Saeed Akhtar: Innovative Storyteller Leading The Next Generation Of Content Creators
Saeed Akhtar
Founder & Director
Today, Production houses are facing challenges regarding good ideas to portray in front of the audience and the dearth of a good story line is always there in the industry. In order to overcome this challenge, Idearack came up with ideas dedicated to creating innovative content that works across TV, OTT, Films, and Animation. Saeed Akhtar an exceptional storyteller, created clutter breaking shows like Tara from Satara for Sony TV, web series like Runaway Lugaai for MX Player, and some of the most renowned Kids' Animation shows for Sony Yay.
Saeed Akhtar began his journey in media after he started pursuing his MA in Mass Communication from AJK-MCRC. He has worked with Moving Pictures Company (MPC) in Delhi as an Associate Producer and anchored for their flagship breakfast show: 'Subah Savere'. He started his first Production Company in 2003 called Trackone Productions, wherein he produced and directed a lot of fashion content. Saeed Akhtar has played an instrumental role in the Success story of the SONY SAB channel as the Channel grew almost 500 percent in ratings with shows like Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmaah, Lapataganj, RK Laxman ki Duniya, Gutur Gu-a silent comedy and many more.
His Production House IDEARACK started in 2016 where Saeed did some exciting work in the space of Animation as he created popular shows like Guru Bhole, Sab Jholmaal Hai, Kicko aur Speedo, and Taarak Mehta ka Chota Chashmaah for Sony Yay kids channel.
Saeed Akhtar engages in an exclusive interaction with the CEO Insights Magazine.
Define Idearack Private Limited as
an organization and its current position in the industry. Describe the pre-production, production, and post-production phases involved in the creation of a show.
Idearack is a new-age Production House creating innovative and differentiated content that works across TV, OTT, Films, and Animation. At Idearack, we believe in nurturing ground-breaking ideas and transforming them into awe-inspiring stories that blur the boundaries between entertainment and brand communications
We also take pride in being one of the most versatile production houses in the country where we have delivered path-breaking stories across Genres.
With respect to the second part of your question, We at Idearack spend a lot of time working on our content slate. Once we get our ideas in place, the writing process begins and we spend a lot of time detailing each character, plot, and script. We pay a lot of attention in our pre-production phase so that we are able to excel while we move into Production and enhance the quality of the product at every level. At the post-production level, We pay a lot of attention to our sound design, music and packaging of our episode as we want to give the best Cinematic experience to our audiences.
How, in your opinion, have the preferences of the Indian audience altered over time? Moreover, how have OTT platforms impacted television shows?
I believe that Indian audiences have rapidly evolved over time and one of the biggest catalysts for that has been technology. The taste of audiences has changed and their viewing experiences have become very individualistic.
As far as the impact of OTT on Television viewing is concerned, Low-cost Data plans and higher adoption of smartphones have accelerated the growth of Data consumption of OTT. I feel TV content needs to be more contemporary and insight-based exploring new formats and ideas for it to engage its audience better otherwise we do see a shift of audiences from TV to OTT.
What has been the success mantra that constantly helps you arrive at positive outcomes?
As someone rightly said: “Good Content is not just about storytelling
Idearack is a new-age Production House creating innovative and differentiated content that works across TV, OTT, Films, and Animation. At Idearack, we believe in nurturing ground-breaking ideas and transforming them into awe-inspiring stories that blur the boundaries between entertainment and brand communications
Nothing Can Beat Originality
We also take pride in being one of the most versatile production houses in the country where we have delivered path-breaking stories across Genres.
With respect to the second part of your question, We at Idearack spend a lot of time working on our content slate. Once we get our ideas in place, the writing process begins and we spend a lot of time detailing each character, plot, and script. We pay a lot of attention in our pre-production phase so that we are able to excel while we move into Production and enhance the quality of the product at every level. At the post-production level, We pay a lot of attention to our sound design, music and packaging of our episode as we want to give the best Cinematic experience to our audiences.
How, in your opinion, have the preferences of the Indian audience altered over time? Moreover, how have OTT platforms impacted television shows?
I believe that Indian audiences have rapidly evolved over time and one of the biggest catalysts for that has been technology. The taste of audiences has changed and their viewing experiences have become very individualistic.
As far as the impact of OTT on Television viewing is concerned, Low-cost Data plans and higher adoption of smartphones have accelerated the growth of Data consumption of OTT. I feel TV content needs to be more contemporary and insight-based exploring new formats and ideas for it to engage its audience better otherwise we do see a shift of audiences from TV to OTT.
What has been the success mantra that constantly helps you arrive at positive outcomes?
As someone rightly said: “Good Content is not just about storytelling
but telling your story well".
At Idearack, we work hard not just to bring fresh ideas to life, but also to bring details in our crafting to engage and entertain our viewers. We keep ourselves aware of new trends and happenings across the world to stay relevant and contemporary in our approach. At the end of the day we feel, that a good story told with high-quality productions will always stand its ground, irrespective of any platforms it is featured on.
Tell us about the award-winning shows that IdeaRack has presented. In addition, what techniques have you established as the Director to enhance the TRP of the series and sustain its viewership?
We are very proud of our first television show, Tara from Satara, which was hugely recognized, appreciated, and awarded. The thought behind Tara From Satara was to introduce a new genre in Indian television space called Dramality, where there was an emotional father-daughter relationship story which was the heart of the show.We simultaneously created a proper non-fiction reality show in the story through which the story of the protagonist was told. The show was very carefully designed keeping the key markets of the channel in mind, which include Maharashtra, MP, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Delhi. It had a diverse collage of actors and talent coming from different parts of the country representing each of these regions which made the show have a universal appeal. A blend of high emotional drama and spectacular dance reality performances was something which made the offering Unique and that worked with the audiences and kept the TRPs coming in.
What advice would you give to the upcoming leaders in the media and entertainment domain?
As Martin Scorsese rightly said: “Films have the power to capture dreams”.
I believe creativity should be driven by passion and a clear vision to create a unique experience for its audience. Content will always be king, so it is important to spend time crafting your ideas and shaping them into beautiful storylines. I also feel, what is most important is to find your own voice as a creator, to find your own expression as a creator. I think nothing can beat originality, if you are original in your thought process, and in your craft, it will always resonate with your audiences and you will be able to create products with merit.
At Idearack, we work hard not just to bring fresh ideas to life, but also to bring details in our crafting to engage and entertain our viewers. We keep ourselves aware of new trends and happenings across the world to stay relevant and contemporary in our approach. At the end of the day we feel, that a good story told with high-quality productions will always stand its ground, irrespective of any platforms it is featured on.
Tell us about the award-winning shows that IdeaRack has presented. In addition, what techniques have you established as the Director to enhance the TRP of the series and sustain its viewership?
We are very proud of our first television show, Tara from Satara, which was hugely recognized, appreciated, and awarded. The thought behind Tara From Satara was to introduce a new genre in Indian television space called Dramality, where there was an emotional father-daughter relationship story which was the heart of the show.We simultaneously created a proper non-fiction reality show in the story through which the story of the protagonist was told. The show was very carefully designed keeping the key markets of the channel in mind, which include Maharashtra, MP, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Delhi. It had a diverse collage of actors and talent coming from different parts of the country representing each of these regions which made the show have a universal appeal. A blend of high emotional drama and spectacular dance reality performances was something which made the offering Unique and that worked with the audiences and kept the TRPs coming in.
What advice would you give to the upcoming leaders in the media and entertainment domain?
As Martin Scorsese rightly said: “Films have the power to capture dreams”.
I believe creativity should be driven by passion and a clear vision to create a unique experience for its audience. Content will always be king, so it is important to spend time crafting your ideas and shaping them into beautiful storylines. I also feel, what is most important is to find your own voice as a creator, to find your own expression as a creator. I think nothing can beat originality, if you are original in your thought process, and in your craft, it will always resonate with your audiences and you will be able to create products with merit.