MAM
KBC ropes in Aakash as a sponsor
MUMBAI: Amitabh Bachchan-hosted game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) which will air on Sony Entertainment Television (Set) has roped in Aakash Institutes as one of its sponsors.
Starting 7 September, KBC will air every week Friday to Sunday at 8.30 pm.
The positioning of this season of KBC is ‘the power of knowledge‘ or ‘Sirf Gyaan Hi Aapko Aapka Haq Dila Sakta Hai‘ which matches with Aakash‘s vision.
Aakash Educational Services director Aakash Chaudhry said, “We have pioneered this initiative with KBC as the program itself along with its central theme this year is truly in-sync with our philosophy! The magnetism and reach KBC has on the masses and with the visibility of Aakash coaching services when the program is aired, is the right and the best platform for us currently. It would definitely enhance our reach and thus fulfill the main purpose of this initiative, which is to reach out and assist all the aspirants who want to make their mark worldwide as medical and engineering careerists.”
Set up in 1988, Aakash Institute offers coaching to engineering aspirants across the country. They also guide students for medical and foundation level examinations (like NTSE and Olympiads) across India.
MAM
Talking heads: TV9’s chief takes the host’s chair with style — but could do with a laugh
Barun Das has swapped the boardroom for the studio and is pulling off a polished interview show — mostly
MUMBAI: There is something quietly audacious about a media chief who decides that running a television empire is not quite enough and plants himself in front of the camera for a good chinwag with the great and the good. Barun Das, chief executive of TV9 Network, has done precisely that, and for the most part, he carries it off with considerable aplomb.
Duologue with Barun Das, now in its fourth season on JioHotstar, is exactly what it says on the tin: two people, two chairs, no frills. In the earlier seasons, Das has sat across from a rather stellar roster, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Aparna Sen, Viswanathan Anand, Kiran Rao, among many other renowned names. And in the fourth instalment he has had guests of the likes of Aamir Khan, Sourav Ganguly, Bianca Balti (Italian super model and cancer survivor), Lothar Matthäus (German football World Cup-winning captain). Throughout, he has coaxed from them nuggets that their publicists would probably rather keep under wraps. Cricket, relationships, spirituality, acting, health, behind-the-scenes machinations that plague politics, intellect, nepotism, nothing is entirely off the table.
Das’s greatest asset is his manner. Unhurried, well-dressed and disarmingly calm, he has the rare gift of making his guests feel so thoroughly at ease that they occasionally forget they are being filmed for television. The questions arrive softly, like a spinner tossing up a googly rather than a fast bowler hurling bouncers, and more often than not, they draw out a telling answer. He has no cue cards or teleprompter to help him along, which is probably a rarity for a host. Some credit must go to the research team operating quietly in the wings, who evidently do their homework so that Das does not have to fumble for his.
Where Duologue stumbles, however, is in its almost determined refusal to lighten up. Each 45-minute episode carries the solemn weight of a budget speech. A dash of wit, a moment of mischief, the odd belly laugh, none of it makes an appearance. Serious conversation has its place, but even the most earnest of interviewers, think David Frost at his best, knew when to let the air out of the room.
Das has built something worth watching. He simply needs to remind himself, and his guests, that a smile never hurt anyone.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5.
Available on JioHotstar.
