Have quiz shows come of age?

People who have read my earlier articles would not have missed my emphasis on content being the driver for any channel. But in this case I myself am at a loss to put a finger on any of the two elements and conclude for sure; though I still maintain that Kaun Banega Crorepati would have been quite popular with any other anchor

Amitabh Bachchan, the name conjures up so many vivid images of this legend; a legend who has enthralled a whole generation of film viewers, it is almost ironic that when you hear the name now it is taken in the same breath as Kaun Banega Crorepati a one hour programme on the small screen. There have been debates in trains, pubs, hotels etc whether Bachchan should have taken up the assignment on the small screen. Wha-tever their views, one thing is for sure, he is keeping all of us enthralled just like he did for more than a decade with his powerful portrayal of the characters played by him.
Which brings us to the moot question: Is Amitabh Bachchan driving the popularity of the programme or is it the programme itself that is the superstar. People who have read my earlier articles would not have missed my emphasis on content being the driver for any channel. But in this case I myself am at a loss to put a finger on any one of the two elements and conclude for sure; though I still maintain that Kaun Banega Crorepati would have been quite popular with any other anchor; but would it have been a nation wide rage is something that we could debate on forever. Here I would think Bachchan has played a great role bringing all his screen presence, charisma, personality and more importantly making the contestants feel at home and comfortable is what has endured and charmed the viewing public. This is what differentiates Amitabh Bachchan with perhaps any other individual anchoring the show.
So have quiz shows arrived? Have they come of age? Personally, I don’t think so. The lure of money and easy money at that and getting to meet the legend in person is what is making KBC so popular. There have been many such shows in the past and they have been commercially successful as well. But none in the past gave away big monies and that has been the difference. Siddharth Basu, who is incidentally the producer of KBC, shot to fame with his Quiz Time, many years back when the only channel on air was Doordarshan. But with increasing channels and changing preferences it became difficult to sustain TRPs with programmes based on this model. Yes, programmes on this model also had its share of stars, Siddharth Basu himself is still widely acknowledged as the premier quizmaster of our country. But there has also been the late Bhaskar Bhattacharjee and the more recent Derek O’Brien who all have shot to fame with various quiz shows.
One hears that yet another rival channel is on its way to launching its own version of KBC. Will it be successful? I guess the presence of Bachchan would make the difference here. It would be extremely difficult to match up to this legend’s screen presence. Besides history has proved on more than one occasion that clones have never worked. It has always been the original that has walked away with the honours. So one needs to wait and watch whether the clones would be as popular as KBC and whether it would have the same kind of impact on the viewing audience.
What KBC has managed to do for the channel is anybody’s guess. From being the number three channel in the market Star Plus has suddenly shot up to be the number one channel. A cursory glance at the TRP chart would tell you that. The top four slots on the chart is cornered by Star Plus and one does not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what has been the catalyst for such a drastic change in positions. But this sudden change in viewership patterns is not exactly good news for other competing channels. Especially for newer channels like Sahara TV and Sabe TV, it is doubly harder to make an impact with the viewing audience. Mind you it is not impossible. But with the changing scenario it is that much more difficult.
So times are getting exciting with the channel war hotting up and every channel clamouring for good programmes which would bring in and assure sustained viewership. Let’s hope that all channels as a result of this, able to bring in more meaningful and quality programmes on their respective carriers. It’s that time of the day when the couches have to be made and pakoras prepared as we are in for a feast and yes do not forget that remote; you might need to use it more often now than ever before.

Ektaa Kapoor