Fam us five

Quite simply,it was the interest evinced by the television industry. The last season of KBC on Sony showed the power of the format. There are huge viewerships in our country beyond Hindi GEC,who mainly watch shows in their mother tongue. As we began seeing a demand for bigger and better shows in these markets,we at BIG Synergy as a production house and as content creators,were happy to respond by diversifying the show.

What are the challenges and opportunities of such a move?

Regional TV is the next frontier; the big growth area in Indian television. The regional variants of the Who Wants to Be A Millionaire format here will probably be the biggest running productions in each one of the regional languages in which its being produced,in terms of logistics,scale,cost,participation,and hopefully of viewership too.

Please state the different channels and hosts for the five new languages that KBC will be aired in along with their starting dates and timings and what they will be called in the regional language.

In Bhojpuri,Shatrughan Sinha will host Key Bani Crorepati on Mahua Bhojpuri channel. In Bengali,it will be Key Hobe Banglar Kotipoti,hosted by Sourav Ganguly on Mahua Bangla; Prakash Raj will host the Tamil and Telugu versions,titled Ungalil Yaar Kodeeswaran and Meelo Yavaru Kodeeswarudu on Sun and Gemini TV respectively while Ramesh Aravind will be hosting Nimmali Yaaru Kotiyadipadi in Kannada on Udaya TV. As would be evident there are two broadcasters involved,the Sun network and Mahua. The exact dates and times will be announced in due course.

How were the hosts for each language selected? What was the main criterion and factors leading up to the choice?

Each of them has the personality,and charisma to connect with sons and daughters of the soil speaking a specific language.

From which region are you expecting the most viewer traction in the immediate future?

Bhojpuri,as thats the first off the block. And Sun,of course,delivers a massive viewership as they are such dominant players in their blocks.

Licensing the show to channels not belonging to the Sony group may sour your relations with them. Are you worried about that?

The shows have been licensed from 2 Way Traffic,who are part of the Sony group,and are going forward with the full knowledge and assent of all concerned.

Do you fear an overkill of the show with five new avatars of the show?

No,as they are distinct viewerships,mainly aimed at those who dont watch shows in languages other than in their mother tongue. Each is a vast viewership.

How will the questions be written,considering the demographics of each regional language is different?

It will be done by language and culture specific research teams who are sensitised to the DNA of the sort of questions and answers which can sportingly engage contestants and viewers of every stripe.

Will having five different versions impact the flagship Hindi KBC show?

Not when there are the mutually exclusive viewerships. Where there are overlaps,the appetite for one should whet the other.

Are the regional shows being run now so as to avoid a clash when KBC 5 begins in October?

The Bhojpuri and Bengali versions will complete their run before the Hindi one begins. The South does not watch Hindi at all,so the shows there may run concurrently.

Amitabh Bachchan has tweeted that he has begun work on KBC 5. Can you tell what stage the show is currently in and if there is anything special planned for it?

The marketing plan is in place,and the call for entries is imminent.