Sarkaar Ki Duniya = Roadies + Bigg Boss 2

[ilovetv]

Just when we were thinking that Colors was giving very good competition to the one-time top three general entertainment channels in India – namely Star Plus, Zee TV and Sony – comes yet another one to challenge the position of Colors. Will it succeed?


Called Real, this one, too, promises to provide 'real' and 'refreshing' entertainment. With a plethora of heavily publicised new shows, including Poker Face, Hindi Hai Hum, Namak Haraam and Vicky Ki Taxi.

Real seems to be following the strategy of Colors. It also has a hardcore reality show at the outset – Sarkaar Ki Duniya. I decided to catch this one on the first day the channel went on air (March 2).


Well, the excitement had built up seeing the promo, and I wondered whether this was going to be India's new Survivor. Plus, Ashutosh Rana was going to host it. Rather, he was going to be the 'Sarkaar' – the aristocratic ruler of the island on Kalinadi River, where the 18 contestants from all walks of life would compete for Rs 1 crore.


As the show began, the contestants' introductions seemed interesting. A bar dancer, a woman farmer, a woman ex-Army captain, a fitness instructor, a reality show winner-turned-actor (Qazi Touqeer - Fame Gurkul), a Bengali film actress among others – 'real' people indeed and from across the country. So, what will they have to do to win the pot of gold?

The contestants go on to meet Sarkaar who tells them in no uncertain terms that the only currency that works on his island is the Guinea, and that they would have to win loads of these gold coins to finally get the big prize. Now, depending on their luck, each participant would get varying amounts of the currency and will have to survive in that.

[ilovetv]

Fine, Ashutosh Rana plays his part well, but tends to get boring at times with his long dialogue. The contestants' reactions, too, were not captured correctly by the camera. They looked thoroughly bored and not scared of Sarkaar at all. Wonder how many retakes a good actor like Rana had to give in the show! Surely his anchoring in the first episode was no match to Rannvijay or even the voice of Bigg Boss.



Finally, the moment arrived when the contestants started going in one by one to figure out how much Guineas they had in their kitty, which was kept on each one's bed. From the sets outside, in what looked like a cross between ancient Indian and Chinese architecture, one expected the other areas too, to have the rustic feel.


But when they showed the contestants entering in their 'house', one cringed. Eww! A poor copy of the Bigg Boss 2 House! When Real claimed that they had the biggest sets ever on Indian TV, they must've meant the open areas of the island – something of a camp. Certainly not a BB2-like house! One expected a little more effort from Miditech.


Tuesday night's episode should reveal more. But the promos showed one of the 'real' contestants crying and bickering and all. God, do we really want something like that again, and so soon? It is for the viewers to judge.


But the physical tasks look like they will be as gruelling and nerve cracking as Roadies. In them, the Army captain and the fitness guy just might be one up. Well, let's wait and watch how the show unfolds.


Also managed to catch a glimpse of Real's other show, Hindi Hai Hum and was impressed. Yes, it's definitely hatke programming like Colors and NDTV Imagine have had, and with some good acting. But hope Hindi... doesn't turn into a saas-bahu soap as it goes along.