by Subhash K Jha

It was meant to be the yummy year-ender for India's no.1 TV channel.

But Star's star-attraction Amitabh Bachchan fell ill. And the KBC schedule has gone for a toss.

Reveals Star's Executive Vice-President (Content) Deepak Sehgal, "We had to cancel plans for a year-end special featuring cousins Fardeen and Zayed Khan on KBC. We've to perforce replace this special with new cuts of old KBC episodes featuring celebrities. The new celebrity episodes have all been cancelled."

Star has been trying to take AB's illness in its stride.

"Initially we did suffer a setback because of Mr Bachchan's unfortunate health problem. But now we've indications that he may return to shoot KBC from Februrary- end. But yes, by the third week of January 2006 we'll run out of new KBC episodes. We'll continue for a while with re-runs hoping viewers won't mind," says Deepak.

Mr Bachchan will hopefully shoot two episodes a day when he returns. "Initially he shot one episode a day. But now he swims through two episodes per day. Undoubtedly he's our main attraction on Star. Our big re-launch was through KBC. His presence is desperately missed."

On a more positive note Star One has ousted Sony Entertainment from the no.2 spot.

Nach Baliye has done the trick. "Star One has already become the no.2 channel in Mumbai. If Sony refuses to accept that we've numbers to prove it. The currency is the same for all channels, and exchange rates are non-negotiable. Star One didn't claim to be no.1 until we really reached that position. Now in last week's ratings Sony is no. 7 all-India!"

"Actually the process started with The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. But the buzz that Nach Baliye generated was unprecedented. We need to consolidate our position on the channel. The slot (9 pm onwards) is very competitive. Every channel wants to hit a sixer. We're hoping our new soap Dil Chahe More which replaces Nach Baliye will hit a sixer. We will also return with the second series of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge on Star One."

Deepak admits non-fiction programmes have a more sustained but briefer life-span. And if next year Sony has Fear Factor lined up, Star has the game show Heart Attack coming up.

"Reality TV has a relatively restricted relevance in India. We can't have sex-oriented reality shows like Joe Millionaire, like they have abroad. TV in India is for family. Therefore no sex and lots of singing and dancing. Sony's Fear Factor is ideal for Indian tv. We have Heart Attack which we hope to air in the second quarter of 2006."

The host will be Indian. But he won't be visible on screen. Meanwhile Star's Top 3 Ekta Kapoor-navigated soaps Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kasauti Zindagi Kay are expected to have their super-run for at least one more year.

"Reality TV is like one fire-cracker that makes a beautiful design and then disappears. It's our five-year soaps which make all the difference."