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 Post
Movers & Shakers, Shekhar Suman had earlier vowed to return
to TV with his own show Simply Shekhar, but did a volte face with
Niilaamghar, which premiered on Zee on September 1. A fun and entertainment
show, as the title suggests, everything in it is up for auction.
The game is played by a 500-strong audience where the contestants
are arbitrarily chosen by the host from the audience. A simple game
show, which even a child, can play and win, the questions are not
based on general knowledge, but on common sense, presence of mind,
logic and judgement.
After
quitting M & S you were supposed to be back on television in
October with your own production Simply Shekhar. How did Niilaamghar
happen instead?
(Smiles) You do some things in life for purely professional or emotional
reasons. Of course, I was all prepared to return to television with
Simply Shekhar. Everything - the concept, format, set design and
budget - was decided. But suddenly Tarun (Chopra), who is a friend
ever since I anchored his film-based show Film Deewane six years
ago, asked me to anchor his game show. When I refused, he said that
he would scrap it rather than opt for another host. I told him that
I didn’t want to anchor a show which gave prizes like washing
machines, microwaves and cars, because after KBC any prize money
less than a crore is unacceptable to people. But he persisted, and
so did the Dixit brothers of Guruji Entertainment. Then I met with
Sandeep Goyal (Zee’s CEO), and he too was very keen that I
host the show. I realised that one can’t be a hardcore professional
all the time. So emotional pressure forced me to anchor Niilaamghar.
It
seems you didn’t have time to prepare for the show or be briefed
before you started shooting. How did you manage to shoot in the
absence of a proper brief?
When
I agreed to do the show, I thought it would materialise after two
months or so. So I was surprised, when Tarun told me that we would
start shooting three days later, and the shoot indeed began three
days later. I asked him for the concept and he said that it’s
a Shekhar Suman show with 500 people sitting in the studio. How
can I do a show without a proper concept, I asked him and he replied
that I have addressed the nation in M & S, so I can talk to
a studio audience of 500 people. He added that, Shekhar Suman doesn’t
need to be told what he is supposed to do. So I told him not to
expect the best from me, but I would do my utmost. I entered the
set and there were 500 people clapping, shouting and hooting. It
was frightening, but soon I was in my elements and began the shoot.
At the end of the first episode, I realised that the show would
work.
The
absence of a proper concept must have given you enough room to experiment
and add on a few things to evolve the show’s format.
Absolutely. I added a few things to make it more fun-oriented
and interesting. For instance, I said not only the contestants,
but the audience too would get prizes to increase their level of
participation in the show. It made a lot of difference to the product.
The best thing about the show is that everyone is a participant
and that’s the USP.
How has the show been received?
My phone didn’t stop ringing after the telecast of the first
episode. There were more than 100 messages on my voice mail. People
have reacted positively and the channel is also very happy with
the response.
Are you happy with the show’s time slot?
No. It deserves a prime time slot. This show should be telecast
at 8 or 9 pm instead of seven in the evening.
What happens to Simply Shekhar now?
It
should come on air by December. It’s the flagship show of my
career and will give me guaranteed satisfaction as an actor. It
has all the aspects of me as an actor and person. It’s bigger
than M & S in terms of size and magnitude.
You are committed to Niilaamghar for only six months. Why?
It’s deliberate because Simply Shekhar is too dear to
me. After six months, I will review the performance of the show
and decide whether to continue with it or not. If it is a hit than
I may continue. But I will go on air with Simply Shekhar as well.
Has acting on television taken a back seat?
Yes. As an actor I want to explore films and theatre. I am doing
two films at the moment. My first stage production is already on
and the second play is under planning. I don’t think television
has anything more to offer me as an actor. But Arun Frank has approached
me for an interesting sitcom with Satish Shah. If I do it, it will
be purely for emotional reasons, because Arun has been a part of
my television career, which began in l994. But I have yet to agree
there is one more project, which is dear to me and that is my own
production. Otherwise, I am not looking at television as far as
acting is concerned.
—AL
Chougule
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