MUMBAI: Looks like reality has finally arrived. We reserve our comment on if the phenomenon seems akin to the infamous 'Dotcom boom', but the broadcasters are tuned in and how. The main thrust, unarguably, is on the glamour hunt, but MTV seems keen on offering a balance menu- both the glamour hunt and the hard-core reality as well.
While taking care of the talent "glam" hunt is Balaji Telefilms' Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi (KMHZ), the hard core reality is reserved for the Miditech produced MTV Roadies 2.
Although the inaugural edition MTV Roadies came in- last year- with good amount of publicity hoopla and had its heart in the right place, it didn't create as many ripples. The dismal performance at the TRP courts not withstanding, the youth music channel has gone ahead with the second edition.
The reality show is scheduled to launch in the last week of September. While KMHZ is likely to occupy the 8 pm slot, Roadies will swoop in at 8:30 pm. The channel has differed from making announcement, so that neither big announcement takes wind out of others sail.
While the first edition tailed four boys and three girls on bikes across 4000 km, discovering the essence of India -from the sands of Chennai to the high ranges of Chail- over 40 days, this time on the journey charted out will be from Kolkata right up to Wagah border and for 35 days. Incidentally, both the format and the sponsor- Hero Honda- are the same. The lesson that has been drawn from the last year's mistake is the change in the language.
The anchor aka 'sutradhar' MTV VJ Cyrus Sahukar will be spouting Hindi and ditto for the essence of the show, which will be decidedly Indian. The surprise element of the hunt will be inclusion of last year's roadie Rannvijay Singh as the MTV VJ. His role in the hunt is unclear as of now.
The towns that the roadies this time will cover include: Calcutta, Chunchura, Bardhaman, Durgapur, Asansol, Dhanbad, Parasath, Barhi, Tilaiya, Dhobi, Aurangabad, Sasaram, Mughal Sarai, Varanasi, Allahabad, Kausambi, Fatehpur, Kanpur, Kalpi, Auraiya, Etawah, Firozabad, Agra, Mathura, Vrindaban, Faridabad, Delhi, Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and finally Wagah.
The camera will capture the chosen seven- four boys and three girls, their emotions, relationships, hardships and joy as they travel about 2000 kms across our country through villages, small towns and big cities. The selected Roadies will also be involved in various social causes as well: small tasks that are set for them at some locations: e.g. giving English lessons to children in small town.
The auditions will be flagged off on 21 July in Pune and will be also held at Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chandigarh and Mumbai. The Mumbai auditions will be held on 5 August.
As for the prizes, all the seven roadies- those who complete the journey- will get to keep the bikes (Hero Honda Karizma) and the popular Roadie as judged by the junta and the jury will get prize money of Rs 5,00,000.
The interested candidates should be at least 18 years of age and the male candidates should preferably have a geared two-wheeler license. The selections will be based on how they perform during the three rounds: psychographic test, group discussion and personal interview, held at the audition venue.
The contestants will have to get themselves registered at the audition venue on the day of audition. Incidentally, they can jump the queue at the audition by pre-registering at mtvindia.com/roadies.
Let us see if they prove to be lucky, the second time.
Audition grounds:
1. Pune: 21 July - Symbiosis Auditorium Senapati Bapat Marg, Near Bal Bharati, Pune
2. Chennai: 24 July- Kamarajar Arangam, 492, Annasalai Teynampet, Chennai
3. Kolkata: 27 July- Birla Auditorium, 29, Ashutosh Chowdhary Avenue, Kolkotta
4. Delhi: 30 July- Kamani Audi, Bharatiya Kala Kendra Trust, 1-Coppernicus Marg
New Delhi
5. Chandigarh: 2 Aug- Himachal Bhavan, Sector-28, Chandigarh
6. Mumbai: Ravindra Natya Mandir, Ravindranatya Mandir, Near Siddhivinayak, Kala Academy, Prabhadevi, Mumbai.
