AzgarKhan
Feb 19 2007, 10:14 AM
A thin man with gelled hair, in a grey suit appears...
Ladies and gentlemen on board the Tele Express, please fasten your seat belts as the KBC flight ahead might give you a few jolts, warns our correspondent from the sets of the show
Ruchika Talwar
New Delhi, February 18: Most people—especially women—would die for this opportunity—to visit the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati (Star Plus). Imagine, actually meeting Shah Rukh Khan! For me? Oh just another assignment. So, here we are, on the sets of the show. And, I can tell you, reality TV is very real. Well…
Security guards frisk you and your handbag. Mobile phones have to be switched off. The size of the sets shocks you. The palatial platform where equally big fortunes are made is actually a tight-fit den. And people are packed like sardines to give the impression of a large audience. But, who cares about being uncomfortable, when the reward is SRK?
The production crew is very professional. It comprises of Pretty Young Things. One girl played a mock SRK by introducing the chosen 10 contestants before the 'The Man' took over. Her colleague schooled the audience on the do's and don'ts. "No prompting please, no gesticulating too. Please clap loudly (till your hands fall off?) and laugh loudly (till your lungs burst?). Kissi ko seeti bajaani aati hai? Girls you can scream when he enters (??). But please, please don't come onto the floor. Those in the front row can't sit cross-legged."
Gee, thanks. And yes, there is a backlit signboard directing us when to laugh or applaud. That's reality for you.
A senior crew member enters. "Everything is set," she informs us, "Mr Khan will be here in just a few minutes. Please enjoy yourselves." The girls scream, they bite their nails, almost falling off their seats, exchanging impish smiles. The place echoes with their screams. I crane my neck to check if all's well. And I see a thin man with gelled hair, dressed in a grey suit offering aadaab. SRK!
He exchanges pleasantries with the roll-over contestant, whom he addresses as DJ and his shy wife Rashmi as "Rash baby." All's set but where's the hot seat? Oh, they bring it after SRK is ready to sit. Now DJ joins SRK.
The crew asks, "Shall we start, sir?"
"Yes Ma'm."
"Ok, rolling, 3, 2, 1, 0…"
The familiar soundtrack plays. "Namaskar, aadaab, vanakkam…" and SRK is in full flow, stopping only for the first commercial break.
Couldn't help laughing when people ducked each time the camera—resembling a horizontal giraffe—was shoved into their faces, in order to get shots from all angles of the contestant and SRK.
It was in this episode that SRK introduced the thinking cap—a white hat with 'Lots of love, Shah Rukh,' handwritten on it. The hat is meant to come to the contestant's rescue when the question is tough. And bingo, it woks in this world of make-belief, sorry, reality TV.
It wasn't just the girls who ogled SRK, a pigeon (must be a kabootri) joined us to catch a glimpse of SRK. Flapping its wings, it perched atop the iron rod above us! What, I thought, if there was a dropping on His head? Oh dear!
SRK at KBC is witty. Not an admirer of his acting skills, I loved his performance at KBC. That's because he's not acting, here, just being himself. He's quick, alert: Compaq not only changes ethnicity (computer da, computer sai) but also gender (computer bein, miss computer), depending on the contestant. As a result, the hot seat turns cool, the contestant loosens up and the show rolls.
From the crew to SRK, everyone ensures the proceedings are racy. No retakes—everything is sealed in one go from start to finish. Two episodes are shot in less than three hours. There is only one break, between the first and the second episode when SRK gives into his infamous stimulant—a cigarette. During the break, spot boys come up and slide their hands into his pants—to tuck in his shirt (what else?). Then it's the next round. Fastest Finger First selects the new contestant. The winner is exuberant. Some men escort him into a corner, where he is primped and his face is painted all over for the arc lights. Ditto for SRK.
Then we have to wait. Five, 10, 15 minutes. Patience begins to wear thin. I ask someone, "What is going on?"
"He is learning about the new guy," I am told. Oho, so that's how he is so wise on the sets about his guests.
I was always curious about the phone-a-friend lifeline. Now I can reveal all: three people are asked to keep their phones free for one hour. The contestant chooses which one to call depending on the nature of the question.
Everything proceeds smoothly. "Last segment, sir?" a voice asks. "Yes ma'm," he replies.
After the show is over, the real show—shows of hysteria begin. Those pretty young things (trust me, they were pretty and young) break into an impromptu song after some khusar-phusar. Tujhey dekha to yeh jaana sanam…
SRK sings with them enjoying every bit of the attention he receives. Then he shakes hands with everyone in the audience. Girls fall to pieces. One teenaged girl even hugs him in the presence of about a hundred others! "Sir, aapka face dekhna chatey hain, sir," a not-so-pretty-or-young man in his 50s screamed!
As suddenly as it began, the evening ends with a photo session. We have reached the end of our journey. Freeze it.
