The Hindu Business Line : KBC's new avatar

At 9 p.m. on August 5 millions of people sat glued to their television sets across the country... willing to be mesmerised by the superstar once again.

Not one to disappoint his fans, Amitabh Bachchan returned to the small screen in true style! With a rap song, reminiscent of his latest Bunty Aur Babli number, he promised the viewers "Umeed se milega dugna".

Kaun Banega Crorepati 2 looks fresh, and yet familiar. Discarding the formals that marked the prequel, Bachchan now sports trousers and leather jackets, created by the designer duo, Shantanu-Nikhil, and hair coloured brown. What remains unchanged, as far as his looks go in this new series, is his `goatee'.

KBC 2 is essentially the same as its prequel, except for a few things. While the number of questions has gone up to 15, the prize money too has been doubled to Rs 2 crore.

There are two other changes; nine of the 10 participants who don't get through the `Fastest finger first' phase, can now continue to play the game on their computer screens. The one who scores the highest points will go home with a prize of Rs 2 lakh.

And TV viewers too get to answer a special question; you can either phone in or SMS the correct answer.

While the phrase Lock kiya jaye still finds place in the show, there is an additional lifeline that `Computer Ji' offers participants. Apart from `50:50', `Audience Poll' and `Phone-a-Friend', there's another `saviour' — `Flip', where a participant can opt for another question if he is unable to answer the one before him.

Star Plus hopes KBC 2 works the same magic that the earlier series did for the channel's popularity. When KBC went on air, more than four years ago, both Bachchan and the channel were in search of that `big break'. KBC was a gamble that paid off well for both.

Will KBC 2 deliver or will it meet the same fate as its original, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? which did not go down well with audiences in its second series. Only time will tell.

Wedding belle

If the much-hyped wedding of the girl-next-door icon Jassi on Sony's Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin was programmed to take on the return of Big B to the small screen, the event, promoted as a must-watch for Jassi's fans, was quite disappointing.

Jassi, no doubt, looked good in the Neeta Lulla-Neelam Kothari designed bridal wear, but what the show lacked was the `pull factor'.

Sony officials, however, maintain that the special programme was not timed to take on KBC 2, but to take the story towards a logical end.

Despite the channel's efforts to spice up the storyline by introducing a new character — a good-looking guy determined to take revenge on Jassi — overall viewer interest in the programme seems to be waning.

Talent hunt

Zee's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005 is yet another interesting talent hunt show. Four popular Bollywood music directors — Aadesh Srivastava, Jatin-Lalit, Himmesh Reshamiya and Ismail Durbar — have not only screened and selected singers, but are also mentoring them.

Unlike Sony that has created a lot of noise about its Indian Idol and Fame Gurukul, Zee has been rather low-key.

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