Colors puts on its dancing shoes with 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'

Premiering on June 16, the dance reality show will be aired in the 9 PM slot every Saturday and Sunday

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | June 8, 2012

Colors' newest show, 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, is all set to prove to audiences that the key to discovery is 'stepping out'. Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa is a combination of celebrities, excitement and the passion for dancing. The show has lined up 13 celebrity contestants from different walks of life teamed with choreographers. Billed as 'dance ka maha manch', the show aims to take reality television to a new level starting June 16 every Saturday and Sunday at 9 PM.

Commenting on the show, Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors, said, “Staying true to our philosophy of cohesive viewing for the entire family, Colors is proud to present its newest flagship property, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Bringing together an eclectic mix of contestants who will step away from their clichés to transform themselves, the show will strike a chord with both viewers and sponsors.”

Jhalak Dikhhla Ja is the second big ticket show after Screen Awards acquired by Colors from another channel. Sony too had clinched KBC from Star Plus. Going by the success of Screen Awards and KBC after changing channels, would Jhalak too have an outstanding season? Nayak replied, “Such new shows bring a lot of new audiences to the channel that combine with the existing viewers to make them successful. Colors hasn't done a big dance reality show earlier and I'm sure that Jhalak will add value to our offerings to our viewers.”

On bringing Jhalak to Colors, Myleeta Aga, GM and Creative Head of BBC Worldwide Productions India, said, “Every channel has its own synergy. At the right time, on the right channel, the right format is going to perform. That's definitely what we believe for Jhalak on Colors.”

“At the end of the day, people want different kind of entertainment. Reality shows like Dance India Dance and Indian Idols have their own fan following whereas Jalak Dikhhla Ja is about watching your favourite stars from different fields dancing and competing on the dance floor. It adds a surprise element as well with contestants like Sanath Jayasurya and Talat Ajeez. So, in my view Jhalak has the full entertainment quotient for the audiences across all profiles,” explained Nayak.

The show will be competing directly with another dance show, Dance India Dance Little Masters, and partially with Indian Idol. When asked how well the channel is prepared for the competition, Nayak replied, “You should remember that when you run a television channel, every show, every time and every day is about competing, so you can't plan your schedules looking at competing programmes. When we take a show, we believe in the show, we put our all resources behind it, we have the conviction and we go with it. We can't plan our schedules on the basis of what is running on other channels. It also depends upon the availability of the slot as it becomes difficult to displace the programme line-up which is already doing well.”

The 13 contestants will take on everything from salsa to bhangra and from cha-cha-cha to lavani in a journey that will start with two left feet. Judging the stellar line-up of contestants will be a panel of three renowned names from the world of entertainment –Madhuri Dixit, Karan Johar and the man who made dancing a cool career, Remo D'souza.

This season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa will witness some never-seen-before themes that will raise the entertainment quotient. With concepts like dancing to a live band, paying tribute to 100 years of Indian cinema, and getting paired up for performances with international 'Dancing with the Stars' winners, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa is set to create waves. A special inclusion this season is 'Madhuri Dixit's Step of the Week' where the dancing diva goes futuristic and grooves to international dance forms including cha-cha-cha, salsa, samba, and more…

The list of contestants includes Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya (with choreographer Suchitra), and child artist Darsheel Safari, who'll be seen twirling on the dance floor with pint-sized dynamite Avneet Kaur. The dream cast also includes superstar Ravi Kishan (with choreographer Kunjan), ghazal maestro and musician Talat Aziz (with choreographer Ankita Maity), India's favourite bahus Pratyusha Banerjee aka Anandi (with choreographer Deepak), Giaa Manek aka Gopi Bahu (with choreographer Nishant Bhat), the heartthrob of IndiantTelevision Gurmeet Choudhary (with choreographer Shampa Sonathalia), supersized standup comedian Bharti Singh (with choreographer Savio Barnes), Bollywood beauty Isha Sharvani (with choreographer Salman) , singer Shibani Dandekar (with choreographer Punit), TV anchor Archna Vijaya (with choreographer Sanam Johar),and lastly, veteran TV and theatre actor Jayati Bhatia (with choreographer Diwakar).

There will be a 13th contestant whose identity is being kept a secret for the moment.

Manisha Sharma, Weekend Programming Head, Colors, said, “This season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa is all about stepping out from the routine and nurturing the passion for dance. Some of the best feet have come walking into our show to connect with the audiences on a different level – introducing the person behind the real star. Audiences will be able to catch their favourite celebrities shed their inhibitions and dance with their hearts to provide unlimited entertainment.”

Elaborating about the format, Aga said, “Since the adaptation of BBC's international hit format 'Dancing with the Stars' appeared on Indian screens, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa has grown to become one of the most popular reality dance shows on television in the country. Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa promises to take the format to a new level of entertainment from the previous seasons."

Colors is promoting the show through a 360-degree integrated marketing campaign which incorporates print, television, outdoor and radio tie-ups. Rajesh Iyer, Head – Marketing, Colors, said, “Co-branded radio show around Jhalak with Radio Mirchi being one of the innovations, we are going all out to promote the show across all the mediums. The show will be promoted across 30 television channels. Besides, starting tomorrow (June 8th) we will have outdoor sites in 20-plus cities that will have a few animations as well. Similarly, on the launch day we will have a print roadblock.”

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com