Ke Hobe Banglar Kotipoti on Mahua Bangla has been a success. The show which arrived on the channel with the punch line" Ostader Mar Raat Natay" captured the hearts of a million in quick time. The reality show based on U.K's International popular show "Who wants to be a millionaire?" is widely known in India as Kaun Banega Crorepati (Hindi). Kaun Banega Crorepati had celebrated anchors like Amitabh Bacchan and Shahrukh Khan. A Bengali version of this internationally famed show was always a challenging proposition. Mohua Bangla channel did understand the pulse of Bengal well and conceived the idea of having the famed Indian captain and Bengal's bright son, Sourav Ganguly as the anchor of the show. This did wonders and Sourav Ganguly played the innings of his life! The Maharaj of Bengal was top-notch riding on his success as the anchor of another popular Bengali reality show, Dadagiri Unlimited on Zee Bangla.
Anindyabikash Datta
pic: Subhro Ganguly
While following each episode of this show closely I was thinking of the creative head behind it. The international look and feel of Ke Hobe Banglar Kotipoti was not an easy job to attain. Well finally I did know the name-Anindya Bikash Datta. Anindya Bikash has been a familiar name in Bengali entertainment industry for some time now. He was associated with mega serials like "Ek Akasher Niche", shows like "Tomar Ghore Star" and telefims in Tara Muzik. Ke Hobe Banglar Kotipoti was about reaching new heights for this talented young director.
Anindyabikash Datta
It came to my mind that getting one interview of Anindya Bikash Datta for the readers of Dispassionate Observer will be of help. I called him to fix dates and he decided on giving the interview one Sunday at his residence. I prepared a range of questions as my mind oscillated between getting to know more of this man and the experience of working with a legend called Sourav Ganguly.
picture source: Vamsi Krishna Bandi (picasa)
I reached his place on the given date and found him playing with his young son. The man appeared so down to earth, just like the boy next door, always smiling and calm. He made me feel comfortable and then asked about me and the blog. He repeatedly denied that he is a celebrity and rather introduced himself as an ordinary man. After asking him about his lovely son who sat at his father's lap all through the interview I went into business. Here are the excerpts of the interview with Anindya Bikash Datta:
Q. Ke Hobe Banglar Kotipoti has been a big platform. What are your ideas about the show?
A. Ke Hobe Banglar Kotipoti was indeed a big platform as a creative consultant. It was the first International format reality show in Bengali television. Working with famed Siddhartha Basu and his organisation Big Synergy was a memorable experience. Siddhartha Basu has been the pioneer of this kind of shows in India and the workshop that he held in Mumbai prior to the making of Ke Hobe Banglar Kotipoti did make a world of difference in me. Matching up with the international quality of this show was the biggest ask. 2waytraffic, the London-based company behind "Who wants to be a millionaire?" sent two representatives to India to check whether the show has met the quality requirements. Ke Hobe Banglar Kotipoti passed this hurdle with flying colours. I savoured every moment of my stint with this show.
Q. The show was targeted to a certain section of the society. Can you share your views on this?
A. The show was indeed targeted to a certain section. We wanted to reach out to the educated middle class and lower middle class of Bengal. We had in mind people like an ordinary auto rickshaw driver who is educated and dreams to make it big. It was like empowering them to get the best of life by answering some current affairs questions.
Q. Can you explain a bit about the process of selection and other nuances of Ke Hobe Banglar Kotipoti?
A. This was one of the cleanest reality shows that I have come across. There were multiple tires of selection and one who passed all the tires got the chance to be on the hot seat with Sourav Ganguly. Every audition was audio recorded as well as video recorded to provide no room for doubts later on.
Q. Now the Big Question-Your experience of working with Sourav Ganguly in the Bengali version of KBC and Shatrughan Sinha in the Bhojpuri version?
A. Both are professionals and have wonderful personality. It was a pleasurable experience working with both. Shatrughan Sinha has been an established name in Bollywood but what took me by surprise was the work of Sourav Ganguly. Sourav was from the field of cricket but he mastered this new trade in no time. May be this is called true class. He was always on time and came around as one with rare sense of wit and humour. His presence of mind was laudable and took just seven days to rehearse before going for the final shoot. As a person he was always down to earth and passionate about cricket. During break periods we discussed about his experiences of captaining India and about his team mates. All the time he told interesting stories. His passion for the game was unparalleled.
Q. Someone whom you specially need to thank for this show?
A. I like to thank Yubaraj Bhattacharya, the CEO of Mahua Bangla for coming up with this wonderful concept. He took all the pain of convincing the channel about the prospects of this show and about the big prize money. Without him Ke Hobe Banglar Kotipoti would not have been possible.
Q. Life after Ke Hobe Banglar Kotipoti. What are your future plans?
A. I plan to make one non fictional show with school students for Mahua channel. It will be based on an aptitude test. The test will be performed on school students to know about their inclinations towards a branch of study. The driving force behind this show is to make the students feel less stressed and help them and their parents to choose the right stream of study. In my childhood I have seen parents putting undue pressure on children to study science and become doctors and engineers. Many careers have been ruined by this. Knowing the aptitude at a young age will help future higher education. The test will be based on the formula of Howard Gardner, world-famous psychologist. I am also planning to do a feature film. It's scripting process is on. The film will focus on the young bright talents across Universities who fall prey to drug rackets operating in a big way in the state.
Q. One last question. What are your Puja plans? Any special event on your mind?
A. Nothing special. The four days of Puja I stay put in my home or go out to give adda in my friend circle. Pandal hopping is not my cup of tea as I feel suffocated. However, I like to see from my balcony the ocean of humanity on road. It makes me happy to see ordinary people who can afford little flock in large numbers to be a part of this merriment. Durga Puja for me is not a religious occasion. It is the time of the year when all forget their sorrows and unite across differences. The idol of Maa Durga is all about a positive spirit which touches every life.
