ITV

Tag: Rannvijay Singh

  • Dylect puts scammers in the rear-view with new dash cam

    Dylect puts scammers in the rear-view with new dash cam

    MUMBAI: Say cheese, scammers. Dylect is taking Indian roads under watchful eyes with its new Scam Ya Dash Cam campaign, starring Rannvijay Singh. The nationwide push highlights how dash cams can protect honest drivers from on-road cheats and chaotic driving scenarios.

    Launched across social media, the campaign showcases everyday traffic mayhem where lack of evidence leaves drivers vulnerable. Dylect’s smart dash cams, equipped with full HD night vision, Sony Starvis 2 sensors, loop recording, G-sensor, and parking surveillance, promise to flip the power back to the road users.

    Founder Anuj Bhatia said the campaign aligns with Dylect’s mission to bring tech-forward, practical solutions to drivers. “The truth will always be recorded,” he added, emphasising the role of dash cams in preventing scams and disputes.

    Conceptualised by Art-E Mediatech, the campaign captures the tension and fear drivers feel when confronted by road scammers, positioning the dash cam as the unsung hero that empowers motorists with real-time evidence.

    With India’s roads growing busier and unpredictability increasing, Dylect Dash Cams aim to provide reassurance, accountability and peace of mind for every driver.

  • Sourav Ganguly becomes undercover delivery boy for Pizza Hut

    Sourav Ganguly becomes undercover delivery boy for Pizza Hut

    MUMBAI: What if you were standing in a queue and suddenly discovered that the person standing next to you is your favourite celebrity or hero? Will you be starry-eyed, nervous or excited? That’s exactly how people assembled at the Sourav Ganguly Cricket Academy in Kolkata on 15 May felt. After all, they had the Bengal Tiger himself standing amidst them, but they stood there, none the wiser.  

    Leading pizza chain, Pizza Hut, recently curated a massive surprise experience in the Kolkata, in a creative collaboration with Rannvijay Singha and Sourav Ganguly.

    A social media campaign titled ‘Cricket with Rannvijay’ called out to cricket fans and the youth of Kolkata challenging them to play better than Rannvijay and get an opportunity to enjoy Pizza Hut pan pizzas with him. But the fun did not end there. 

    The video shows how the unsuspecting crowd was electrified with excitement as they realise that they ended up casually playing cricket with cricketer Sourav Ganguly.

    The video begins with Rannvijay Singh engaging people from the audience by inviting them to beat his score. He assigns the crowd with the power to decide the score every time someone bats, including himself. After a few friendly shots, Ranvijay adds some delicious pizza fun to the cricket fever on the ground. He pulls out his mobile phone, goes on Pizza Hut’s m-site and within minutes, orders Pizza Hut signature pan pizzas for everyone. Hearing this, the crowd begins to cheer and hoot in anticipation of the delicious pizzas. The excitement changes pace when the pizza delivery boys (more so one of them in specific) start commenting on the people batting and how they could improve their game to which Rannvijay counters and challenges one of the delivery boys to play.

    This delivery boy begins playing a right-handed game. A few unimpressive attempts later, he changes his stance to one that would be very familiar to the eye of a true cricket buff. And behold, then begins a barrage of 4s and 6s leaving the crowd stunned. His superb batting skill draws massive cheers from the onlooking crowd, including Rannvijay. Ranvijay moves forward to take a selfie with the Pizza Hut delivery boy who stunned everyone with his left-handed batting skills.

    The delivery boy smirks and peels off his (prosthetic) nose, and starts getting rid of his make-up. And lo and behold, the delivery boy was none other than ‘Dada’, the Bengal Tiger himself – Sourav Ganguly.

    The crowd and players, naturally, are beside themselves with excitement, thronging against the nets to catch a glimpse of Ganguly, vying to take selfies with their hero, and delighted that some of them actually played with him. Ganguly then mingles with his fans before leaving the venue on a happy note, to cheers of ‘Dada’.

  • Splitsvilla is back on MTV with season 9

    Splitsvilla is back on MTV with season 9

    MUMBAI: Love is always thickened with various elements and fights or clashes are an innate part of it. After 8 successful seasons, MTV is back with one of the most popular reality show Splitsvilla. Television viewers can witness all the drama, clashes and fights from 12 June 2016 every Sunday at 7 pm. The show will hit TV screens right after the completion of Roadies X4.

    Produced by Colosceum Media, the channel has retained Sunny Leone and Rannvijay Singh as the hosts for the show. For the 15 episodic Splitsvilla, MTV has roped in four sponsors for this season and is likely to lock a deal with Karbonn.

    A source close to the development said that the per episode production cost of Splitsvilla  is approximately Rs 23 to Rs 25 lakh. Revealing further, the source said, “The hosts are all spiced up like never before. Viewers will be able to see many known TV personalities as contestants in the show”. With fights, jealousy, hatred, friendship, backstabbing and love, the show will see 16 wild contestants getting together.

    A 10 second slot rates for the show should be in the region of Rs 10,000 for originals and Rs 5,000 for repeats, opines a media planner.

    Splitsvilla is being shot in Pondicherry with many twists and clashes. In this season as well, show followers will be able to see the male and female ratio continuously changing during the entire course of the show.

     

  • Splitsvilla is back on MTV with season 9

    Splitsvilla is back on MTV with season 9

    MUMBAI: Love is always thickened with various elements and fights or clashes are an innate part of it. After 8 successful seasons, MTV is back with one of the most popular reality show Splitsvilla. Television viewers can witness all the drama, clashes and fights from 12 June 2016 every Sunday at 7 pm. The show will hit TV screens right after the completion of Roadies X4.

    Produced by Colosceum Media, the channel has retained Sunny Leone and Rannvijay Singh as the hosts for the show. For the 15 episodic Splitsvilla, MTV has roped in four sponsors for this season and is likely to lock a deal with Karbonn.

    A source close to the development said that the per episode production cost of Splitsvilla  is approximately Rs 23 to Rs 25 lakh. Revealing further, the source said, “The hosts are all spiced up like never before. Viewers will be able to see many known TV personalities as contestants in the show”. With fights, jealousy, hatred, friendship, backstabbing and love, the show will see 16 wild contestants getting together.

    A 10 second slot rates for the show should be in the region of Rs 10,000 for originals and Rs 5,000 for repeats, opines a media planner.

    Splitsvilla is being shot in Pondicherry with many twists and clashes. In this season as well, show followers will be able to see the male and female ratio continuously changing during the entire course of the show.

     

  • 12 years on, ‘Roadies X2’ continues to enjoy strong audience base

    12 years on, ‘Roadies X2’ continues to enjoy strong audience base

    MUMBAI: It’s been more than a decade but the show still stands strong. While one would think that a reality show that provokes its guests non-stop on national television, would be doomed at the outset, MTV Roadies, even in its 12th year has kept its audience glued to their television sets. 

     

    The show continues to rule the genre, thanks to two factors, one, impressive numbers and two, strong audience base available for the programme. 

     

    Just as any other reality show, this one has its own audience (though not as big as one on a GEC), a digital presence, merchandising units and marketing campaigns.

     

    Even after ruling the small screen in the youth space for 11 years, this year too the show has proved its might. Season X2, which hit the television screens with the audition phase on 24 January has already become the number one youth reality and fiction show. 

     

    It had an impressive opening as it clocked around 175 TVTs compared to other shows like Sadda Haq on Channel V with 165 TVTs, Love By Chance on bindass with 128 TVTs and Dare 2 Date on Channel V with 65 TVTs in the week four of TAM TV ratings. The ratings are in CS 15-24 AB in HSM markets. 

    In the sixth week, the show garnered 139 TVTs. 

     

    According to MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy, the franchise has lived happily for 12 seasons and Roadies X2 has ripped the format open. “This season, we went for a complete makeover. From bringing in a new format to new judges to brining in some unexpectedness,” he informs.  

     

    The channel states that the cult show has witnessed a hike of 60 per cent in viewership as compared to the last season. Moreover, its reach increased from 1.1 per cent in episode one to 2.2 per cent.

     

    According to Swamy the major viewership of the show comes from the HSM markets, mostly from Mumbai, Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

     

    The key highlights for the success of the show, according to Swamy are: Core understanding of its target audience. “We brought in fresh twists to keep the old audience surprised and new audience hooked. We dared to be different by getting in personalities that the youth can easily relate to. From one Bollywood personality to one sportsman and television personality while Rannvijay continues to garner female attention,” he informs. 

     

    Before the launch of the show, the channel continued to build engagement via other mediums as well. It launched a mobile Torrentz app where users can download complete episodes and watch them at their own convenience for free.  

     

    To further up the entertainment quotient for the youth, the channel will be launching Roadies Fantasy League – which for the first time will see a sport-like fantasy team competition for a reality show.

     

    It will also have the Roadies Prediction application – which will have a betting environment where people can bet on outcomes of the show.

     

    MTV will continue doing Audiosodes – Podcasts where people can catch up on what happened in an episode. To top it all, it will come up with a section called Fast Forward on its website which is like a highlights package and has the entire episode crunched in around seven minutes. 

     

    On the digital front, the official Facebook page of Roadies X2 garnered 18,347 likes at the time of filing this report. On Twitter the buzz is strong too with the show’s official page delivering around 64.3 thousand followers. 

     

    This season Hero MotoCorp continues to be the title sponsor and Vivo Smart Phone has come onboard as the associate sponsor along with traditional long term partners like Mountain Dew, Ceat tyres etc. In all, the channel has roped in 12 sponsors this season. 

     

    “The evolution of a show is a big reason for its success. Many thought that Roadies is incomplete without twin hosts Raghu and Rajiv and the new judges won’t be able to pull off the show very well. But the numbers says it all,” says a media planner. 

  • MTV ‘Roadies X2’ takes a different route

    MTV ‘Roadies X2’ takes a different route

    MUMBAI: MTV Roadies has become India’s longest running reality show and this time round, there’s something different in store. “It’s the 12th season and yet it feels like the first,” says MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy about the cult youth reality show.

     

    So what is special this season? For starters, the show has gone for a complete makeover. This year it is breaking the format wide open, thus bringing in the unexpected.

     

    Going the unexpected way…

     

    This season, few changes in the format are the highlight:

     

    1) Sans the bad boys Raghu and Rajiv, it brings on board a whole new legion of gang leaders to join the original roadie Rannvijay Singh. The new gang leaders are actress Esha Deol, Olympic medalist and boxer Vijender Singh and television actor Karan Kundra.

     

    According to Swamy each one of them represents a certain factor. For instance, Vijendra represents the fact that winning is all that matters; Kundra represents that Roadies is just not about being physically tough but also being smart and Deol represents the girl power.

     

    “Each of them brings new packet to the show and along with them they will bring their own fan base that will increase the viewership base for the show itself,” adds Swamy.

     

    2) Having a female personality as a gang leader in Deol itself is a novelty this season.

     

    3) MTV wants to reflect youth power in the show. For the past 11 seasons, judges took over the power to select the contestants. This year, the channel has given the power to the audience as well. “There is the power to the audience and young people believe that they have the power to drive change more than ever,” states Swamy.

     

    4) Another change in the format is the journey itself. Roadies X2 gangs will ride along the scenic route from the holy city of Varanasi to the birthplace of The Ganges in Nepal.

     

    “Like always everyone expected the journey will start from Goa but this time around it is starting from Varanasi and goes all the way to the Himalayas. It is going to be a visual delight in terms of locations and the feel of the show,” Swamy says.

     

    Let the game begin…

     

    The auditions were held in four cities – Pune, Kolkata, Delhi and Chandigarh in December. Thousands of hopefuls showed up at each audition venue, some even camping over night to get an early entry into the auditions.

     

    According to Swamy, auditions are an event in themselves. He believes that the confidence is growing in the youth every year. “The views of youth are becoming much broader and liberal today. I see less lack of judgments and much more acceptance happening with young people. To top it all, I also see more and more girls coming in for auditions, which is very positive sign.”

     

    In the game, participants will not just compete against each other to become the ultimate ‘Roadie’ but will compete in gangs too. Each ‘gang leader’ – Rannvijay, Vijender, Kundra and Esha – will pick five participants for their own gangs.

     

    These gangs and their leaders will then compete against each other through a series of tasks to eliminate each other from the show. The gang leader and the gang member that stays through the end, winning the maximum number of tasks will be adjudged as the winner.

     

    Roadies X2 will see participation of 20 contestants (five members in each of the four gangs) and will air for 17 episodes.

     

    Behind the scenes

     

    Swamy shared his thoughts on how tough it is to make a reality show in this country. He reveals that out of 12 months, July is the only month of break for the channel.

     

    The channel starts planning for the show sometime in August followed by audition rounds that takes place in September till November. And the shoot begins in the month of December followed by the edit etc. The show goes live in the month of January with the season ending in the month of June.

     

    “People say that Roadies is the longest running reality show in the country, but what people don’t think that it is tough to make a reality show in this country. It is our labour of love. Every member of the crew has to embody that Roadies spirit because they live in the toughest of conditions, work with really challenging situations. A lot of the tasks are actually done by the crew themselves to check whether it is safe and do-able.”

     

    Swamy says that everybody has a role to play. Nobody is a celebrity and nobody is a worker, all are Roadies. Each one comes back wiser, stronger and more confident every season.

     

    Big pockets

     

    This season Hero MotoCorp continues to be the title sponsor and Vivo Smart Phone has come on board as the associate sponsor along with traditional long term partners like Mountain Dew, Ciat tyres etc. In all, the channel has roped in 12 sponsors this season. Swamy believes it is a big magnet for advertisers as well to connect with the youth.

     

    The show is all set to hit the television screens on 24 January with expected 20 per cent higher advertising revenues in its 12th season. It will be aired on Saturdays at 7 pm.

     

    According to media analysts, the channel expects 15 per cent higher ad-rates for its 10-second slots, while the title sponsor, Hero has spent about 22-25 per cent higher to get the association.

     

    While the channel chose to remain tight-lipped about the financial details, the analyst has also informed that a single 10-second slot on the show is being offered at Rs 25,000 – Rs 30,000.

     

    Along with this, unlike many other successful properties on television, Roadies demands Rs 15,000 – RS 17,000 for a 10-second slot on the repeats of the episodes too, which is close to 50 per cent of the original telecast.

     

    Marketing buzz

     

    The channel has targeted top colleges in the country to promote the event. It has also got on-board few Bollywood celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Akshay Kumar to talk on how excited they are that the show is coming back on television.

     

    Roadies is also very popular on the online platform and has high viewership. Digital auditions too will help the channel attract eyeballs from the youth.

     

    According to a media planner, even in the 12th season, the show is going to work for the channel. “It’s become a youth icon now. There is no chance of the show seeing a fatigue as it has already made a strong base for itself in the crowd. Every year there will be newer audiences coming in to watch the show. Moreover, on the digital front too, the channel gets good traction. To top it all, it’s fun and popular.”

  • Sharafat gayi tel Lene to be released by Sony Pictures

    Sharafat gayi tel Lene to be released by Sony Pictures

    NEW DELHI:  The fun “con-com” film Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene produced by Devinder Jain and Akhilesh Jain and directed by Gurmmeet Singh is to be distributed by Sony Pictures India.

     

    The film starring Zayed Khan, Rannvijay Singh, Tina Desai and Anupam Kher with music by Meet Bros Anjjan and Dhruv Dhalla, will release pan India on 16 January 2015.

    The film is about Prithvi Khuranna (Zayed Khan), a middle class working professional who walks into an ATM booth and discovers that his bank balance has jumped from less than Rs. 5000 to over Rs. 100 crores. Obviously this windfall comes at a huge price. He receives a call from underworld’s most notorious don, ‘Dawood’.

     

    Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene is a comic caper set in the nation’s capital as the lives of three youngsters go topsy-turvy when they try and track down the origin of this mysterious money. The catchy first song “Selfiyaan” is already out online and is a tongue-and-cheek commentary on the ubiquitous social phenomenon of selfies.

    Trinity Group was established in 1979 and has a diverse businesses portfolio of Insurance, Re-insurance, infrastructure, retail and have now ventured into the entertainment industry. Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene is their maiden venture. The producers are excited about this film and assure total entertainment for the masses worldwide.

  • Esha Deol to join ‘MTV Roadies’ as a judge

    Esha Deol to join ‘MTV Roadies’ as a judge

    MUMBAI: Actor Esha Deol had been looking forward to making her debut for a while now but wanted to be a part of a show which was popular with the youth. MTV Roadies is a cult show followed by millions of youngsters across India. The show is about the ultimate fight to find that hero within you and Esha’s no – nonsense persona combined with her ability to disengage herself from emotional entanglements makes her the perfect fit for the show.

     
    Esha Deol will be seen on the show alongside the original Roadie – Rannvijay Singh who will be back for the twelfth season of the show – MTV Roadies X2. But with Raghu-Rajiv not being a part of the show anymore, as announced by Raghu through Twitter, fans of the show are gearing up for the unexpected this time around.  

     
    Raghu-Rajiv to give MTV Roadies a miss this season

     
    Raghu Ram, the man who has been with MTV Roadies right from its inception will no longer be a part of the show. MTV Roadies, the cult reality show, is a nationwide hunt for the ‘roadie’ – the one who has it in him or her to become a hero. The two heavyweights Raghu-Rajiv were known for cutting down contestants to size with their sharp comments and grueling tasks. The MTV Raodies auditions, which hold the distinction of being one of the most difficult audition rounds for any television show, meant only one thing – impressing Raghu and Rajiv.

     
    Now, with Raghu – Rajiv stepping away from the show, as confirmed by Raghu when he tweeted – “Roadies is happening. I’m not gonna do it, though. I’m done with it. Moved on. About time, too.” –  it remains to be seen what MTV is planning for the upcoming MTV Roadies X2, especially with the news of roping in Bollywood actress Esha Deol for the new season. One can only wonder, what other twists and turns are in store for viewers as MTV Raodies X2 gears up for an all new ride without these two!

     

    Olympic medalist Vijender Singh to be a judge on MTV Roadies X2

     

    MTV Roadies X2 – the twelfth season of the cult reality show is set to become the most awesome season until today as Olympic bronze medalist who wowed the world with his powerful punch, boxer Vijender Singh Beniwal is all set to make his small screen debut as a judge on the show. Vijender Singh, the boxing champion has many an accolade to his name including various metals at Commonwealth and Asian Games. Earlier this year, Vijender also tasted success in his maiden venture as  a Bollywood actor with the film Fugly.

     

    On MTV Roadies X2, Vijender will join the original Roadie Rannvijay Singh and Bollywood actress Esha Deol as a judge on the show. Being from an athletic background, his focus on fitness and discipline is sure to come in handy as he takes on this new role. His habit of putting his heart and soul into beating the odds is what the viewers can look forward to as he is sure to bring a lot of passion and true sense of camaraderie into the show.

     

    Sexy vampire Karan Kundra to feature as judge on MTV Roadies X2

     

    Karan Kundra’s stint as a vampire with MTV Fanaah proved to strengthen his follower base to an extent that now he will be seen on MTV Roadies as a judge alongside the original roadie Rannvijay Singh and Bollywood actress Esha Deol. The extremely handsome Karan, known mainly for his Casanova roles and gorgeous looks will make a stylish addition to the MTV Roadies team.

     

    His boyish charm and mischievous smile are sure to set hearts racing across the nation as he mounts his bike to ride off into the world of MTV Roadies X2. His quick wit and smart way of thinking is sure to come to his aid as he takes on this new role. There’s no doubt that this season, MTV Roadies is sure to add a lot more women to its fan base!

     

  • Life OK gets bolder with action series ‘Pukaar – Call for the Hero’

    Life OK gets bolder with action series ‘Pukaar – Call for the Hero’

    MUMBAI: Off lately, Life OK, has been on an experimenting mode. After experimenting with different genres, the channel is set to introduce an action thriller series christened Pukaar – Call for the Hero.

    A tribute to the Indian army, viewers will get to see a different style of action rarely explored on small screen. Produced by the one who masters in the genre, Vipul Amrutlal Shah, who has made films like Force, Commando and Holiday, which were based on ‘Men in Uniform’.

    With this show, Shah intends to raise the bar of action ever experienced on the small screen. According to him, viewers can expect a 70mm big screen feel while watching the show.

    The show has many firsts. It marks the debut of Rannvijay Singh and Adah Sharma in fictional space. The comedian actor, Devan Bhojani, enters the action genre as the co-director and legendary actor Raj Babaar returns to the television. Talking about action, the show gets its might right from Allan Amin, who is the action director.

    Currently the channel runs Tumhari Paakhi at 8.30 pm and Laut Aao Trisha at 9pm. With the new series on-board, the channel for the first time is putting a male centric show on weekdays (Mon and Tues). The hour-long show will see curtains down on Tumahri Paakhi.

    Life OK EVP and general manager Ajit Thakur say, “We were actually thinking of doing it on Saturdays and Sundays till three weeks back, but then we thought it will be lost somewhere as on weekends there are too many things happening.”

    Thakur states the decision of putting it up on Monday-Tuesday’s might stand out or fail, but it will not be lost. “Women may still not sample it all. That’s a risk. Weekends would not have been as much of novelty.”

    Talking about the theme, Thakur says that the channel wanted to create larger than life heroes which it started with Mahadev and Hatim, and it wanted to get Bollywood creative talent on television.

    Shah and Thakur met five months and after brainstorming, the duo locked on the final concept for two reasons. “If we talk about home grown action series there are shows like Shapath and CID. 24 was more of a thriller. We wanted something which was far more on local issues,” reasons Thakur.

    Also, the channel wanted to explore a new relationship between a father and a son. “While for me action is the main USP of the show, the bigger USP of the show is the father and son relationship that has been rarely been exploded on TV.”

    Isn’t it going in the same lines of Everest where the show talks about a father-daughter relationship? Thakur denies the fact and says that Everest is still centred around Star Plus’s belief on the female protagonist and her journey. “We wanted to continue doing more male centric shows and from that point of view it is his journey and in the context of to win over his father’s love. To that level there is a similarity and of course these are both very proficient Bollywood movie talent, but the similarity ends there.”

    The story is of a soldier (Singh) whose responsibility does not only limit to his country and his family but also to the common man, for it is he who rises above all odds to be recognised as people’s hero and a saviour against a tyrant ruling a city.

    One of the things that Thakur was very keen on doing was that can it not be just chases and explosions, but more than it. Shah completely agreed and came up with hand comb act. The show has used the best of technicians, cameras gadgets and locations for the show.

    Almost 10 episodes have been canned in various locales like Manali and Mumbai. Talking about the marketing strategies, Thakur believes the PR of the show is most interesting. The channel along with the cast will be travelling to the Lucknow and Kanpur Army cantonment and will be showing previews there. Moreover, the channel is aiming at putting longer promos and not restricted to 10-20 seconds. “It is very different type of content, so people will take time to get used to it.”

    The show has got LIC as its powered by sponsor and the channel is hunting for two presenting sponsors for the show.

     

  • ‘Roadies XI’ is back with a bang

    ‘Roadies XI’ is back with a bang

    MUMBAI: The mother of all reality shows – MTV Hero Roadies – is back with Season XI which promises to be one heck of a roller coaster ride.

     

    With the tagline ‘Ride for Respect’, the new season is slated to hit TV screens on Saturday, 25 January at 7pm. The adventure will see seven boys and seven girls bike riding from desert to desert, starting with Sun City Jodhpur and culminating in the Rann of Kutch. Leading the pack will be the winner of season I of MTV Roadies, Rannvijay Singh and MTV Roadies producer, Raghu Ram.

     

    Hero continues to be the title sponsor for the show. Whereas, the channel has roped in nine associate sponsors on-board including brands like CEAT, Mountain Dew, Spraymintt mouth freshener, Karbonn tablets among others.

     

    Significantly, the new edition of MTV Roadies is all about performance sans the vote outs and group politics. So, all 14 contestants will have to prove their mettle through challenging tasks and only their track record through the show journey will get them closer to winning the title.

     

    “Every year, we try to conceptualise the theme of the show around a trending youth sentiment. It is not just about the show, audiences connect with the Roadies’ spirit of never backing down, perseverance and standing tall against all odds. We are pushing the envelope further this year by making the central theme all about the Roadies’ spirit and confidence,” says MTV India head marketing and insights Sumeli Chatterji. “So, while competition will be more intense and tasks will be more challenging; there will be no vote outs and no group politics. Every candidate will have an equal chance to show his or her mettle and win.”

     

    The reason for going ahead with the no vote-out format, producer and judge Raghu Ram says that it is just to be fair. “In the past, many have complained that deserving contestants are voted out. While for me vote out is an interesting situation, we have been blamed for encouraging politics and thus we have done away with the vote out system altogether.”

     

    But it doesn’t mean there won’t be any eliminations – a lot of other things will be introduced to make the show interesting and unpredictable.

     

    Says MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy: “This year on Roadies, we have seven boys and seven girls and they will have an absolutely equal chance in the Ride for Respect. Fresh twists in the format have made Roadies India’s longest-running reality show and this year’s format breaker ensures survival only of the fittest.”

     

    Raghu, who usually gives goosebumps to the contestants with his stringent remarks, thinks that the reason behind the year after year success of the game is the love of the audience and the sheer belief that the show is a life changer for many. He remarks: “The show has made adventure and bikes a household name in India. The ten years have seen over five million hopefuls, grueling auditions, tough tasks and deserving winners. The new edition is all geared up to introduce an absolutely new avatar to everyone. What I can promise you is a triple dose of thrill, action and a lot more drama.”

     

    However, when quizzed about the flak the show has got in the past for the use of abusive language, Raghu shots back and says: “I think much has been spoken about the language and it is time people should get over it. Language is not a problem because it is a reality show. Still, this year I have tried to make sure that there is no abusive language used from my end and the focus transforms to that instead of the other things in the show.” 

     

    Apart from auditions in Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh and Pune, this year, the channel also tapped Hyderabad and Kolkata. Also, an all-India audition was conducted online.

     

    Marketing and promotion

     

    This year, the strategy is not only about driving reach across the target audience but also engaging with consumers across various touch points.

     

    A college connect program targeted at over 200 colleges sees Raghu and Rannvijay visiting the colleges and integrating with college festivals and college bike rallies across cities. “Our attempt is to integrate Roadies with city-specific events like Marathon in Pune, partnerships with malls, hangouts and clubs,” says Chatterji.

     

    The channel is reaching out to over 150 power towns across UP and Gujarat through several BTL activations.

     

    Roadies is active on social media as well with nearly 20 million visitors on its micro-site and around 7.8 million fans on Facebook. According to Chatterji, the last season clocked 65 million views online and was the most subscribed YouTube channel for a TV show.

     

    Season XI will be consumed by fans through TV episodes, web episodes, on-ground events and Roadies’ branded merchandise including sunglasses, shoes and bags.

     

    Besides, the brain behind the show, Raghu, has penned a memoir of his over-a-decade-long journey titled Rearview: My Roadies Journey, which explores the bright and not-so-bright side of this ride. Launched in Bangalore recently, the autobiography is available at Crosswords bookstores.

     

    Verdict

     

    All said, with so many youth-oriented shows from the same channel, what makes Roadies the brand it is? “This is a journey where the underdog can emerge a winner if he survives the game. This series generates intense emotions, not only from the participants and judges but also from the audience. The eliminations, tasks, contestants are always a topic of debate. You can love it, or hate it… but the youth can never ignore Roadies. This drives the social buzz and fan following,” says Chatterji.

     

    However, a media planner says: “There are a lot of youth reality shows on Indian television today. No doubt, Roadies has gained popularity over the years but people now want to see some fresh shows. Though, it’s a good property for advertisers to invest in as the show has a brand value. Having said that, it’s not really going to grab enough eyeballs as the choice of the youngsters has evolved and they would like to watch something new rather than run-of-the-mill stuff.”

     

    However, Raghu thinks that the TG identifies with the format. “The show is very young at heart. It explores human emotions very interestingly. It is not about the tasks, not about the vote-outs, but about facing circumstances and adapting to different dynamics.”

     

    Roadies will be competing with shows like Emotional Atyachar: Love, Shaq aur Dhoka on Bindaas and the repeat telecast of Dil Dosti Dance (D3) on Channel V. Media analysts think that the show doesn’t really have a competition as nothing close to the similar format will be on air on the rival channels.