Anu Ranjan of ITA is coming back with season 2 of her well-received Facebook chat show, Reel or Real with Anu. “Our first episode featuring as many six TV celebs (Samir Soni, Mandana Karimi, Ejaz Khan, Daljeet Kaur and Priyank Sharma) will stream on Valentine’s Day, and no prizes for guessing the topic – the power of love.”
“Our second episode, on the power of women, will go live on 26th Feb. While our first season ran for six episodes, we are not yet sure of how many we can have this time around, given the huge popularity of season 1. Last time we had grossed around 7 hundred thousand views and hope to cross over a million this time around. Accordingly, this time we have a bigger plan of at least 12 episodes, which should culminate with the ITA Awards, 2019. But we want to go with the flow.”
“What really gives us the edge is that our topics are very interesting conversationally, and will surely attract attention. Also, there is nothing similar on the platform. No wonder, Facebook was very happy with our season 1 numbers, hence renewed it for season 2.”
“One single show has lifted the viewers of our ITA website by over 3000%, so sky is the limit. We will keep rejigging the format from time to time. Having learnt from the previous season, we have incorporated several changes. Depending on the theme, we will now have more guests on board. The first five episodes of season 1 had single guests (Ekta Kapoor, Neena Gupta, Alka Yagnik, etc.) The final episode of season 1 had several stars like Harshad Chopda, Helley Shah, Mahi Vij, etc.”
Anu who also runs the social service initiative, Beti, adds, “The biggest high has been that the viewers kept coming back for more from September to December ’18 (season 1) and their comments showed how much they loved what they saw.”
When asked as to why they chose internet over broadcast, she says, “Well, the net offers us a great platform. One episode touched over 3 lac views within 48 hours. Which other platform can give you so much reach?”
Here Anu says that the success of her show is also a clear testament to the rising power of TV stars. “The celebs we chose were very honest and forthcoming, which a chat show always asks for. Also, since most TV actors have a long relationship with ITA, they don’t mind speaking their heart, for they know we will not sensationalize it. Our interesting themes give the viewer the required masala, albeit in an organic manner, without hurting anyone.”