Siddhartha Basu and his team from Big Synergy collaborate with Hindi entertainment channel — &TV — to come up with a game show that is for the aam aadmi in the real sense. Here, the contestant who could end up winning `1 crore as prize money will be a common man and be asked street-smart queries. Add Shah Rukh Khan as the shaana host and you have India Poochhega... Sabse Shaana KaunIJ at 9 pm starting on March 2. Deebashree Mohanty brings you a report on this much-hyped reality quiz show
It’s time to test your shaanpatti this season as Shah Rukh Khan gears up for yet another stint with the small screen. The format is unique, very people centric and cutting edge — something that SRK is not keen to miss out on. Although, the superstar has shot for only a few episodes of this new game show, he is thrilled to be a part of this grandaam journey.
It’s all about shaanpatti at the end and who better than king Khan to be the perfect hostIJ “SRK was an obvious choice because he connects with the audience as no one else can. He exudes charm and doesn’t require a script. But the best part about him is that he is a live wire on the sets and makes things flow smoothly. He is one of the best live artists that we have in this industry,” Siddhartha Basu, the man behind Kaun Banega Crorepati, says.
India Poochhega... Sabse Shaana KaunIJ (IPSSK) is &TV’s latest offering slated to go on air from March 2 at 9 pm and there is already a lot of talk around it. First, the set is expansive and replete with cutting edge technology. Second, the format is not something we have seen before. And third, the host is none other than Shah Rukh Khan.
“Aam aadmi will get a chance be more than just a viewer or contestant in this format. He will also be the asker — one of the many who form the Indiawaale Express and can make or break the contestant’s chances of winning big bucks,” Basu explains, adding that the game show will be an edge-of-the-seat experience with two pairs pitted against each other battling it out to outsmart the other in street smartness. With a little luck and a lot of shaanpatti, the contestants can win `1 crore in every episode.
“let me warn you that it is not that easy as it may sound. The contestant needs to tread the koti ki choti — a pyramid of questions posed by celebrities too,” he says. Basu had been toying with this idea for over two years and he says he went ahead only when he was a 100 per cent sure. “This is a right mix of intelligent questions and smart clever ones.
The quiz show will not only test your IQ but also how shaana you are and that is the twist,” he says. His inspiration is the original format by Armoza of Israel, called Who’s AskingIJ Taking off from a very basic pilot in Hebrew, produced by the Israelis, the format and all aspects of the design and production of the show has been developed by the team at BIG Synergy in close consultation with the creative team of &TV. “This is the first time that Who’s Asking is being re-made and I am sure it is going to strike a chord with the aam janata in India,” he tells you.
The other big thing about the show is the technology that went behind the sets. “It took us a lot of time to conceptualise the set because we did not want it to look jaded.IPSSK is a refreshing concept that demanded a new, slick set and Omung Kumar has delivered yet again,” the original quiz master informs. The 360 degrees arena set has a circular staging area, inlit radiating canopy approach ramps and a seating capacity of 220 people. The question mark with an androgynous face embedded in it, embodies the basic premise of the show and what is being askedIJ
There are 14 HD cameras including some mounted on motorised trolleys and jibs, together with a substantial inventory of about 4000 lights including lED Tubes, both conventional and 'intelligent'. Multiple visual feeds including graphics are switched in real time and the complex on-line sound is managed through a 48 channel mixer. The set is touted to be India’s most technological advanced.
Basu admits that there were a number of challenges while setting up this unique ramp but the team had been up to the task from day 1. “The biggest challenge was to animate videos on the Indiawaale Express and asker’s wheel which circles around the contestants on 1,200 square feet of curved lED screens in an 180 degree arc. There’s about another 1,500 square feet of dynamic electronic screen space to carry images, and graphics,” he informs.
The title track of the show has been done by the young film music composers Sachin-Jigar, and based on this, the in-show music has been done by Sawan Dutta, who has been doing this specialised job for Synergy over 20 years.
