She has often come under criticism from several quarters for presenting a regressive image of women through her television serials like 'Des Main Nikla Hoga Chand', 'Mehndi Tere Naam Ki' and 'Rabba Ishq Na Hove'.

Under fire in media circles for making shows on the tried and tested formulae in her productions rather than dabbling with fresh ideas, Bollywood actor-turned-TV producer Aruna Irani says she is content with 'toeing the beaten path' when it comes to choosing subjects for her TV serials.

''I believe that notwithstanding a lot of so called 'hatke' shows on television today, it is only shows with the tried and tested themes that manage to rake in the TRPs,'' Irani said.

Talking to press in an interview during a recent visit to the Capital to promote her latest serial on Zee TV, Irani said, ''while I agree that change is the need of the hour, recent trends reveal that attempts to make that 'something different' on television have not found many takers among the audience.

Taking my own example with my previous serial 'Vaidehi', I tried to do something different. Unfortunately, the serial failed to enthuse TV audiences and suffered low TRPs. The failure of 'Vaidehi' made me realise that in today's television scenario, a 'hatke' serial may win you praise from critics but it does not command viewership.

Infact, a look at various shows running on various channels shows that only programmes following the tried and tested formula are doing well,'' she said.

Irani, who in the past, has given hit serials like 'Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand', 'Mehndi Tere Naam Ki' and 'Rabba Ishq Na Hove', said for her, it was more important to be a known producer with successful shows behind her rather than a non-entity with unsuccessful shows to her credit.

''In the ultimate analysis, it is the success of your show that matters. In this industry, a producer is known by his or her last successful film or TV serial,'', she said.