CHENNAI: There was a time when television channels filled up their slots with game shows, and entire families would gather in front of the television to watch Amitabh Bachchan’s Kaun Banega Crorepati and Kushboo’s Jackpot.
Over time, with the success of reality television, channels gradually phased them out.
In the last couple of years, however, these shows have made a resurgent comeback. Driven primarily by cinema and current affairs, game shows such as Connexions , Naduvula Konjam Disturb Pannuvom and Oru Vaarthai Oru Latcham on Star Vijay enjoy a huge popularity amongst the audience.
Why are the game shows so heavily dependent on films for their content? “While we try to bring in questions on current affair and sports, everybody loves and recognises questions on movies. We cannot have a show that ignores movies. The idea is to entertain the audience on a Sunday afternoon without expecting too much effort from their side,” says Arjun Karthikeyan, creative director of Connexions, which is a ‘picture-driven’ game show.
The main criticism is that these shows — barring Oru Vaarthai Oru Latcham , which has been appreciated for its Tamil content — depend too much on cinema simply because most of their participants are celebrities.
While creative directors don’t want to embarrass celebrities who are not keeping track of current affairs, they also admit that these shows are rarely meant to function as an educative experience.
“The fun in these game shows is not about answering a difficult question. The fun is in the manner in which the teams fight it out,” says Mr. Karthikeyan.
