By Radhika Bhirani
New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) Television firm Synergy Adlabs headed by Siddhartha Basu is going great guns. While its ongoing show on STAR Plus has Shah Rukh Khan playing host, it hopes to reap double benefits with Salman Khan anchoring another series on Sony Entertainment Television. While Shah Rukh’s “Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain” is formatted on the lines of US game show “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader”, Salman’s “Dus Ka Dum”, which will go on air June 6, is based on “Power of 10″.

According to reports issued by Television Audience Measurement (TAM), “Paanchvi Paas” is not doing as well as expected. And one wonders why the company wants to air the shows around the same time on two rival channels and with two competing stars.

Siddhartha Basu, who heads the Synergy Adlabs that is known for its non-fiction programming and often adapts international formats for Indian viewers, clarified that the two are entirely different shows and should not be compared.

“‘Paanchvi Paas’ is a quiz show whereas ‘Dus Ka Dum’ is a game show,” Basu told IANS on phone from Mumbai.

On “Paanchvi Paas”, adult contestants face questions picked directly from the textbooks of school kids and on answering all questions correctly, they are entitled to win a sum of Rs.50 million.

In “Dus Ka Dum”, contestants compete for Rs.100 million by trying to guess the results of questions put to audiences as per a nationwide survey.

“I don’t think these two shows are meant to compete or be compared at all. Also, they would be shown at different time slots and ‘Dus Ka Dum’ is starting almost eight weeks after ‘Paanchvi Paas’ began.

“In fact I think they would complement each other as viewers would be able to enjoy the joys of gaming and quizzing from 8.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. every Friday to Sunday,” Basu quipped.

Regarding the expected clash of Television Rating Points (TRPs) between the two shows, Basu said the prime aim of the Adlabs team was excellence in content and quality.

“We only strive to achieve success and leave the rest for the audience to decide,” he said.

On Salman’s small screen venture, Basu said that the actor plays a charismatic host with his warmth, energy and wit. Salman has also featured in the promotional video of the show, which Basu describes as “terrific”.

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