Ayub Khan blames TRP battles for TV shows 'running even after completing their storylines'

Actor Ayub Khan talks about his latest TV show, Ranju Ki Betiyan, how TV content has changed over the years, and why TV shows often seem unending.

Actor Ayub Khan, who has worked in films and TV shows for three decades now, weighs in on how TV has changed over the years - both in terms of content being produced and consumed, and in terms of how TV artists are treated. In his latest project, Ayub is seen on the TV show Ranju Ki Betiyan that premiered this week.

Actor Ayub Khan is now seen on Ranju Ki Betiyan

Talking about television content, he said, "There are a couple of aspects to this. Some of the main points are, that television content, is more or less like the film industry - they have few hits and few misses. Even the ratio is like the film industry."

He also elaborated on the common complain against TV shows - the never-ending TV shows that seem to be over-stretching their narratives. "What happens with TV is, because the format is not a finite story, the onus of narrating a story, sometimes, runs out and people are at their wits' end. It happens because they are indulging in TRP battles and losing out on audiences is something that every broadcaster fears. They are constantly equating between the need to continue with a particular narrative far after it has run out of its story line but yet have a lot of audience interest and the need to bring new content which may or may not be successful. That is something that channels battle. That is why we see sometimes, most times I would say, shows that continue to run even when they have finished their story lines way back."

"The attitude towards TV has oscillated from being looked down upon to being revered. Many artists turned to TV when film industry could not give them the space, and they also attained stardom with shows like Ramayan, Nukkad, Karamchand etc. TV did give actors the stardom that they were looking for. Then came a time, when TV became corporate, the budgets changed from lakhs to crores, and the reach spread far and wide, even outside India. Seeing this shift, a lot of film actors also gravitated towards TV. OTT and digital platforms have challenged TV for the first time in terms of content. Definitely, because of that the content is going to change."

He also revealed that he has not been watching TV for at least four years. "This may come across as a surprise but I disconnected my cable connection and have not been watching TV at all. Fortunately or unfortunately, I have not seen Bigg Boss. And because I do not know the format, I cannot really say if I'd participate."

"Digital platforms allow certain amount of freedom, without having to adhere to various norms whether it comes to nudity or explicit language. Because there has been a control on that kind of content, people are now experimenting with these ideas. The availability of international content makes content producers experiment more," he said.

About his latest show, Ayub said he plays the first husband of the lead character - Ranju."He is a typical male in a patriarchal society who believes in entitlement.He is extremely cut throat when it comes to wanting to get what he wishes. The story is interesting because it is about the single mother, working woman, which is so prevalent in India. Contrary to what people would expect, my character has a conventional relationship with his second wife, and an unconventional one with his first wife." The show also features Deepshikha Nagpal.