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When you download a <keyword id="23309105" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="women-only-app" source="keywords">women-only app</keyword>, 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 <keyword id="23309110" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tarun-Katial" source="keywords">Tarun Katial</keyword>, 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, <keyword id="20458721" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kyunki-saas-bhi" source="keywords">Kyunki Saas Bhi</keyword> Kabhi Bahu Thi and <keyword id="1679765" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jassi-Jaissi-Koi-Nahi" source="Orion">Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi</keyword>. 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. <h2><keyword id="19903931" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="KBC" source="keywords">KBC</keyword> to Big Boss</h2>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 <keyword id="19981325" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-television" source="keywords">Indian television</keyword> 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? <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113064627" title="Amitabh Bachchan almost didn’t host Kaun Banega Crorepati! So how did the show’s makers convince Big B?" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>A master at understanding his audience </h2>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. <h2>The audience that matters most </h2>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. <h2>Tarun’s pivot to tech </h2>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. He began pursuing a degree in <keyword id="19986189" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-transformation" source="keywords">Digital Transformation</keyword> 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. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113604147" title="AI is learning to be &amp;#39;emotionally intelligent&amp;#39; — here&amp;#39;s why that matters" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>A safe space </h2><keyword id="20239707" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Coto" source="keywords">Coto</keyword> (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 <keyword id="20960365" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="female-empowerment" source="keywords">female empowerment</keyword> while maintaining a strict no-advertising policy. 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.

Media executive behind iconic TV shows like KBC and “Kyunki Saas…” goes on to build a women-only app! Here’s why

New Delhi, "Mona, let's make Bulbul extraordinary". These were director-creator Zoya Akhtar's words to <keyword id="2226" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mona-singh" source="Orion">Mona Singh</keyword> before they began shooting for "<keyword id="5690475" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Made-in-Heaven" source="Orion">Made in Heaven</keyword> 2" and the role of the "gutsy feminist and a strong mother" became just that, says the actor. Bulbul Johari, a no-nonsense accountant tasked with managing a flailing wedding planning agency, is married to an inscrutable businessman played by <keyword id="31515" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vijay-raaz" source="Orion">Vijay Raaz</keyword>. Through the seven episodes of the second season of "Made in Heaven", Bulbul goes from being viewed as loud and brash to a woman who is deeply empathetic and fearless. "All I had to do was to internalise the script and make Bulbul extraordinary. And that's what Zoya also told me, 'Mona, let's us make Bulbul extraordinary'. I can never forget it. I am so glad that Bulbul stood out... It was truly made in heaven for me," Mona told PTI in an interview. The series, co-created by Akhtar and Reema Kagti, debuted earlier this month on Prime Video. The actor, still remembered for her portrayal of Jassi in the popular television series "<keyword id="3860" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jassi-jaisi-koi-nahi" source="Orion">Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi</keyword>", said she had an inkling Bulbul would stand out because she was written beautifully. Mona said she was offered the role during the 2021 lockdown when she was in Goa and was instantly "blown away" by what she read in the script. "I am a big fan of season one. When you see such shows, as an actor, you always wish, 'why am I not there?' I knew this character was going to stand out. She is a shrewd businesswoman, gutsy... a feminist and a strong mother. It is a dream role for any actor," Mona said. Bulbul is an onion peel of a character, whose layers keep coming off as the series progresses. What stands out the most in the series is her equation with her husband, Mr Johari. A scene showing the husband and wife, who faced abuse in her previous marriage, complimenting each other randomly seems to have also won the internet's heart with fans sharing the clip and commenting on the respect the couple have in their marriage. Mona recalled in detail how that came about. "The scene about the video call with Vijay Raaz, where he says, 'Suno, sunder to bahut Lag rahi ho', was shot in France. Zoya was shooting and she asked me, 'What is it that you want to do?' I said, 'Shall I just give him a flying kiss?' She is like, 'Haan haan kar de, kar de'. I was just being Bulbul," she said. The actor, also known for her role in "3 Idiots'' and "Laal Singh Chaddha", said the love pouring in for the Joharis is also a learning about how equality in marriage matters. "Women are often suppressed. They are often told what to do, what not to do and they are not even included in decision making and here is a man who is giving full power to Bulbul, giving her wings to fly. He is such a great character and I think every man should learn something from Mr johari," she said. As someone who has been a part of the industry for two decades, Mona said her desire to try out "new things" is undiminished and streaming platforms have opened the world for actors like her in a big way. The actor said she had a dream launch with her debut "Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi", a Sony Entertainment show that ran from 2003 to 2006 and was an instant hit. The show, the Indian version of Colombian drama "Yo soy Betty, la fea", also featured Apurva Agnihotri, Rakshanda Khan, Parmeet Sethi and Gaurav Gera. Bulbul's popularity is somewhat similar to what Mona experienced with Jassi. The actor, the daughter of an Army officer, said she can only see a "spectacular journey" when she looks back. "It has been 20 years, I started working in 2003. My parents told me, 'You will move to Mumbai when you get something concrete'. I used to travel from Pune to Mumbai to audition everyday in a local bus and wait for calls. Then Jassi happened, overnight stardom... I got that right dream launch at that time'," she said. Has the popularity of Bulbul translated into more offers? The actor said it is too soon to gauge the impact but the response from fellow colleagues and filmmakers has been encouraging. "There are so many stories to explore, so many stories to tell. It is the best time for actors and women like me because now you are not asked to just fill in the gaps, you are cast for a solid role. A woman can be grey, she can be positive, she can be anything. I'm so glad that all the shades are coming out on OTT," she said.

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Media executive behind iconic TV shows like KBC and “Kyunki Saas…” goes on to build a women-only app! Here’s why

Ashmita Gupta

Truly made in heaven for me: Mona Singh on standout role as Bulbul

PTI

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