MUMBAI: Leading regional language channel Asianet is forging ahead on the back of a new horror serial Kadamuttathu Kathanar (KK) which has turned out to be Malayalam television's top grosser in ad revenues.

"Top programme ratings is all about how successfully you come up with variety programmes that appeal to the audience," says Asianet vice president (programmes) Sreekantan Nair.

"The audience needs variety and KK's success underlines that fact. You can't always dish out the same kind of stuff just because initially they worked well with the audience."

Kadamuttathu Kathanar was a priest who fought evils with his mystical powers, as per Kerala's folklore. The story line is woven around elements of folk culture that has facts and fiction. The serial quickly jumps from one story to another quite dramatically as a chain of events unfold along with the development of the plot. This style of narration, which comes from the original literature, has provided the much-needed curiosity factor and it is working wonders on TV.

Talking to Indiantelevision.com, Nair ruled out the chances of Asianet coming up with more horror serials inspired by the present success. "You can't take the audience for granted. They always look for innovative programmes. There should be something new to offer. We might think of another one after KK."

Asianet launched a serial Avicharitam last week, marking the advent of fixed-duration serials in Indian television. The daily series will run for exactly 11 weeks.Nair expressed his amazement at the manner kids have accepted KK. According to him, KK is not a pure horror serial. "It has got all the elements to woo the kids. There were no deliberate efforts to target the kids, initially. But the content aided with special effects and graphics seem to have worked well with the kids."

Talking about Asianet's other prime time serials, Nair claimed that all of them were doing very well. He attributed the quality of Asianet's prime time serials to the talents working behind them.

"All the prime time serials currently aired in Asianet are being directed by well-known directors who are big names in Malayalam film and television industry," offered Nair.

Nair revealed that Asianet would be launching a new serial in the coming weeks.