Actor and host Vishal Malhotra tells Ayushi Sharma that the Season 2 of Imagine That will educate children and their parents about the concept of upcycling and being friendly towards the environment along with a good dose of laughter

What made you say yes to Imagine That Season 2? What’s different in this installment?

As you know, I started my relationship with Disney 25 years ago and ever since then, it has been a very fulfilling experience. We have been looking at ways to collaborate with each other for the longest time. So when the channel was kind enough to offer me this show, I grabbed the opportunity. From the time they have announced our collaboration, I have been overwhelmed with the response that I have been receiving from the audience. People are extremely nostalgic with my return and they cannot wait for the show. Besides this, the format of the show intrigued me the most. DIY (Do It Yourself) is an integral part of a lot of kids’ lives. It is entertaining and encourages them to grow mentally. In this concept, I connect the audience to the show; I am the voice of the audience through which I aim to bring a lot of joy, laughter and fun and at the same time make sure that the simplest of DIYs to the biggest are amazing.

Now people are well-versed with the DIY culture due to easy access to the internet. What new is in it for kids?

For starters, when you normally watch a DIY, there are only said instructions on how to execute it. Whereas, in this show we have got an entire gameplay around it, which has been filled with fun, laughter, entertainment and of course, learning. Besides that, the kind of DIY we are choosing is focussed on the theme of ‘upcycling’. We use old material from the previous DIY by upcycling them for the new ones and like that we make sure we do not waste anything. The show is centred on a lot of social relevance that will educate the children and their parents about the concept of upcycling and being friendly towards the environment along with enjoying a good dose of laughter.

Why do you think DIY is important? Can we merge the concept with sustainability?

DIYs are extremely important because it encourages a child to think or motivates them to build new creative things. And this is always something that we should be looking for. This show offers encouragement to the parents and their kids to come together and challenge each other’s mind and creativity to build something which is actually going to be useful and is not just a showpiece. Speaking of sustainability — yes! We can merge the concept with DIY. That is exactly what the show is about. The first step to sustainability is no wastage, which is what we absolutely endorse and encourage. We do not waste a single piece of paper, a straw or even a single string. We use every bit again and again and create amazing new things without compromising on the quality of what we are producing.

How challenging is it to capture the attention of the children while hosting such shows?

Any TV show to the audience is extremely difficult to captivate, it is not just with the kids. I have had the fortune of hosting shows for kids for the last 25 years and somehow, I have found a very favourable response from my audience. This is because I do not treat them as kids. I do know my audience but I do not treat them on the basis of the intelligence I think they possess. I, rather, treat them as my friends. I believe this has what resonated with them in a big way. I am confident that the same resonance will come back again be it with the kids or their parents after watching me on the episodes.

Given that things are easily accessible today, how do you think the importance of DIY projects can be explained to kids?

Well, that is something we are striving to do but we should not undermine the intelligence of both parents and children. But yes, you are right — everything is easily available and we do bring that up in the show. Certain times on the show I just say, ‘Hey, listen, we got to give somebody a gift. Why don’t we just order it online?’ However, we teach and encourage the audience to build a DIY. Punching in your card numbers to order a gift online is incomparable to the wholesome emotion. The gratitude and the sense of achievement you feel after creating something by spending those 15-20 minutes on it. That gift is far more truly yours than any purchased kind.

(The show will premiere on Disney Channel at 9.30 am on April 18.)