Sony also says 'Nach Baliye'
Plans are on for desi version of American superhit Dancing With The Stars with Siddharth Basu
Shaheen Parkar
shaheen@mid-day.com
After Indian Idol, Sony has plans for another massive show — Dancing With The Stars. Comparisons may be odious, but Star One's big ticket Nach Baliye was loosely inspired by the hit American show.
Though the channel prefers not to comment at this stage, it is reliably learnt that the Sony folks will ink the deal on Monday when they will spell out the details. Says an source, "The channel has been in talks regarding Dancing With The Stars. In the next few days they will make an announcement. They are hyping it as their next big show after Indian Idol."
Fancy footwork
Dancing with the Stars airs on ABC in the United States, besides several other countries like Canada and Australia. The concept of the show is to a pair a celebrity with a professional dancer or choregrapher. The duo then attempts to win a high score from a panel of judges and the maximim number of votes from the viewers. The person who receives the lowest score is eliminated at every round, but they are allowed one last dance at the end of the show.
This means that a professional has to teach his or her partner, so that both can put their best foot forward as a dancing couple. Apart from the dance, there will also be the pain, emotion and tears of the non-dancer partner. After all, matching steps with a professional can be really tough.
Besides the list of Bollywood choregraphers the channel is in talks with, a string of telly, Bollywood and Page 3 faces are expected to be the partners.
'Quiz'zical makeover
What's most interesting about Dancing With The Stars is that it will be produced by Siddharth Basu's Synergy Communications. This marks Basu's entry into a new genre of programming from what he is best known for a quiz master.
This also means that Basu will step over to Sony from the Star network . In the past, Basu has produced shows like Star Plus's biggest draw Kaun Banega Crorepati with Amitabh Bachchan. He has also produced Hum Tum Aur Mum (Star Plus) and Bluffmaster (Star One). Presently, his show Heartbeat airs on Star One.
Incidentally, Sony has earlier announced another formatted reality show, Extreme Makeover, to be hosted by Mona 'Jassi' Singh. The show will have on board a team of doctors who will give individuals with flawed looks (a prominent birthmark, a cleft lip or a victim of an acid attack) a complete transformation by changing their looks.
While Extreme Makeover is slated to air early next year, Dancing With The Stars will air by the year-end.
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