KBC: Shrey Bawa with SRK, sneak peek

The promos of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) featuring its new host Shah Rukh Khan will be aired on all Star Channels from Friday at 2100 hrs.

The show goes on air from January 22 from Monday to Thursday at 2100 hrs.

The launch communication showcases a young child from Delhi, who always keeps asking questions. He keeps asking questions till he reaches a point where he realizes that he is not getting answers for the questions which really matter to him.

He then packs his bags and leaves town with a bag full of unanswered questions and lands up in Mumbai. To his surprise it is the city of Mumbai, which is now asking him the questions.

The promo picks pace from here and goes on to show - how having answered some of these questions, the young lad's life now comes a full circle, where he is again in a place where he is doing all the asking.

The rest of the film shows that the young boy has grown up as Shah Rukh Khan and is on the hot seat asking questions. Via: DNA

Star COO Sameer Nair immersed in KBC, not moving anywhere

Samir Nair, chief executive officer of STAR Entertainment India, rubbishes rumours that he is moving on saying there's absolutely no question of him going anywhere as he is neck deep in 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', going live Jan 22.

STAR's top honcho laughed dismissively and said: 'Where did all this start? I've been inundated with anxious calls and messages. For the record, I was on the sets of KBC - all night. We're looking at getting the programme jump-started. There's absolutely no question of me moving on...yet.'

So is Nair planning a move in the future?

'See, there're lots of discussions, debates and meetings happening. We'll see how things go. Maybe by the end of next week the picture would be clearer. There's no point in jumping the gun on this one. It'd be improper for me to deny all plans of a change in the STAR hierarchy. But as far as I'm concerned there's no concrete plan yet to make a move,' Nair told IANS.

'At the moment I'm completely taken up with KBC. I was on the sets last night. Then on Monday we start shooting after a puja at 9 a.m. Does that look like a man who intends to leave his job?'

Nair may or may not go but reshuffling is happening at the top levels in STAR. Michelle Guthrie has resigned as CEO of STAR and Paul Aiello, president of STAR, will step into Guthrie's shoes. Guthrie's departure will be effective March 1, 2007. Via

Shah Rukh was obvious change in new KBC: Siddharth Basu

Quizmaster Siddharth Basu, the man behind the super hit game show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' -, says Shah Rukh Khan was the obvious alternative to Amitabh Bachchan with his charm and cheek.

'Shah Rukh was always the most obvious alternative. And I've said that for a long time. I think it's great choice, though only as an alternative to Amitabh Bachchan,' Basu told IANS in an interview.

Basu describes him as young people's person.

'Shah Rukh's charming and cheeky. He has none of the anxieties that most actors have about anchoring. The tone, tenor and texture will change with Shah Rukh. At the press conference with Shah Rukh the girls were going crazy. It will have a younger zingy feel. And the viewership today is young - between 18 to 34 years.'

Basu, who is also responsible for reality shows like 'Jhalak Dikhla Jaa' and 'Bigg Boss', feels such shows will lose colour very soon.

'The whole concept behind 'Bigg Boss' is artificial. Contestants can't make phone calls, can't take a siesta, can't read or watch TV. So all sorts of bizarre things start happening. In Holland they start having sex. Here we can't have that.

'I strictly feel the unscripted format has a limited shelf life. Reality TV won't overtake anything. The glamour of the 'tit' and the 'grit' will run out. There'll always be room for soaps.'

Excerpts:

A: It was great fun. I enjoyed doing it even at such a short notice. Sony is keen on a second innings. As for the ratings, Sony had their own reasons for putting it on at 10 p.m. Personally, I felt that it should've been put in an earlier slot. That made a key difference. I'd have been pleased with higher ratings.

I must say it was a far bigger talking point among urban viewers than was reflected in the TRPs. The highest viewership for 'Jhalak...' was Category A who aren't necessary metered for TRPs but have great buying power.

A: Again numbers don't reflect its viewership. It's a demographic non-encompassing rating.

A: Frankly, I had reservations about the format per se. T.S. Eliot was right when he said we've too much reality in India. We tend to look away. In the West looking into someone's window is a voyeuristic delight. However, the success of 'Bigg Boss' doesn't depend on celebrities in any part of the world. Even out in West they took on junior artists.

Moreover, the whole concept behind 'Bigg Boss' is artificial. Contestants can't make phone calls, can't take a siesta, can't read or watch TV. So all sorts of bizarre things start happening. In Holland they start having sex. Here we can't have that.


A: Shah Rukh Khan was always the most obvious alternative. And I've said that for a long time. I think it's great choice, though only as an alternative to Amitabh Bachchan.

Amitabh has been ambivalent about doing KBC again. One part of him says he's done enough of KBC. But I kept urging him to do it. He achieved a certain effect that the show required. By the second innings he was really enjoying himself. I feel he was much more relaxed with the crew, etc the second time. But after his sudden illness whenever I met him I kept asking him to do it again.

I've heard he had other commitments. I'm also told that as far back as July he had written to STAR and told them he doesn't want to do it. Once they got a fix on Shah Rukh, STAR went ahead with it.

A: Because he is smart and young people's person. He is charming and cheeky. He's very willing to prepare hard. Shah Rukh has none of the anxieties that most actors have about anchoring. The tone, tenor and texture will change with Shah Rukh.

Change at the anchoring level is inevitable on KBC. It's happened in 106 countries. But I still get goose pimples when I see what Amitabh did on KBC. His not returning to KBC is just one of those things. It wasn't meant to be.

A: I suppose so. Even in his second innings the ratings were higher than the first innings. Look, that initial euphoria of the first innings, when streets were empty, was missing in the second innings. But in terms of viewership the second innings was better.

However, it took a knock when Amitabh fell ill and the show had to be terminated. I think Amitabh was awesome. If he wanted to continue, there was no question of looking elsewhere. Having said that, I must say the format has legs. The essential drama of the drama plus Shah Rukh will carry it forward.

At the press conference with Shah Rukh the girls were going crazy. It will have a younger zingy feel. And the viewership today is young - between 18 to 34 years. Via here

Compaq inks Rs 2.25 cr deal with Star for KBC-3

Compaq has entered into an agreement with Star India to be a part of the popular KBC-3 quiz show. The company is believed to have paid around Rs 2 - 2.5 crore for the integrated promotion of its PC as the ‘computerji’ on the show, said sources close to the deal.

Last year, for KBC-2, Lenova managed to strike a last minute deal by paying around Rs 60-70 lakh, sources said.

"This deal has certainly taken a while and we finally have Compaq onboard for KBC3," confirmed Paritosh Joshi, president ad sales & distribution, Star India.

The situation was a tricky one for Star, last year’s show had Lenova as the integrated computer on the show and in the fresh season with Shah Rukh Khan playing host, who also is the brand ambassador for rival company Compaq, it was a tough call to make.

"Though the deal with Lenova was signed on the last minute at a highly discounted rate, KBC2 has helped Lenova build a brand name across households," Joshi said.

The new version of KBC is slated to hit the small screen on January 22 and will continue for 52 weeks before ending April 22.

Apart from the ten main sponsors the channel has ropped in for a whopping sum of around Rs 130 crore, Airtel, Hyundai and Cadbury, UTI Mutual Funds, Videocon, Godrej Sara Lee, Jyothi Labs, Pantaloon Retail (Big Bazaar) and UB group, Motorola, other sponsors on board with KBC3 are Bharat Matrimony, Bharti Airtel, Eureka Forbes and Union Bank. Source: Business Standard. January 14, 2006 Delhi Edition

Tamil KBC in Vijay TV

Wow, wow, a great news for Tamil speakers as Shahrukh will utter Tamil words like ‘Vanakkam; neengal parthukondu irupadhu Kaun Banega Crorepathi’ in the dubbed version of Crorepati which will be aired from Star’s southern channel, Vijay TV.

This week before Mani Ratnam’s Abhishek-Aishwarya starrer ‘Guru’ gets an all India release, it gets a unveil at South India in Tamil dubbed version (if I am not wrong). Seems like IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus Mani Ratnam has yielded a good benefit out of it. Guru has done in good business in down south in the first few days and taking a cue (from the Bachchan family…see I got a similarity) seems like KBC team will also pour in the product with regional flavors.

The search for Shahrukh Khan’s dubbing artist is over.

The show starts 23 January and will be telecast from Tuesday to Friday at 7pm, a time band that was popularized by the channel’s successful show Swamy Iyappan. Advertising clients lining up include Airtel, Hyundai, Motorola, KRBL, HDFC Standard Life, Univercell and Cadbury.

KBC is almost sold

KBC is going great and last heard all the spots are sold (barring miniscule 30 minutes) and STAR India is laughing al the way to the bank. Only 30-40 seconds per episode is remained to be sold. The program has got 14 fixed sponsors, There are six brands which will be integrated with the show, (like Amitabh using Parker pen to sign the cheque, used to use Lenovo computer in KBC 2). Officials are sure that by the end of fourth week spots for all 52 episodes will be sold. The show starts on 22nd January and ends on 22 April.

According to an estimate KBC3 has brought in advertising worth Rs. 110-130 crore for the first season to Star Plus.

The big surprise, however, some big advertising heavyweights who wont be seen airing their ads on SRK’s show. No, the reason is nothing do do with Amithabh promoting those brands, but spenders such as Nestle, Hindustan Lever, Maruti, General Motors and others have already earmarked Rs 300 crore advertising budget for the World Cup cricket tournament in West Indies.

KBC will get splash of red

A lot of red color will be used in both the KBC promotion/publicity and the set. The production guys are changing the earlier set hosted by Amithab Bachchan.

Well, I hope Pepsi does not mind the move. If you did not guess me, let me tell you, every brand associate themselves with a particular color. For Pepsi its blue, and its arch riveal, Coca Cola wears red. I wish that does not bring any confusion to the attribute after all Shahrukh is very much campaigning for Pepsi also. When asked about the infusion of new color SRK in its trademark style says, "The red colour is because I am a son of the soil."

Hmm, thats Shahrukh's modesty which speaks. He also said the other day that only two Khan exists, Sharukh Khan and (historical) Chinggis Khan. Wonder, if that was modesty, too...