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OVER VIEW: Joining the quiz bandwagon
We get carried away by PTV’s contribution to drama to such an extent that we tend to forget one field in which the corporation has excelled from time to time. No prizes for guessing (pun unintended) this writer is referring to quiz programmes. One couldn’t have agreed more with producer Ayub Khawar when he was addressing mediapersons at a luncheon in Karachi on Tuesday, that PTV has right from its early days, presented some fine quiz programmes, and that was well before our neighbours ventured into the field. He mentioned a number of quiz programmes, such as Zeena ba zeena, Sheeshay ka Ghar and Kasauti, that measured up to high standards. He also mentioned Neelamghar, but not everybody will agree with him for the quiz programme suffered on two counts, one that it ran for an extremely long period, and two, its anchor was occasionally abrasive.
The ambitious quiz programme Jo jaaney woh jeetey, which will soon go on air has one major advantage: it is being anchored by a man who not only has a screen presence but is also gifted with finesse. He is a well read person, and his readings of literary pieces is impressive too. The man is none other than Zia Mohyeddin, whom the viewers of the seventies still remember for his absorbing stage show.
Jo jaaney woh jeetey is produced by Ayub Khawar, who has produced and directed some memorable plays, serials and music programmes. He had a stint as the producer of Neelamghar when the programme went up north — from Karachi to Lahore. Khawar outlined the rules of the new game. He startled the guests when he said that the prizes range from Rs 5,000 to Rs 5 million. At that point one felt that PTV was not off the mark in billing Jo jaaney woh jeetey as a mega show.
The ambitious quiz programme ‘Jo jaaney woh jeetey,’ which will soon go on air has one major advantage: it is being anchored by a man who not only has a screen presence but is also gifted with finesse
The PTV MD, Yousaf Baig Mirza who spoke briefly had high hopes in the programme. He said that every show will have a certain theme, which would project our culture and our language. Zia Mohyeddin, who was the last speaker of the afternoon, felt quite strongly about the cliched questions which usually form the bulk of questionnaires prepared for quiz programmes. He said that Jo jaaney woh jeetay will keep away from such questions.
Zia Mohyeddin added “I hope this programme will go some way towards creating an awareness about the richness of our national language as well as our heritage.”
Recording of the fifty-minute programme started early this month. It draws participants from all the five stations, who qualify by first participating in the initial round at each station. The winners get air tickets to Lahore, where the programme is recorded. An interesting twist in the tale is the inclusion of yet another competitor. One person from among the audience — comprising 125 people — is picked up by the computer. It’s like a lucky draw.
There are many hurdles (call them steps, if you like) which a competitor has to cross before qualifying for the five million rupee question. Let’s see how many people do that and, more than that, how many win the jackpot. Imagine only one person has won the top prize in the widely viewed quiz programme How to be a Millionaire. While the set may look like the one which this immensely popular and franchised programme initiated, the style of the PTV programme is quite different, a point which the producer loses no opportunity to emphasize.
But one thing is common to all such quiz programmes, whether it was the famous programme of yesteryear Sixty-four Thousand Dollar Question or Kaun Banega Crorepati of the preceding two years, a right answer to a question is rewarded in monetary terms, which is why one feels that Jo jaaney woh jeetay has been aptly titled.
PTV has high hopes in what seems to be its magnum opus. The guests who saw the promo at the luncheon feel the same way. But the proof of the pudding, as they say, lies in its eating. The show will be aired on Friday the 23rd of this month. In conclusion, one can say that at a time when all the TV channels are ‘bombarded’ with drama, an intelligently produced and well presented quiz programme should come as a refreshing change.
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