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MUMBAI:
The third season of the adventure-based reality show The
Amazing Race Asia is set to kick off on AXN on 11 September.
The show will air every Thursday at 10 pm.
As
has been the case in the past, 10 teams linked by a relationship,
will travel to various locations across Asia and the winner
gets $100,000.
AXN,
Animax India senior VP, business head Rohit Bhandari notes
that this time there are two Indian teams – a father
son duo and an ex air-hostess and her cousin. “What makes
this edition exciting is that the tasks are more difficult.
We are pushing the event as being ‘The Toughest Race
Ever’.
The
fatigue level was so high that even one of the production
crewmembers was hospitalised. There are shorter rest periods
while a faster pace between challenges thrown to teams at
a more intense speed.
Bhandari
says that the USP of this show is that it takes viewers across
different locations. “Other reality shows tend to be
studio based and are song and dance talent shows. To do well
on The Amazing Race Asia, one requires physical stamina
and mental agility. So, to win this race is harder than most
other reality competitions. It takes a lot more character.
We also look for character among participants. From India
we got around 550 entries, this time compared with around
460 for the previous edition. Across Asia we got around 5000
entries. The participants must have the ability to generate
excitement for our viewers.”
The
other contestants include two teams each from Thailand, Malaysia
and India, and one team each from Singapore, Philippines and
Hong Kong.
Malaysia
and Singapore had won the first two seasons respectively.
Bhandari
adds that the show will turn in a profit this year. The partners
for the show, which include hotels, will help defray production
costs to an extent. Maskargo, which is the air cargo division
of Malaysia Airlines, is one of the partners as well as an
advertiser. The other companies that have come in as sponsors
are Nokia, Standard Chartered Bank, Caltex, Singha Beer, Sony
Electronics and Sony HD World.
Bhandari
says that products are integrated into the show. For instance,
participants use a Nokia phone to navigate their way to the
next location. Mascargo is used to transport equipment while
Caltex is used in a Go Kart Challenge.
Bhandari
rules out the possibility of doing an Amazing Race in India.
That is because it would get repetitious after the second
season, as one would have to keep visiting the same locations.
“We
are, however, looking at possibly doing an adventure reality
show sometime around the festive season. We are also to take
a decision on whether we would air the show or just do it
as an on ground activity to bring the AXN experience closer
to fans. Things like the cost factor and how fast we can possibly
air the show on television also come into the equation. Our
aim going forward is to look at new concepts instead of merely
going back to things that have been done before like Guinness
World Records,” Bhandari quips.
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