Reality
‘Bachke Rehnaa’ looks promising enough to revive a flagging genre
Sony‘s latest game show has the juice to keep viewers hooked to the telly for a substantial time period. On Monday at 8 pm SET premiered the weekly Bachke Rehnaa the Indian adaptation of Russian Roulette.
The half-hour show started with each of the four participants being introduced in a circle. This was a celebrity special featuring heroines from popular SET programmes: Simone Singh from Heena, Tasneem from Kkusum, Pooja Ghai from Par is dil ko kaise Samjhaye and Aparna from Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka.
The show scores points with its snappy and straight to the point style. No lengthy intros, no time wasting tete-a-tete. The host Mohnish Behl has a comfortable rapport not just with the participants but also with the audience. His smooth flow of dialogue delivery which enabled him to gel nicely with the participants was a welcome change from the cavalier style of Sony‘s earlier Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke (JCPK) and the irritating mumbling, stuttering, stop and start goings on that took place on the Zee flop show Sawaal Dus Crore Ka.
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The topics ranged from music to mythology. The level of difficulty went up in that with each round the number of choices available. increased. After the end of the first round the person with the most amount of money pulls the lever and any of the other three participants disappeared. The procedure continues till just one person is remaining who takes home the prize money collected.
Another innovation is that unlike the game shows mentioned earlier there are no helplines like 50-50, phone a friend or ask the audience in Bachke Rehnaa. This heightens the tension and pulse rate with just ten seconds to give the response. There is no respite if one gets cornered. Also the red chaser light which determines who goes out of the game moves to a sound resembling the ticking of an old alarm clock. In addition in the third round with just two participants remaining one has the option of answering the question oneself or passing on the buck so to speak.
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In the fourth round the winner Aparna was asked five questions within a minute without any options. A wrong answer meant automatic elimination. She surprisingly did not know that the pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi reached all four tennis Grand Slams in 1999.
To conclude Bachke Rehnaa is worth checking out for those tired of the rigmarole of soaps and looking for quick rushes of excitement.
Reality
Jio bets big on gaming with global reality show push
Good Game India promises Rs 1 crore prize and a hunt for the country’s first gaming superstar
MUMBAI: India’s gaming gold rush just got flashier. Reliance Jio has teamed up with Good Game Group to launch Good Game India, billed as the world’s first as-live global gaming reality show, set to go live in July 2026.
The ambition is sweeping. The show aims to tap into over 500 million young viewers, streaming across platforms including JioHotstar, JioTV and JioGames’ own ecosystem.
Backing the spectacle is a high-profile jury. Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu, cricketer Rishabh Pant and gaming creator Ujjwal Chaurasia will front the show as brand ambassadors and judges, lending mainstream heft to an industry hungry for crossover appeal.
At stake is Rs 1 crore, one of the richest purses in India’s reality-show circuit, alongside a shot at global representation. But this is no ordinary gaming contest. Contestants will be judged not just on skill, but on creativity, content chops and their ability to build communities, a nod to the creator economy reshaping digital entertainment.
The format blends esports-style challenges with in-real-life tasks, layered with fan voting, live interactions and always-on social storytelling. The pitch is clear: gaming is no longer just play, it is performance, influence and commerce rolled into one.
With early traction already building online, Jio’s gamble signals a larger shift. As screens multiply and attention fragments, the battle is no longer for viewers alone, but for creators who can command them. In that race, gaming may well be India’s next big stage.
