Imagine aspires to Wipeout others with 'Zor Ka Jhatka' gets Shah Rukh Khan for the show!

Imagine has launched a new show Zor Ka Jhatka starring Shah Rukh Khan as its host. The show is based on the world's biggest, most successful and most hilarious game show Wipeout. This will be the channel's biggest investment since its inception. The show will go on air in January next year with the promo line of the show that reads- "Fun ka Fatka. Masti ka Matka. Entertainment ka Chaska."

On the show Shah Rukh Khan will take 28 TV stars, outside their comfort zone into the world's biggest obstacle course in Argentina to battle it out. At stake is prize money worth Rs. 1.5 crores, including a mega cash prize of Rs 50 Lakhs for the winner of the finale. The show will have 16 episodes and run for a span of 4 weeks on the prime time slot of the channel.

The channel looks at creating a family show, to create an entertainment which has a mass appeal. The TG for the show is right from 6-60 years of age, which means inclusive viewing.

In this extremely competitive environment, Shah Rukh Khan will challenge these contestants of all ages and varying fitness levels to a series of hilarious tasks and obstacles. From jumping over moving obstacles to bouncing off big balls and dodging swinging pendulums hurled their way. And while the contestants sweat it out, Shah Rukh Khan, will provide his brand of extremely funny, witty and at times even a little nasty commentary on the proceedings and take the fun to a completely new level.

Talking to Adgully about the launch of the show Sameer Nair, Chief Executive Officer, Turner General Entertainment Networks India Pvt. Ltd, says "Zor Ka Jhatka is completely differentiated, it is different from what is going on TV. It's in an expensive show and at the same time it was a challenge to get 28 TV stars and go through it. It is not an easy course, it is very difficult to do it and the contestants need to be physically fit. I think it will be a really good show and because Shah Rukh Khan is genuinely entertaining."

At the launch conference for the show in Mumbai, Shah Rukh Khan says, "This is an exciting association for me on many levels. Coming back to television, working with Sameer and Imagine once again and most importantly, because I'm doing something completely different from what I've done on television before. It promises to be a thrilling ride with lots of thrills and spills and I'm looking forward to being a super funny host-commentator. In fact my children and I have watched the international version often and really loved it. Together, Imagine and I are sure to 'Wipeout' all your worries and make you have loads of fun."

Deepak Dhar, from Endemol India, the production house for Zor Ka Jhatka says, "Wipeout has been a raging success in every country where it has been aired. At Endemol, we pride ourselves on creating cutting edge, wildly entertaining shows for television viewers in India. We're very excited to partner with Imagine on this show and are certain it will get the same response that it already has worldwide."

Talking about the promotional activities, Nikhil Madhok, Senior Director- Marketing and Communication , told Adgully, "Unlike some of our earlier shows which was focused on female audience this show is more of a family viewing show, so we want to reach out to as many audiences as we can. So our approach is going to be to increase the overall reach of our communication. WE will use every possible medium to reach to out to the masses, given the scale of the show we also want to mount the promotional activities to the same scaled up level. Full scale launch campaigns will begin sometime in January. Digital promotions will be very big for two reasons because Shah Rukh is the host and he is a massive star internationally too, hence digital becomes a great medium for our international communication."

"We will be creating a micro-site with Shah Rukh's blog and accounts about the show. We are going to take the traditional mass media route right now given the timeline of the show. From the feelers we have sent across a lot of brands that Shah Rukh has been associated with want to be associated with the show. We are also looking at in-show branding and advertising, the set of the show provides that opportunity. It will be a premium marketed show," he adds.

The contestants on the show include Akashdeep Saigal, Amit Sareen, Ashima Bhalla, Bhakhtiyaar Irani, Claudia Ciesla, Debina Bonnerjee, Dimpy Mahajan, Gaurav Chopraa, Gracious D' Costa, Hanif Hilal, Jennifer Winget, Karishma Tanna, Krushna Patil, Kushal Punjabi, Manas Katyal, Manoj Kumar, Mink Brar, Narayani Shastri, Natasha Suri, Payal Rohatgi, Priyadarshani Singh, Raja Chaudhary, Rohit Verma, Simran Kaur Mundi, Sonika Kaliraman, Annie, Vindu Dara Singh and Vrajesh Hirjee.

The shows original international format- Wipeout is a wildly popular international format game show that has been aired successfully across 22 countries including USA, UK and Australia. | By Prabha Hegde [prabha(at)adgully.com]