Quiz game shows have been popular in India since the late 1980’s. Siddharta Basu, lovingly called the ‘Father of Indian Television Quizzing’ started the trend of quiz shows in India. He has been a pioneer in this arena. He has hosted, produced and directed many prestigious shows on Indian Television. Television quiz shows got enormously popular thanks to a show Quiz Time, created and hosted by Siddharta Basu. In this article we will be decoding some majorly successful quiz game shows that have aired on Indian Television.
Quiz Game Show #1 Kaun Banega Crorepati?
One of the most highly rated Indian Non-fiction shows of all time, Kaun Banega Crorepati is a certified benchmark. Hosted by Amitabh Bachhan, the show was the Indian counterpart of the international format of ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’. The popularity of KBC can be attributed to the fact that it featured common men and women. These real people won hefty amounts of money by answering simple GK questions. The show was hugely successful because audience could play the game along with the contestant on TV. It instilled hope and posed sky-high opportunities for the Indian Television audience.
Quiz Game Show #2 Dadagiri Unlimited
It seldom so happens that a show from regional Television gains nationwide popularity. Hosted by the very popular and charismatic former captain of the Indian Cricket Team, this show gained a major fan-following and mighty ratings with its first ever season in 2011. This was the first time a cricketer was hosting a TV show. The loyal fan base of Sourav Ganguly and his easy hosting style took this show to a new heights. The makers have been consistent with the high ratings, even the seventh season last year brought home some great Television viewing for the Indian masses. The show format involves bringing common people from different districts of West Bengal and pitting them against each other through the various rounds of the game. There was no cash prize as such, but the thrill of getting to meet ‘Dada’ was a major pull. People thronged to auditions for that one simple thing; a handshake with Sourav Ganguly.
Quiz Game Show #3 Cadbury Bournvita Quiz Contest
Our favourite game show to watch, this one was hosted by Derek O’Brian. This show had schools participate in an authentic quiz contest from all over the country. There would be three teams and each team would consist of three quizzers. There would be different rounds testing the knowledge of these school students. The show was simple and clean yet heavily interesting. Those were the days when Television shows, fiction and non-fiction, used to be stark and no-nonsense without any added frills. This show gained a huge popularity among school-going kids and adults alike.
It is saddening that the great era of meaningful TV shows has come to a standstill. Although a lot of reality shows are still popular, the heydays of real content on reality shows have sadly come to an end in this decade. However, we can all revel in the glory of the past and try to catch a few episodes of our favourites on digital media platforms.
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