MUMBAI: English movie channel Sony Pix launched its first television reality show Gateway.

Produced by Face Entertainment, Gateway is a search for the best inexperienced filmmaker. Of the 18 contestants in the game, the best talent will get to make a decent budgeted film produced by Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment.
 
About their first stint with a reality show, Sony Pix business head Sunder Aaron says, “We were waiting for an untouched concept that could benefit our channel. Since Sony Pix is a niche English movies channel, we didn’t want to fall in the same slot as the other English channels.”
 
Since Sony Pix has a different viewership pattern as compared to general entertainment channels, they did work on the marketing strategies that will draw eyeballs. “The budgets have not been big like Sony’s Indian Idol, but yes they have been decent initial crores. The thought of viewers’ television viewing pattern did cross our mind, but we wanted to start off something on Pix. So, here we are,” states Aaron.
 
Of the four directors of Face Entertainment, model-turned-producer Milind Soman and Hindi film-director Parvati Balgopalan are both thrilled about this show. Balgopalan says, “We are really looking forward to the upcoming episodes. The talent is great and they have great opportunities.”
 
The 12-episode series shot at Subhash Ghai’s institution Whistling Woods first airs on 24 February at 10 pm.