Talent
Star Plus’ India Ke Top 1% draws 220,000 Play Along viewers on JioHotstar
Hosted by Anil Kapoor, the Banijay Asia and BBC Studios format has crowned three winners in six episodes
MUMBAI: Prime time television in India just got its Mojo back. Star Plus has pulled off what non-celebrity quiz shows have struggled to do for ten years: get entire families off their phones and screaming answers at the television screen together.
The vehicle driving this weekend madness is India Ke Top 1%, hosted by a ageless Anil Kapoor. Premiered on 19 September, the show has already created a splash across screens. It logged three big winners in its very first six episodes, starting right out of the gate with Bijal Shah taking home a cool Rs 94 lakh in episode one.
Unlike traditional quiz shows that demand you memorize textbook dates or capital cities, this format tests raw logic, sharp observation and plain common sense. That simple twist makes it an equal-opportunity game for everyone sitting on the living room sofa.
The action is not just restricted to the studio set either. Over 220,000 viewers have already jumped onto the JioHotstar app to join the Play Along feature, competing from home to win Smart TVs and smartphones.
Produced by Banijay Asia in association with BBC Studios UK, the format is proving to be a masterstroke for non-fiction weekend programming on JioStar. Banijay Asia founder and group chief executive officer Deepak Dhar notes that the Play Along feature is doing the real heavy lifting by turning passive viewers into active players right from their living rooms.
Even the host cannot escape the heat at home. Kapoor admits that dinner table sessions with wife Sunita and daughters Sonam and Rhea turn instantly competitive, with Sonam frequently outsmarting the host himself on the logic questions.
Beyond the prize money, the show is scoring high on heart. Inspiring real-life stories, like river cleanup campaigner Bittu Tabahi and Mumbai’s famous benevolent auto driver Sandeep Bachche, have given the series a warm emotional core. The buzz has even crossed international borders, landing a high-profile showcase on Dubai’s Burj Khalifa to mark JioHotstar’s expansion into the MENA region.
India Ke Top 1% airs every Saturday and Sunday at 8 pm on Star Plus, with streaming available on JioHotstar. weekend TV just got competitive again.
