People dropping out of sight! Pulses racing quicker than a hare! These are just a few of the treats Sony Entertainment has lined up for next month when its game show Bachke Rehnaa debuts.

The show is the Indian version of Russian Roulette from Columbia Tristar Television. The show will be adapted soon in 20 countries. It has already tasted success in the US, Russia, Spain and Hong Kong, an official release states.

For the uninitiated this is how the show works. Four contestants lock in a battle of grit, nerve and on the spot thinking. They challenge each other through multiple-choice questions. The person asking the question is known as the "challenger". A correct answer means money and the right to ask the next question. A wrong answer means you lose money. That is not all! He/she now has to pull a lever and a red light starts darting from one chamber to the next. If lady luck is on your side the light falls on a solid chamber. If not its bye bye literally. The treacherous trapdoor opens and the participant drops into a hole out of sight.

Speaking on the initiative to indiantelevision.com's Ashwin Pinto , executive V-P SET Sunil Lulla said: "Bachke Rehnaa appeals to all age groups. The initiative is a step further in our endeavour to provide engrossing wholesome family entertainment."

The director Kapil Batra said: "When I first saw the international version I thought it was a completely outrageous concept and I decided to take it up as a challenge.

"Adding excitement to the proceedings are the pulse meters attached to each participant. This gives each player an idea as to exactly how nervous the others are. At stake is the jackpot of Rs 2 million. Once a participant falls out he loses whatever money he has so far amassed and goes home empty handed. The last one left standing has the option of going home with all the winnings or taking the risk with the lever to get a shot at the jackpot.

Show Anchor: Mohnish Behl Producers: In House Productions Director: Kapil Batra Set Designer: Sameer Chanda

Sets, direction, action...
The production is handled by InHouse Productions which had earlier done the big budget gameshow Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke for SET, on a set built up at Film City in the western Mumbai suburb of Goregaon.

Says InHouse CEO Uday Sinhwalla: "The show has three elements all of which come together for the first time in a game show. The first is skill. Within the span of ten seconds the contestants have to answer the question. They also have to come up with a strategy for survival depending on which stage of the game you are in. The second element involved is presence of mind. You have to be quick on your feet to figure out the contestant most vulnerable at a particular point of time. Finally there is luck. You can lose money and still have the chance to get it back if the trap door stays shut.

"Regarding the choice of Mohnish Behl as host Sinhwalla said: "An anchor needs to be fluent, have a strong presence and strike a rapport with both the participants and the audience. Behl has all three qualities. In addition, I was impressed at the amount of time he gave to the task before shooting commenced. He was committed to making the transition from a screen actor to hosting a game show and so sought advice from the production team and the director as to requirements.

"Also on hand was the director Kapil Batra. He said that the show was unique partly due to the amount of hardware involved. Seven cameras are used. They are placed above as well as on the sides so as to catch reactions of the participants. There is also a grip and moving cameras so that a difficult shot can be caught. Sameer Chanda made the set design in keeping with what was being done abroad, Batra said. Likewise some of the music has been borrowed from abroad. The rest has been composed by the InHouse team including the montage introducing the show.

The game takes place in a squared circle in front of a live audience of 120 people. The only editing that will take place is if the show runs short of time, Batra said. There are computerised lights, which keep changing in accordance with the tone of the game. As for the trap door, it is a hydraulic design with gizmos constructed by a team of engineers keeping in mind certain specifications and safety. Participants are put through test falls prior to the commencement of shows. They are also asked a few medical questions so that nothing untoward happens. Although the fall is just three feet deep the catch is that it is sudden, Batra said. A person playing well could suddenly disappear. The contestants also get time with each other so that each has an idea of the other's personality.

Most significant however, is the fact that for the first time a game logic computer controls the entire action. This includes the music, questions and lighting. When the game starts through the blue chaser light it is the computer, which decides at random who the initial challenger will be.

This is why Batra's job of directing becomes all the more tricky. If, for example, a participant pulls the lever after answering wrongly Batra does not know what will happen to the trapdoor. That is the discretion of the computer, which decides at random which trapdoor the red light will settle in. It could even open blank trapdoor, as there are six in number. In accordance with what happens he has to select shots from any of four cameras. He also has to catch the reactions of the participants and the host.

Since the logistics are so complex there is one room just for the servers. There is another room for the control computers from where the director works. Batra said 15 episodes have already been shot. Batra clarified that the show has been slotted as a weekly for the present but if it goes down well with audiences the frequency of airings could be increased. The next round of shooting is scheduled to take place in October.

The Anchor Mohnish Behl

Bachke Rehnaa marks the debut of actor Mohnish Behl in the game show host arena. Mohnish known to Bollywood buffs for his role in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. He can also be seen on the tube in the Star Plus hospital drama Sanjivani. When asked if he was following a particular approach for 'Bachke Rehnaa' he said: " A good anchor is one who is friendly and smoothly facilitates goings on. I find an anchor who is intentionally being nasty not only a huge turn off but also offensive. I found the 'winner takes all' concept particularly appealing. I also admired the professional approach of In Houses' team."

He went on to elaborate on his role as an anchor: "Having been an actor for a decade, this initiative marks a fresh start. I view the job of anchoring as a learning process. I have watched most of the game shows on the tube be it KBC or JCPK. While I admire the varied styles of the anchors I do not want to copy, as mimicking would be wrong.

A game show does not involve acting. There is so much unpredictability that I have to rely on spontaneity. I am slowly getting used to not having a script being placed in front of me. Presence of mind is important just not for the participants but for me as well. There are times when I have to diffuse tense situations.

I see the show as resembling real life in terms of the dilemma that the contestants go through. In each episode I can expect to see a different emotion come through. For instance there was a man who reached the fourth round and then froze. It is not that his mind went blank. It was that he could not say a word though he probably knew the correct answers. For my part I do not need to be physically too active. There is already an overload of tension hanging in the room with pulses reaching between 160-180 and if I move too much then the flow is disrupted. My job is to make sure that the participants and viewers have a lot of fun while wondering as to where the prize money will land.

When asked about the relatively low amount of prize money involved he said: " Prize money is not the main attraction. The thrill comes from doing and watching something unique and enjoying someone falling. You can have one crore (Rs 10 million), ten crores or even an unlimited amount of money up for grabs. However if the show's format does not engage the viewer or if the flow is stilted and dull then it will not work."

The Channel's Say

For Sony, Bachke Rehnaa is part of the "Hot N' Fresh" programming initiative that kicked off with the Madhuri Dixit hosted marriage show K3H and will see a slew of new programmes unveil over the next few months. SET director - on air programming, Anupama Mandloi, said the show would also have special episodes featuring television celebrities and models.

Marketing initiatives covering various media spectrum would roll out a week before the show commences, Mandloi said. The exact date of launch, which will be some time next month, is still to be decided, she said. Even aspects like the time slot for the show, as well as the day of the week it will air are still being worked out, she added.

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