Kingdom of the Soap Queen

With the entry of cable television in 1992, the television industry in India was poised for a gigantic leap. All that it needed was a fairy godmother to wave the magic wand. And it found one in Ekta Kapoor and Balaji Telefilms. Kingdom of the Soap Queen is the enchanting narrative of Balaji Telefilms. It is the story of how a laid-back seventeen-year-old became one of the most powerful women in global media, how a project kicked off by a teenager in her father’s garage turned into the biggest entertainment provider across India. And like every fairy tale, this too has its share of magic, curses, spells, potions, and pixie dust. With insights from over a hundred television celebrities, Kovid Gupta – who has written for popular television shows Balika Vadhu, Bade Acche Lagte Hain and Chhan Chhan – chronicles the larger-than-life narrative right from the christening of the company in 1994 all the way to its transformation into the most influential production house of 2013. He not only depicts the initial struggles of the media house, but also explores every aspect of its growth – the creation of the iconic Tulsi and Parvati, its K-fixation, how it changed the very demographic of TV viewers in the country, the social impact of its daily soaps, the charges of being regressive that it has consistently battled, and the company’s very successful and high-profile foray into cinema.This is the fascinating behind-the-scenes story of the 15,000 hours of television software that have made India laugh and cry for fifteen years.