Vasudha Fame Parichay Sharma On TRP Pause: Before The TRP Era, TV Survived

Without weekly numbers, there's a question of how anyone measures success. But Vasudha actor Parichay Sharma doesn't think that's a real problem.

He said, "How do you get to know that a web series has done well? It's the same. When something is a hit, whether it's a movie or a web series, people talk about it. They share the content on social media, and there is a lot of buzz around it. Then, of course, you get to know that your product is good, no matter what."

Television existed before TRPs, and he thinks it can thrive without them. He said, "Before the TRP era, TV survived. TV has a lot of potential. It's the highest-reaching medium. So just because of TRPs, we are not able to utilize better stories, stories that are slow burners."

He pointed to a show that proved the slow-burn model works. He said, "If you see Scam, it was one of those web series. Sony's reach was not that strong, nothing was there, but then it did very well. It was a slow burner. So if your product is good, of course, it will become the talk of the town."

This pause could change what kind of stories get made. He said, "I think it will encourage them to create more content-driven stories and more slow burners. What happens in TV is that there's always drama at its peak because of the TRP rat race. A little spicy food is required, but not in all four courses."

The bigger problem is who television has lost along the way. He said, "That's why the youth is getting far away from TV. TV is the biggest, highest-reaching medium, so it needs to change."

"It's time for TV to understand and realize that its audience is mostly 40+ now. Why can't we create content that a 20-year-old, a 40-year-old, and a 50-year-old can all enjoy?" Parichay ended.