular in that time slot. So, we thought ‘why not try a radio soap that goes on for several days together?’” she says.
That ideal novel — Indra Soundar Rajan’s Sivam — was selected on the basis that it had a riveting premise: how an atheist inadvertently becomes the protector of an ancient temple. Known for his ‘throwing the kitchen-sink’ kind of storytelling (think Marma Desam and Rudra Veenai ), Sivam has a tremendous chance of keeping the audience hooked.
The producers of the show realise that the challenges are manifold. First, the radio play has to hit the ground running for it is being produced for listeners whose attention span is very small. Second, radio plays require the audience to co-produce the text with their imagination. How will these obstacles be circumvented? “We have made sure that good production values has gone into this programme. The effects will make the difference,” says RJ Girish, who will lend his voice for the lead role Aadhi Narayan.
Indra Soundar Rajan says that the spiritual thriller will work. “The storyline will cater to all sorts of listeners. Believers or non-believers, it doesn’t matter. And it will raise questions about subjects we are always interested in,” he says. Each episode, (around 25), says Anuradha, will be divided into two. This has been done to make sure that the listeners who join in late are not alienated.
While radio plays are common outside India, it is still a new concept here. If this effort pays off, it will open up new avenues for actors and novelists. But the question is, will it pay off?
Sivam will be broadcast at 9 p.m. from November 18.
