#KetchupTalks: "We wanted to retain the same flavour of Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain but also elevate it "- Vihaan Kohli of Edit II

Content Head of Edit II, Vihaan Kohli talks to us about Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain - the film, changing the television ecosystem and the new creative direction the network hopes to explore!

Also Read: #TheAfterHour: "The film stands today because of Vijay Sethupathi and A.R. Rahman." - Director Kishor Pandurang Belekar on Gandhi Talks

Here’s what he had to say! 

From being a child actor to studying and working in the US, what prompted your transition back to India? Between working as an AD in Fighter and finally shifing to TV, when did you decide this shift was necessary?

When I was in LA everything I was doing was actually very far from real, on-ground filmmaking. I was either involved before the filmmaking process or much after it. For instance, I was an agent trainee for a while, learning how actors are managed. I was also reading scripts and understanding the development cycle at a company that produced films like 300, including several Gerard Butler films. Then I got one of the best opportunities of my life working at Fox. But that too was at a stage that comes much later in the filmmaking process- global marketing and distribution. I worked onJojo Rabbit and with some incredible filmmakers, but even that didn’t involve the actual making of the film. Over time, I started feeling a disconnect. For a very long time, I felt the need to come closer to what filmmaking truly is. I was missing that on-ground action of being on set, watching things unfold in real time. That’s when Fighter happened. I knew instantly that I had to take it up. It was a project of that scale, and I’m also a huge admirer of the armed forces, so being close to fighter jets and that world made it the perfect opportunity. Honestly, my journey until then was quite all over the place. I’d been an agent trainee, worked in development, handled distribution and marketing elsewhere, and at one point, I was even interviewing at Warner Bros to join production finance. Fighter really helped me understand filmmaking at the grassroots level. And after that, I finally felt I had the confidence to come back to Edit II and step into the role I’m in today because I now understand the entire cycle of filmmaking, from the first step to the last.

Is that understanding what led to Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain becoming a film as it is a long-running, popular show that loyal fans expect a lot from?

It was a collective decision taken by Zee and the company together. This is a show we’ve nurtured for over 11 years, we’ve poured our heart and soul into it and we felt it was time to take it to the next level and entertain audiences on a larger medium, especially around its 10th year when the film went on floors. What becomes really interesting here is the difference between making an original film and adapting an existing IP. When you make something original, everything is fresh - you’re not catering to any predefined expectations. But with an existing IP, audiences already know the flavour. They love that flavour and expect it but at the same time, they also expect something new. After all, the show comes into their homes very effortlessly, it’s on while they’re having dinner, without them needing to buy a ticket or step out. But when that added effort of going to a theatre comes in, something more has to be there to excite them. That’s where the balancing act came in while crafting the story. We were very clear that we wanted to retain the same flavour - the familiarity, the humour but also elevate it. So we added grander elements: a larger cast with actors like Ravi Kishan, Nirahua, Mukesh Tiwari and Vijendra Kala; shooting across Dehradun; and even in terms of treatment, introducing new aspects like a horror-comedy sequence towards the end. If you’ve seen the trailer, there’s a glimpse of that along with action sequences and car chases. In that sense, we’ve really upped the level at which we’re serving this IP on the big screen.

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This idea of keeping the core intact while introducing something new - is that something you’re consciously bringing to the table, especially since it has a huge legacy of long-running, extremely popular shows with beloved characters? How do you innovate while maintaining what’s central to the brand?

At Edit II, there isn’t a single individual whose ideology we strictly follow, it’s always a collective effort. Everyone contributes in their own way and adds value to the project. That said, in my role as Head of Content, the responsibility does ultimately rest with me. We’ve been very meticulous about truly understanding the needs of the content and, more importantly, the expectations of the audience. There’s nothing bigger than your fan base. They’ve given us the love, success, and everything we’ve achieved so far, so catering to them is essential. There’s also always a balance between the older generation of viewers and the newer generation, and we’re consciously working towards addressing both. Even in the film itself, because I was among the team members with the most experience in cinema, I took charge on the film front making sure all the technicians were A-grade, liaising with them, bringing everyone onto the same page, and planning meticulously. Planning a film is very different from planning a television show. A TV show usually operates on the same set in a controlled environment once it starts, but for the film, we were in a new location almost every single day. That required a lot of detailed planning from a production standpoint to ensure we could finish the shoot within a limited number of days. When it comes to our upcoming slate, we’re not moving away from comedy as that remains our core strength. But we are exploring deeper layers within it. The storytelling is evolving slightly to touch upon more emotional subjects as well. That doesn’t mean we dwell in drama; instead, we use comedy to disarm the audience. You’re laughing, laughing and suddenly, when you least expect it, there’s an emotional punch. You feel it for a few seconds, and then we move on smoothly and make you laugh again. That’s been a subtle but deliberate shift in the content we’re developing.

Given that you are planning a shift, would it be towards youth-centric sitcoms like Friends or The Big Bang Theory as it has been a long-standing complaint that while we have comedy on Indian TV there is still a gap? 

You’re absolutely right! Comedy as a genre has shrunk over the years in the entertainment space, and especially on OTT, where it makes up a very small percentage compared to dark, gritty crime shows. I genuinely feel the need for something lighter shows like Friends, where you can come home, put it on, and escape your world for a bit. There’s so much stress and unhappiness around us today that this kind of comfort viewing is really important. That said, we’re already actively in conversations with a few of the largest streamers. We’re moving into production on a sitcom with one of the biggest platforms, and discussions are ongoing with two others. I can’t reveal much about them as of yet but these projects are very much in the space you’re talking about - younger, fun, friendship-based comedies. So hopefully, very soon, you’ll get to see that gap being filled, and we’ll be able to fulfil that wish.

So then you don’t think OTT is really a threat to TV?

Not as much as it’s often assumed. OTT is simply another medium. I genuinely believe both television and OTT can coexist and grow together. As internet penetration increases, OTT’s share will naturally expand, and we’re already seeing OTT becoming more mass-oriented and, in many ways, closer to television in its sensibilities. If you look at this from a slightly philosophical or historical lens, especially the 100–150-year history of television in places like the US, there’s a clear cyclical pattern. You had individual stations, then stations became networks who evolved further and each time, television reinvented itself. Eventually, it returned as a newer iteration of the same fundamental idea. In that sense, both mediums can comfortably exist together. OTT allows space for genres, particularly certain kinds of drama that don’t always find room on television, which is still largely soap-opera-centric. That’s also why I’m glad we’re now seeing a push towards sitcoms, especially as second-screen viewing continues to grow and there’s a clear demand for lighter content. They will coexist, and eventually I feel it will evolve into what I like to call “TV on the internet.” People use different terms for it  - TV Plus, OTT Minus, but the idea remains the same. We’re already seeing this in the West. Initially, every channel was separate and required its own subscription. Then came cable bundling. After that, streamers emerged as individual platforms. And now, once again, streamers are being bundled, even with mobile plans where you get three or four platforms together. That’s essentially cable bundling all over again. So, it’s a cyclical process. TV keeps reinventing itself and returning as a new iteration of the same core idea, just delivered through different technology.

With your current position as HOC, what do you think about people always saying that Indian television is very regressive?

I don’t necessarily agree that Indian television is regressive. Our stories are a little more rooted, a little more middle India and yes, they are, because that’s the audience TV caters to. It’s a very massive medium. TV is the easiest medium that gets into every single person’s home, especially in the more rural areas of India. So definitely, the stories cater to them. For someone like you and me sitting in Mumbai, Delhi, or Hyderabad, they might feel a little alienated because we are in metropolitan cities. In the same way, on OTT, if you watch content from three or four years ago, it was so urban that it would feel alienating to someone from a smaller town.

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What would your ideology or plan be to bring innovation in this space, considering that it has to cater to that massiness as well?

If I speak about Bhabiji Ghar Par Hainas just a TV show - we’ve just started season two of it. For ten years, the show ran on one particular format that fans loved. Then we felt that it’s been a very long time and we need to innovate in this space, not necessarily out of necessity, but because we wanted to give our audience something new and fresher. We made a shift towards a more horror-comedy format and also introduced a little more linear storytelling. This was done to make sure that the stick-through rate improves, so that from episode one to episode two, there’s a small cliffhanger and viewers feel compelled to come back and watch the next episode.

On a personal level, what kind of creative culture or storytelling ethos do you want to bring?

First, I’ll speak about what already exists at the company, because it’s been there far longer than I have. There’s a very beautiful culture of collaboration and sticking together as a family rather than just a team. Most of the people who started with my parents are still with us - people have been with us for 30 years and counting, which is incredible. There’s a strong culture of respecting people, no matter what their role is, always being there for your technicians, your cast, your crew. On a personal level, it’s not some big corporate setup where you can’t get hold of the people responsible. Even a light boy or a spot boy will have one of our numbers, so that if there’s ever a problem, we are very much there for them. I think that ease of mind allows people to work comfortably, and that comfort allows us to have that comedy, those laughs, and that warmth on set. What I would personally like to bring to the company is a more varied set of creators. I’ve been meeting directors from the South, from Punjabi cinema, and from various parts of India. The ethos I want to bring is simply that no matter what language you speak, where you’re from, or what you do - if you have the talent, we are ready to meet you there and enable that talent to shine in front of the entire world.

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Something like a space for multidisciplinary artists, you mean? 

Yes, multidisciplinary or hybrid. And interestingly, it exists very strongly in the South. For some reason, it hasn’t been encouraged as much in the Hindi market. If you look at Tamil cinema, for instance, Pradeep Ranganathan, who made Love Today, he was the writer, director, lead actor, and lyricist of the film. He made it on a budget of around five crores, and it went on to do nearly 100 crores in business. It was later remade as Loveyapa as well. He was a creator in every sense of the word as he wrote the entire film, directed it, acted in it, and even wrote the lyrics. Before that, he had made a short, a five-minute YouTube film based on the concept ofLove Today. So that kind of creator-driven, multidisciplinary culture is something I really admire.

Are micro-dramas also going to be on the horizon?

There was a time when we explored it very heavily. We had a lot of people on board, a very stellar team of investors and people to execute it. But what our feasibility study showed us, at least for Edit II, was that it wasn’t making financial sense. There was too much cash to be burned and the runway to profitability was far too long. So at the moment, those plans are on hold. Our premium content slate is seeing a lot of growth, and for now, the focus remains firmly on that. Having said that, I would love to collaborate with creators. I mean, even if you look at the success story of someone like Bhuvan Bam, I would have loved to collaborate with him. We still chat from time to time, and we’re still exploring how we can work together in the future.

Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain - the film, will be running in theatres from February 6, 2026.

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