TV, STAR Plus and Sony TV started focusing on their prime time slots, DD National was still stacked with its role and responsibilities, as at the time it was the only source of news on TV. To provide more entertainment, DD National opened an afternoon slot for housewives, with the telecast of Shanti. To support the success of Shanti, many other shows like Swabhimaan, Farz, and Yug were introduced and all of them were praised. In 1997, Prasar Bharati, the parent body of Doordarshan, was formed. While private channels like Zee TV, STAR Plus and Sony TV started airing high budget TV serials from top production houses, DD National was still doing the best in afternoon slots with Kasam, Itihaas, Agni, Aprajita, Aurat, Ardhangini, Sanjog, Deewar, Aane Wala Pal, Waqt Ki Raftaar and other programs. There were a few notable programs like India's Most Wanted, Gul Sanobar, Surabhi, Noorjahan, Om namah Shivay, Jai Ganga Maiya, and Suraag in prime time, but those were not enough to give competition to private channels. In the late 1997, DD National started airing Mukesh Khanna's Shaktimaan, which was the blockbuster TV serial in Indian history. In 2000, after tasting success with India's Most Wanted, Jasoos Vijay and Suraag in prime time, Prasar Bharati decided to revamp both channels, and many new serials were introduced on DD National, but very few of them were successful because of a limited prime time slots of 9 to 10:30, compared to 8 to 11 for other channels. New channels like Sahara TV and SAB TV were also performing better than DD channels in prime time. In 2002, DD offered its time slots to popular filmmakers and got some popular shows of the time. Ramanand Sagar's Aankhen, BR Chopra's Aap Beeti, Adhikaari Brothers CID Officer, Kiran Bedi's Galti Kiski, and Time's Dishayen were telecast on the channels and prized by viewers. In 2003, when DD Metro Channel was converted into DD News, Prasar Bharati focused on its DD national channels, and shows like Meher, Miss India, Shikwah, Kayamat, Kaanch, and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani were introduced. Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani achieved unprecedented ratings and became DD National's biggest blockbuster during this period. In 2005, Hawayein starring Ravi Kishan and Malini Kapoor became one of the most popular shows and also won a title of Best TV Serial of the Year at the ITA Awards. In this period,