Media executive behind iconic TV shows like KBC and “Kyunki Saas…” goes on to build a women-only app! Here’s why
Sep 25, 2024, 15:48 IST
When you download a women-only app, you’re probably not expecting said app to be helmed by a man. This is why when I first learned of coto, a women-only community building and consultation app, I couldn’t help but feel uncertain of one of the app’s founders being a man. But I persevered.
As I looked into Tarun Katial, one of the founders, it slowly dawned on me that he once led several beloved television shows I’d grown up watching — I’m talking Kaun Banega Crorepati, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi. Did I freak out? Yes. Did this make me feel the slightest bit better about him founding a women-only app? Guilty. However, I decided to put my personal biases aside, meet him and hear from him what he had to say about his decision to be a part of the app.
After a brief stint in advertising, Tarun directly went to work in television — on a show like KBC and under an TV aficionado like Sameer Nair, no less. He led Star Network and Sony’s content teams in various capacities in the late 90s and early 2000s — a golden era of Indian television if there ever was one. From helping Big B himself rehearse his lines ahead of the iconic show to helping bring like Bigg Boss to the country, Tarun did it all. And this is probably where his romance with Indian television took root.
So, how did he master the skill of targeting the right pulse of his viewers?
A master at understanding his audience
When asked if TRP was the main metric television producers use to weigh the success of a show, Tarun shook his head, smiling enigmatically. “The people will tell you before any other metric,” he said.
Elaborating on this, he fondly recalled the days when KBC had just begun. He spoke of how he would hear the now-familiar introductory music of the show drifting from the apartments in his building as he would go down the stairs while leaving for the studio at 9 PM everyday.
“Things like that tell you what you need to know,” he added. And I fully believe him.
His work under Sameer Nair was hardly the only noteworthy thing he did during his television career. Throughout his tenure at Starplus and Sony, Tarun experimented with various show formats. He brought in several shows from the West to India and worked on tweaking them to fit the Indian audience’s rather picky palate. He brought other super-hit reality shows like Indian Idol and Fear Factor to our screens— with some of these shows running to date.
What he’d said about mapping consumer trends years ago holds true today as well: Tarun Katial ultimately draws motivation from his consumers.
The audience that matters most
Tarun’s experience with reality TV was all well and good. But what was truly juicy was the amount of time he’d spent making women-oriented shows.
As mentioned before, he was behind the legendary serial Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. “KBC and Kyunki both aired the same year. That serial gave us one of the most prominent female politicians of the country,” he said, referring to Smriti Irani. “And I also met my wife on the sets of that show,” he grinned sheepishly.
After that, he went on to contribute to Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi — which launched television superstar Mona Singh. And after he’s spent years steering content that connected with Indian women and gave a platform to the quintessential badass female lead, we will take the risk of labelling him a feminist.
Later, as CEO of Big FM, Reliance Broadcast Network and ZEE5, Katial expanded into radio and digital streaming, keeping pace with the changing media landscape over the years. Even here, he seemed particularly inclined to bring shows with nationalistic and feminist angles to the platforms.
Tarun’s pivot to tech
Tarun seems to enjoy disruption (his words, not mine) when it comes to his career choices. He describes himself as a ‘Zero to One’ guy, a term used by legendary investor Peter Thiel for the act of creating a product or service that didn't exist before. Tarun claims to prefer flitting from one project to another. And it was his time with ZEE5 that culminated in an affair with the world of tech.
Around the time of his studies coming to an end, his wife experienced online harassment. To Tarun, the natural trajectory was to come up with a solution. And the solution in this case was to create a safe and inclusive space for women to be themselves: coto.
A safe space
Coto (short for Come Together) was designed as a judgement-free platform where women could connect, share and support each other. Leveraging blockchain technology, it also allows users to monetise their contributions through coto Gains, a digital currency within the app.
Scrolling through the app and showing me its various features, Tarun showed how many women had managed to monetise their areas of expertise. “Financial independence is extremely important for women today and we wanted to make sure that coto allowed them the opportunity to attain this,” he said.
With more than 10,000 communities focused on topics such as health, wellness, and financial independence, coto claims to foster female empowerment while maintaining a strict no-advertising policy.
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As I looked into Tarun Katial, one of the founders, it slowly dawned on me that he once led several beloved television shows I’d grown up watching — I’m talking Kaun Banega Crorepati, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi. Did I freak out? Yes. Did this make me feel the slightest bit better about him founding a women-only app? Guilty. However, I decided to put my personal biases aside, meet him and hear from him what he had to say about his decision to be a part of the app.
KBC to Big Boss
To call Tarun a chill and laid-back person would be the understatement of the century. I felt immediately at ease in his presence. Most of all, he seemed open to talking about anything under the sky. While I was curious about his startup journey, we decided to start at the very beginning of his career — cause how does a certified media guy go from television and radio to a cause-based app?After a brief stint in advertising, Tarun directly went to work in television — on a show like KBC and under an TV aficionado like Sameer Nair, no less. He led Star Network and Sony’s content teams in various capacities in the late 90s and early 2000s — a golden era of Indian television if there ever was one. From helping Big B himself rehearse his lines ahead of the iconic show to helping bring like Bigg Boss to the country, Tarun did it all. And this is probably where his romance with Indian television took root.
So, how did he master the skill of targeting the right pulse of his viewers?
Advertisement
A master at understanding his audience
When asked if TRP was the main metric television producers use to weigh the success of a show, Tarun shook his head, smiling enigmatically. “The people will tell you before any other metric,” he said.Elaborating on this, he fondly recalled the days when KBC had just begun. He spoke of how he would hear the now-familiar introductory music of the show drifting from the apartments in his building as he would go down the stairs while leaving for the studio at 9 PM everyday.
“Things like that tell you what you need to know,” he added. And I fully believe him.
His work under Sameer Nair was hardly the only noteworthy thing he did during his television career. Throughout his tenure at Starplus and Sony, Tarun experimented with various show formats. He brought in several shows from the West to India and worked on tweaking them to fit the Indian audience’s rather picky palate. He brought other super-hit reality shows like Indian Idol and Fear Factor to our screens— with some of these shows running to date.
What he’d said about mapping consumer trends years ago holds true today as well: Tarun Katial ultimately draws motivation from his consumers.
Advertisement
The audience that matters most
Tarun’s experience with reality TV was all well and good. But what was truly juicy was the amount of time he’d spent making women-oriented shows.As mentioned before, he was behind the legendary serial Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. “KBC and Kyunki both aired the same year. That serial gave us one of the most prominent female politicians of the country,” he said, referring to Smriti Irani. “And I also met my wife on the sets of that show,” he grinned sheepishly.
After that, he went on to contribute to Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi — which launched television superstar Mona Singh. And after he’s spent years steering content that connected with Indian women and gave a platform to the quintessential badass female lead, we will take the risk of labelling him a feminist.
Later, as CEO of Big FM, Reliance Broadcast Network and ZEE5, Katial expanded into radio and digital streaming, keeping pace with the changing media landscape over the years. Even here, he seemed particularly inclined to bring shows with nationalistic and feminist angles to the platforms.
Tarun’s pivot to tech
Tarun seems to enjoy disruption (his words, not mine) when it comes to his career choices. He describes himself as a ‘Zero to One’ guy, a term used by legendary investor Peter Thiel for the act of creating a product or service that didn't exist before. Tarun claims to prefer flitting from one project to another. And it was his time with ZEE5 that culminated in an affair with the world of tech.Advertisement
He began pursuing a degree in Digital Transformation at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, where he got to see the potential of AI — something he went on to capitalise on. Around the time of his studies coming to an end, his wife experienced online harassment. To Tarun, the natural trajectory was to come up with a solution. And the solution in this case was to create a safe and inclusive space for women to be themselves: coto.
A safe space
Coto (short for Come Together) was designed as a judgement-free platform where women could connect, share and support each other. Leveraging blockchain technology, it also allows users to monetise their contributions through coto Gains, a digital currency within the app. Scrolling through the app and showing me its various features, Tarun showed how many women had managed to monetise their areas of expertise. “Financial independence is extremely important for women today and we wanted to make sure that coto allowed them the opportunity to attain this,” he said.
With more than 10,000 communities focused on topics such as health, wellness, and financial independence, coto claims to foster female empowerment while maintaining a strict no-advertising policy.
Advertisement
What I gathered from the interaction was that Katial’s pivot to tech wasn't just about launching another app; it was about addressing real societal needs he had observed throughout his life’s experiences. By blending his media savvy with the transformative potential of digital technology, Katial (along with the other founders) is offering women a platform for self-expression, support and community building.