by Subhash K Jha

There's a mood of challenge at Zee. If Sa Re Ga Ma Pa has thrown open the doors for Zee's TRPs, then the channel certainly doesn't want to rest on its laurels.

The long-delayed Business Bazeegar which was meant to go on air two years ago has finally taken off.

According to Ashish Kaul, Senior Vice-President Corporate Brand Development at Zee "After a very long time we've been given the opportunity to move ahead. Our first move was to bring back our USP Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in a new avatar Ek Main Aur Ek Tu this season."

Business Bazeegar was supposed to go on air six months ago. "But we weren't happy with what we had done. A lot of it had to be re-shot. We had to send Business Baazeegar back to the editing table.

When Mr Subhash Chandra's name is associated with the show, the scale and format have to match up to his vision. We also wanted a sufficient number of episodes in our bank before going on air."

Business Bazeegar is a brainchild of Subhash Chandra and a reflection of his own vision of life and business.

Says Ashish, "How does a man with a dream go about becoming a business person in this country of acute red-tapism and other practical hurdles? That's the question Business Bazeegar will answer. But then India has produced an Anil Ambani or a Subhash Chandra against all odds.

Subhash Chandra will put forward a business proposition, it will be screened. Then the game begins. A participant has to justify the funds that we're willing to provide.

To judge a participant's potential he will be given certain tasks. If he implements them to the satisfaction of the three-member jury(including Mr Subhash Chandra) the participant is on."

There's no ceiling on how much business funds Zee Bazeegar will provide to any participant. "What's more," adds Kaul. "It would be your business project, not the channel's. After every season of thirteen episodes someone will be crowned Business Baazigar."

The show is hosted by veejay Cyrus Sahukar. "And we're backing up Zee Baazigar with a strong comedy because we haven't had one of those for a long time."

The sequel to Ekta Kapoor's Hum Paanch has belied expectations by proving a non-success. "We hope Johnny Ai La Re will remedy the absence of a strong comedy show on Zee," says Ashish Kaul. "Johnny Lever will be seen on the small screen for the first time."

Ashish admits there will be similarities to Shekhar Suman's show. "That can't be helped. Johnny's show will have skits, music and Johnny himself performing. Johnny has cut down on film assignments . So his comng to tv is a double event."

The format and presentation of the new Sa Re Ga Ma will be different. There will be separate prizes for the male and female participants.

According to Ashish Kaul, their soap Saat Phere: Saloni Ka Safar has emerged more successful than many of the popular soaps on other channels. "It's ahead of the 'K' factor in many ways. Saloni is our dark horse.We knew Saath Phere Saloni Ka Safar will be our clutter-breaker. But to this level? One can never predict."

Apart from Hum Paanch 2, Ekta Kapoor's big new soap Kkasam Se on Zee is also not doing well. "We're baffled," says Ashish. "We virtually poured money into marketing Hum Paanch 2 and Kkasam Se. I remember I used to bunk college to watch Hum Paanch. Like I said a very strong comedy is needed. Hopefully Johnny Lever will do the needful."