he show that was supposed to replace Kaun Banega Crorepati 2, once it ran to its scheduled close, is all set to go on air in mid-May. Prithviraj Chauhan - Dharti Ka Veer Yoddha, will be the first historical epic on TV after a long time - nearly 15 years since the extremely successful Sword of Tipu Sultan was aired. Much has changed since. For instance Tipu Sultan did not have to contend with cable television.br>Star India, which has made Prithviraj Chauhan at a cost of Rs 4.5 crore (for sets and costumes), hopes the serial will emulate the kind of response Tipu Sultan got. Says Puneet Johar, senior vice president, STAR India: "Prithviraj Chauhan is our biggest launch since KBC 2. br>Pre-KBC 2, weekend viewing used to be scattered and fragmented. But KBC 2 completely garnered all the weekend viewing eyeballs for STAR Plus." br>But when KBC 2 had to be abruptly pulled off because of Amitabh Bachchan's illness, STAR launched many makeshift programmes to fill in. One of these was Jodee Kamaal Ki, touted "as a show that would take care of week-ends, around the viewership built by KBC2. The show has performed well above exception," says Johar.br>Prithviraj Chauhan will be aired at the same 9 PM slot as KBC 2 on Saturday and Sunday. The half hour show is produced by Sagar Arts Production and the total 150 episodes have already been canned. The highlight of the programme "is the production values that are going into it. The sets, the costumes, the cinematography, the treatment - all of these are something the Indian television viewer has never seen before," says Johar. And it is targeted at the entire family.br>Prithviraj Chauhan highlights the events and moments of the life of the last Hindu king who ruled from Delhi - in the 11th century. Apart from Angad Bedi, who plays the lead role, the serial has some Bollywood names like Jas Arora, Milind Gunaji and Nirmal Pandey. The sets - an entire city was recreated in Baroda - have been designed by Oomang Kumar with 200 people working on it for two months to create original paintings for the palace. br>"We are pulling out all the stops for the launch of the show. We will be promoting the show extensively with a media plan which is both impactful and effective and are trying out different things," says Johar. For instance, the channel is organising a shobha yatra all over North India. The procession will carry the imagery of Prithviraj Chauhan. There will be a Prithvi Jyoti lit in every city in which it stops. The fire will be carried to the final destination, Delhi - from where Chauhan ruled. br>Besides a 360 degree mass media campaign, the marketing and communication strategy will focus on increasing familiarity with the protagonist, Prithviraj Chauhan. Meanwhile, the channel is using every trick in the book to promote the show. The yatra apart, STAR Plus is planning to release music cassettes of the serial, a comic book and a serialised story in a magazine form. "We are also putting up a fashion show which will showcase the talented costume designers from the show," says Johar. It is also trying to attract the youth with webisodes and mobile content.br>... more