Cine Stars Ki Khoj will be back after 10 years. One of the judges, director Vijay Krishna Acharya, and ‘Bollywood buddies’ on the show, Parineeti Chopra and Ayushmann Khurrana, tell Ananaya Banerjee that it will provide much-needed guidance to budding actors
The Indian audience has been subject to a lot of regurgitated reality TV shows in the last decade. But Zee TV’s programming head Namit Sharma says the channel is here with a “a non-scripted TV show by definition.” Cine Stars Ki Khoj returns after a hiatus of more than 10 years. “Reality shows are a word coined by the media, they represent something engineered. It is a lose term and Cine Stars Ki Khoj is definitely not that,” he says. The concept of the show is being retained as thousands of people across major cities audition to be a part of the new edition of the show. “We have always been committed and driven towards developing and delivering actual talent to the industry, be it the 70 mm format or the small screens. And with changing times, we feel that Bollywood has evolved to accept a pool of scripts and diverse actors,” says Namit.
The panel of judges presiding over the show have been selected keeping in mind their non-industry leanings prior to joining Bollywood. The director of Dhoom 3, Vijay Krishna Acharya aka Victor, is one of the three judges. Being a director, Victor’s presence on the show will give direction to the participants. About his part he says, “My interest in the show is not strictly as a director. I feel that talent can’t be measured or defined but can be gauged by the reaction of the audience.That’s what I’m here for because we are always in search of honest talent. So people we bring into the industry through this show will add to the talent pool of Bollywood and hopefully, will go on to add to the creative process in a big way.”
Zee TV is still looking to announce its third permanent judge, the second being Sonali Bendre, who has appeared as a judge on Zee TV’s shows before. Parineeti Chopra and Ayushmann Khurrana are going to appear briefly in the show as “Bollywood buddies” to the contestants. “I don’t think of myself as a judge on this show. Rather, I will be the nice one, like a friend to the contestants because I know how they feel. I was in their place a while ago and trust me I know what it feels like to be nervous,” says Parineeti. She also mentions, “When I was shooting for the show, I realised that actor banne ka koi rule nahi hota (there’s no rule to be an actor). There were so many people from diverse backgrounds. But all of them had one passion in common, acting.” Being an outsider herself, Parineeti understands what it is like to make it big in Bollywood, she says, “Whether you have a filmy connection or not, the ultimate decision lies with the audience. Your mom or dad won’t go buy all the tickets, the people will. Audience feedback is more important than anything else when it comes to success or failure of an actor.”
A self proclaimed “reality TV expert,” who has been on shows like Roadies and India’s Got Talent as a participant and host, respectively, is also joining the bandwagon for Cine Starts Ki Khoj. Ayushmann says, “I will be very sympathetic to the contestants on the show. After the many shows I’ve done, I know how harsh rejection can feel like. It can dampen your spirit. But my advice is to never stop experimenting, because you just need to find the right opportunity at the right time and that will matter more than anything else.”