That reality shows mean tinkling cash registers for television channels is a well-known fact. It explains why there is a beeline for such shows on all channels. If Zee comes up with a Business Bazigaar and Sa Re Ga Ma, Sony flexes its muscles with Indian Idol and Fear Factor. Not one to be left behind, Star One has also launched its own retinue of reality shows. The latest is quiz whiz Siddhartha Basu's Heart Beat Dil Thhaam Ke Khelo.
Explains Deepak Sehgal, Executive Vice President, Content, Star India, "Heart Beat is one of our biggest shows this year. We are happy to partner with Siddhartha Basu, who has been responsible for the tremendous success of Kaun Banega Crorepati and Britannia India's Child Genius. We are positive it will capture the pulse and imagination of viewers week after week."
A visit to the huge sets of the show corroborates Sehgal's claims. Built inside the sprawling Film City studio in Mumbai, they definitely set the mood for a spine-chilling show. Based on an international format borrowed from Endemol, the show, unlike its counterparts, features no anchor.
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The concept is simple the contestant is asked to enter a sealed booth and answer a set of questions. Those who answer the questions correctly go home with a lot of prize money; for others, it's better luck next time. There is no audience, no anchor and no constraints.
Sounds too simple? Not if you consider the fact that you will find yourself all alone in a booth sealed from all sides with an eerie voice firing questions at you. Needless to say, you won't be able to see the face behind the voice. And you will have multiple cameras and microphones monitoring every move.
All you will have inside the booth are three telephone instruments, a computerised tele-directory and yellow pages and an instrument that will monitor your heartbeat! And that is where the clue to success lies. The more you get nervous, the more your heartbeat increases and the lesser time you get to answer the questions.
In line with Star and Siddhartha Basu's immensely successful KBC, the three phones and computerised tele-directory offer you help lines to answer the questions. You can call anyone to arrive at the right answer. But before your time runs out. You get 10 questions, with 10 options to choose from for each, only five of which are right. You get 500 heartbeats to answer each question. As the promos of the show promise, "The contestants' primary battle is with themselves."
The rewards are, expectedly, high. The first correct answer wins you Rs 50,000. The money increases progressively two lakhs, three lakhs, four lakhs, seven lakhs, 10 lakhs, 25 lakhs Unlimited prize money.
Says Siddhartha Basu, "The most active and strongest muscle of the human body is the heart. It plays its own drum. In this show, you are not racing against the clock; you are racing against your own heartbeat. You need to keep strong nerves to win this show."
He feels the show is going to rock because, "this involves the fun of real life drama with real people. How an individual reacts under pressure, how he or she applies presence of mind to answer a question it's going to be an exciting show."
The room and ambience is so eerie that the producers having an on-set physician to check the pulse and heartbeats of contestants. No one with abnormalities in these two lifelines will be allowed to participate.
Heart Beat will start off with celebrities as contestants. Former cricketer Ajay Jadeja, Neha Dhupia and Varun Badola have already participated. It will be aired on weeknights from Monday through Thursday from 9.30 pm to 10 pm on Star One. And yes, the show premieres on May 1.
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