Talking point with manish goel

If there are no judges and no SMS voting,who decides which contestant stays and which one leaves? Where does the drama come in?
Since this is a pilgrimage-based show,we’ve literally left things to God. Before arriving at any of the four dhams,the contestants have to pass a number of difficult tests and solve many problems. We give them many chances,but ultimately,we leave it to destiny. The person who’s left behind or fails to complete the tasks,will have to leave the show. As for the drama,these are very real people who’re uninhibited in front of the camera. They’re not afraid to show their real emotions and if they feel like singing or dancing or crying,they’ll do just that.

This is your first time as a host and a show like this,with such an open format,must’ve been very difficult to host.
That’s true. It was an extremely challenging task and as you rightly pointed out,this is my first time as a host. My role here was to be a brother,friend,confidante,or even son,to the people on the show. And while it was a difficult task to keep the show anchored,it was very rewarding as well.

You haven’t been doing very many shows on TV.
The last time I was on TV was in Zara Nach Ke Dikha in 2008. Since then,I was waiting for something interesting and challenging to come along. When this project came to me,I knew right from the start it wouldn’t be easy,but that’s what made it so attractive to me. I love challenges — when I first met my wife,I realised it would be a difficult task to woo her but that made me try that much harder to marry her.

What was the most difficult thing you had to face while shooting the show?
The weather is what really controls a show of this sort. For that reason,we had to pre-shoot on many of the locations,just so that there are no last minute glitches. In fact,we haven’t been able to shoot in Badrinath yet,because it’s closed this time of the year on account of snow.