Manipulate to win

Sometimes one feels that each production house or broadcaster perhaps dishes out special awards to its employees for conceptualising reality shows! There is no other way one can explain the number of reality shows Indian television is bombarded with, especially when everyone seems to be tired of them.

And if you thought you had enough of talent hunt shows, there is will be some new format that producers will discover and present it on TV. ‘Music Ka Maha Muqabla’ is the perfect example of how a simple talent hunt can be converted to a team exercise and fight between celebrity musicians.

‘Emotional Atyachar’ on the other hand has television cameras peeping into your personal life, helping you find out the fidelity quotient of your partner while Mahayatra’ makes visiting religious destinations a game and money making exercise for
participants.

‘The Player – Karodon Mein Ek’ is a  new reality show based on an innovative format. It is a blend of all the three types of programmes mentioned above. The show in the producer’s own words, will test all participants ability to coax, convince and manipulate to win a contest.

The prize? Nothing less than a crore! To win the moolah, you have to successfully complete daredevil tasks and stay in the good books of your housemates. Sounds similar to Bigg Boss?  ‘The Player’ might look like any other reality show that involves people staying in a house under cameras, 24X7. But, there is a catch. Winners here will have to be unanimously voted by the participants themselves and not by an audience poll or SMS voting.

The programme has 10 inmates in a house, fighting against each other. The task is to convince each other of why one should get the prize money instead of the other and arrive at a unanimous winner. Now, that is quite a task considering the fact that everyone would like to win it themselves. The more indecisive a group is, the more interesting the show turns out to be and penalty points come into play.
Also, instead of a voice over, governing the participants and assigning tasks, ‘The Player’ has Rajiv Lakshman doing the job. Lakshman will also help them win points and leak dirty secrets about other players selectively, which will affect their popularity among their peers on the show. Also, every time contestants are not unanimous in their decision, a person gets eliminated from the game through a vote out or some other mechanism.
Says Lakshman, “This show is a giant human experiment. It is but natural, that a few inmates will be greedy and not give up their chances of winning. That is where the real fun starts. With its share of scheming, the show is a pot-boiler of emotions in a bid to take home the cash!”

Lakshman has more than a decade’s experience in the world of television, having worked for Star, MTV, TV18 & Miditech. He and his twin brother Raghu Ram (well known for his different and strict ways of managing reality shows), own Colosceum, which has produced shows like ‘Shakuntala’, ‘Splitsvilla’, ‘Roadies’, ‘Jai Shri Krishna’ and ‘Meera’.
The concept of ‘The Player’, like various other reality shows in India, is borrowed from an American show – Unanimous. Ask Lakshman about the same and he replies, “The concept is similar, but a lot of effort has gone in making the show relevant to the Indian audience. The treatment, the sensibilities and the attitude portrayed in the programme is completely original.”

 He adds further, “Through this show, the winner will earn the youth’s respect. The winning participant needs to have presence of mind, a personality and attitude to survive in this impossible game.”
Participants in the show represent various walks of life and are commoners. Unlike ‘Bigg Boss’ or any other reality show, they are allowed to be in touch with the outside world and even write their own blogs to vent out their frustration.
So who will be the winner of the game? Will it be the one who coaxes, manipulates and convinces others or someone who sacrifices money to heed somebody else’s need? Just wait and watch.
‘The Player — Karodon Mein Ek’ airs on Channel V on Saturdays at 7 pm.