The forthcoming reality show I Can Do That on ZEE TV will see popular faces from the world of glitz push their limits of endurance. By Shrabasti Mallik
Not many would know that Amitabh Bachchan, the star we know today for his voice was once rejected by All India Radio. little known Shivaji Rao was a bus conductor before becoming one of the most celebrated actor that India knows by the name of Rajnikant. At the age of 30, Steve Jobs was asked to leave his job but that did not stop him from creating the Apple Empire. They are just a handful of the hundreds of people in the world who did not give up; who said “I can do that” to all adversities to become who they are or were.
It is this same never say die spirit that forms the base of Zee TV’s forthcoming “non-fiction” show I Can Do That. Popular names from the world of television, acting, modelling, VJing and anchoring will be seen stepping out of their comfort zone to do something they have never done before, or in the words of the anchor, actor-director-singer-composer-writer-director-producer Farhan Akhtar, “A performance based act the contestants have never tried before.”
As serious as the title might sound, Akhtar kept the atmosphere of the launch of the show at Mumbai light and fun. Unable to make a dramatic entry, he sported up the front stairs to the stage and wittily said, “Yes. I can reach the stage.”
What made this launch a gala evening was the presence of 10 of the 12 participants of the show — Gauhar Khan, Gurmeet Choudhary, Meiyang Chang, Dino Morea, Mandira Bedi, VJ Andy, Bharti, Shibani Dandekar, Ritvik Dhanjania and Madhurima Tuli. Chef Ranveer Brar and VJ Bani could not make it to the launch. Going by promotional audio visuals that were screened at the launch we got a glimpse of the back flips, wheel act, cycle stunts, jumping through fire lit hoops, intricate dance choreography, aerial trapeze, stilt-walking, magic, illusion and daredevil stunts (which left us at the edge of our seats) we could guess how grueling and tough the going must be for the contestants.
The show joins the likes of international franchises like Big Brother, The Voice, Who wants to be a Millionaire to be adapted to Indian television. Developed by Isreal's Armoza Formats, the show has established itself as a worldwide success and has garnered whopping responses from audiences in America, Italy, Russia, Finland and Bulgaria among other countries.
According to business head of ZEE TV Pradeep Hejmadi, the theme of the show resonates with the channel's aim to present something worthwhile. “A show like this is an ideal fit for the channel because it approaches celebrities with a ‘can do’ attitude and presents before them challenges that they could never envisage themselves pulling off,” he added. The format of the show has been kept as per the original. “It has not been Indianised but yes, the acts here are relatively tough as compared to the international ones,” said Dino Morea.
There are no eliminations here. Acts and stunts are demonstrated infront of the contestants by professionals and whoever feels convinced that he/she can do it has to quickly climb four steps in front of them. Whoever reaches there first qualifies to accept that challenge. Mandira Bedi interjected, “In the clippings that we were shown of the international shows, the contestants took time to make a move towards the stairs. But when we were shooting, the moment the hooter marked the start of a demo there was a mad rush for the fourth stair. That’s how crazy we are.”
Bedi has been away from the spotlight for quite some time so when we asked her about her decision to take part in a reality show, she said, “I have a four year old who needs me at all times so I have to be choosy about what I do. But with this show...I just had to do it. As a mother you do things you never thought you were capable of and the show pushes you to explore unfamiliar grounds and that was quite a deal breaker.”
What follows is one week of training, practice and rigorous task of mastering that act. Chang, we found out, recently hurt his wrist while trying to perfect a bicycle stunt. “The first two days are completely futile,” he laughed, “you have no idea why you chose that stunt and you curse yourself for it. The next two days you start getting a hang of it and it is in those two days that you find your ground.”
Thereafter the contestants perform their act and the live audience votes for whoever they feel is best. The contestant with the maximum votes is awarded a trophy and is bumped to the semi finals.
“The format is short, crisp and very engaging,” said Akhtar who will be seen on the small screen for the second time as an anchor. When we asked him why he agreed to anchor the show, he seemed pretty frank, “Nothing seemed interesting enough. Reality shows are all the same — the same drama, elimination, loads of tears -there is nothing new. This show pushes the boundaries of performance, art and will power.”
What they think/thought they can never do:
Gauhar Khan:I can, for the life of me, bunjee jump and skydive. But I guess balancing myself on a metallic ring and swirl around because it requires a lot of strength in the arms. You have to pull yourself up otherwise the ring won't move. So, that was tough.
Dino Morea: I can do anything that I put my heart and mind to. I do not stop to double think. If I am convinced, I do it.
Shibani Dandekar:I took the challenge of doing puppet dance and it is all about hand movements. As fit my lower body is, my arms and shoulders are comparatively weak. So by the time we finished rehearsals every day, I am numb neck downwards. But since I took the challenge, I have to do it and I believe I can.
Farhan Akhtar:I do what I like to do, but honestly I can’t speak to a crowd. Since childhood speaking on stage was a very big task for me. When I made my first film, Dil Chahta Hai people used to ask me to speak about it, but I always tried to escape saying I had some other work as I was so afraid to go on stage and speak
Bharti:I never thought I could overcome the fear of fire. I was three when my mother was cooking and fire spread from her cloth to her left arm. That image scarred me but I will be performing an act where I will jump through a fire ring. My mother does not know yet but that will be my gift to her.