Indian 'Game of Thrones' is set to premiere on April 11. The 17th season of India's biggest competition - Lok Sabha elections - will be held in seven phases. Interestingly, the elections of world's largest democracy are starting just three days ahead of the much-awaited final season of HBO's mega-drama Game of Thrones, which premiers on April 14.
Here are some interesting similarities between HBO's GoT and Indian game of thrones:
Timing: As mentioned, Lok Sabha elections will be held from April 11 and GoT will go on air from April 14. The two epic dramas are sure to fight for your attention throughout the two-month span.
Phases/episodes: Both games (of thrones) start in the second week of April and end on May 19. Elections will be held in seven phases and GoT has six episodes. The dates for Lok Sabha phases will be April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. Whereas GoT episodes will air on April 14, April 21, April 28, May 5, May 12 and May 19.
Scale: Election Commission says Lok Sabha elections 2019 will have an electoral of 900 million people and are sure to captivate attention of at least 1.3 billion Indians, if not the world. While, HBOs GoT, being a global phenomenon is sure to garner audiences to the tune of 300 million (total views) - at least as much as the last season, not counting the pirated downloads of the episodes.
Budget: In terms of expense, the Indian elections will be multiple times the HBO's expensive drama. According to an estimate published in the Financial Express, Lok Sabha elections 2019 will cost Rs 5,000 crore. It is the figure political parties will report to the Election Commission, "but if we include the cost of rallies, transportation, handouts, etc, the real number will be closer to Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000 crore,”an expert told the paper. Tiny in comparison, but massive in terms of TV numbers, GoT's Season 8 has been made with a budget of approximately $90 million, which is roughly Rs 629.35 crore. Compare it with the budget of Bigg Boss Season 9 budget - Rs 100 crores.
Grand Finale: HBO's Game of Thrones is heading for the final showdown between seven kingdoms as well as White Walkers. In India, many political pundits have predicted that these elections will speak volumes about the future of regional parties as well as BJP and Congress. Because if BJP wins, it can hope to remain in power for a long time, reducing Congress and regional parties to a very small region. But if BJP fails to score high and re-establish itself, the throne in Delhi would be open for all. Thus, in some ways it is a do or die battle for all parties involved in Indian polls.
Which one are you more excited for?
