MUMBAI:  Music channel, Sony MIX has started the concept of ‘Wow Weekends’, which is an introduction to a couple of programs- ‘Jam Room (Season 2)’ and ‘Baaton Baaton Mein’. Aparshakti Khurana, who will be the face of ‘Wow Weekends’, will chip in with vox pops, anecdotes and various other aspects of the music industry. While ‘Baaton Baaton Mein’ will be hosted by RJ Anmol, who will talk about the unheard stories of artists and films, the second season of 'Jam Room’ will dish out melodies from the yesteryears in a whole new avatar, with the voice of the present generation crooning tracks.

Sony MAX, Sony MAX 2 and Sony MIX, Sr. EVP and Business Head, Neeraj Vyas in his interview speaks about the new programmes, and the channel’s musical offerings to its audience.

Tells us more about the concept of ‘Wow Weekends’

Just like the weekend is very different from a regular weekday, so is the mindset of people. It is a time when people tend to be more relaxed as compared to any other day. Hence, we have proposed to make our content more musical, which would be an assortment of melody and entertainment. We have also brought back the concept of VJs in the form of Aparshakti Khurana, who is an actor and composer, and is musical in his own way. He will be the “sutrdhar” or narrator, of ‘Wow Weekends’. For ‘Baaton Baaton Mein’ we might have artistes like Sharmila Tagore, Kumar Sanu and Abhijeet, who will come on the show and talk about their musical journeys and favourites of the yesteryear.

How many episodes will ‘Baaton Baation Mein’ have, and how do you select artists who will be interviewed?

We are going to start with 13 episodes and then in the middle of the season, we will see how it works out and what the responses from the people are. Artists with a good body of work will appear on the show regardless of the genre they have sung. If they have a body of work, they will obviously have a lot to share.

How will ‘Jam Room’ be different as compared to the last season?

We have added more colours, new designs and new sets. It is going to better than the last season. When it comes to choosing singers, since we have been in the music scene for a long time, we know about artists and their voice quality, genres they could do well in, and their ability to deliver.

With ‘Kuch Baatein Kuch Yaadein’, hosted by Anu Kapoor, Sony Mix has ventured into long formats of programming. How has response been?

The response was phenomenal. We intend to bring the program again by the end of this year. We were very clear that we did not want do endless programmes which did not allow us to deliver fresh content. Instead, we decided to bring back ‘Kuch Baatein Kuch Yaadein’, adding different elements to it or may just leave it as it is.

What is happening with ‘Music Room’ with Javed Ali’?

Currently our focus is the two programmes for ‘Wow Weekends’. We might add newer elements to ‘Music Room’ and bring Javed in a different avatar. But nothing has been decided yet, so we will see what happens.

Do you have any other programmes that you are currently working on?

Right now we have our hands full. But as I said earlier, ‘Kuch Baatein Kuch Yaadein’ will come in by the end of this year. We will make sure that whatever we do, we retain the shows, but not duplicate what has already been done.

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