Sony’s mature romance show, Mere Dad Ki Dulhan, had dropped a lot in ratings after a good start. In a bid to understand what has gone wrong, we spoke to lead actor Varun Badola, and he says, “To be honest, I really don’t know why the numbers have gone down. The episodes have come out well and there is nothing wrong creatively. And not only our show, but the other shows on the channel have also lost traction.”
“Having said that, the time spent has gone up, so this means that people are watching.”
“Frankly, ratings are a different beat which I never get, so I prefer to keep away. I am more concerned with putting in my best and I have not got any complaint about it as well.”
Talking about his quirky character, he says, “I am happy with the initial layering Ambar Sharma has got. But this is just the start, as my on-screen daughter Nia (Anjali Tatari) is about to fly off to the States. Also, his romance with Guneet (Shweta Tiwari) will start now”.
Point out that low ratings may lead to the story being changed, and he says, “No, if somebody thinks that by just adding saas-bahu, the show will run, they have another think coming. On the contrary, it will tank, for that will go against the very grain of our show.”
Ask whether the funnelling of Kaun Banega Crorepati audiences had caused the intial rise (it opened at 1+), “Well, if it was, they were not loyal audiences to begin with. We want those who like our story tune at 10 pm, irrespective of any other show.”
“Also, I don’t get one thing. If the dip was based on audience disapproval, would they have wasted their time on us? We dipped to 0.5/0.6 only in week 3.”
“Last but not the least, I want to ask who lambasted all other non saas-bahu genres, how does the ratings system works and how can only one genre reign supreme in such a diverse nation?”