Bearing in mind that the traditional Indian joint family believes in sharing their joys and disappointments by humming evergreen songs of the black and white films as well as recent chartbusting numbers, SABT TV channel is all set to premier a brand new musical show.
In Family Antakshari – Baithe Baithe Kya Kare , the challenge to win will not be between contestants but families pitted against each other. It has been conceived in a way to attract families blessed with the talent for singing with correct pronunciation of words and that too in melodious voice.
Airing from September 27, the show will be held under the watchful eye of Annu Kapoor. The veteran actor, who hosted Antakshari on Zee TV has decided to take a backseat and passed on the mantle to Mantra and Sugandha Mishra. But as a mentor, Annu will guide and shower blessings on all participants. And he will be straining his vocal chords to regale viewers with songs from timeless classics.
The aging actor decided not to carry the show solely on his shoulders even though the he continues to look fit.
“As long as I’m in this show I will see to it that nobody tampers with the lyrics of songs. We will ask families to sing songs in their original words. As a veteran I will shed light into the background of the song and even hum as and when the situation requires.”
Concurring with Annu’s views, Mantra says: “Annuji is the mentor of this show. Without his presence we cannot even think of hosting the show. However, mentoring is a tedious job and this time round Annuji wanted to take a backseat.”
When Gajendra Singh (producer) rang up Mantra to announce his decision to appoint him as host of the forthcoming show the television personality thought someone was playing a fast one on him.
“I thought some mischievous guy was playing a prank on me. Gajendra is a big name in the television industry and he convinced me it was him. It was my good fortune to have landed up with Antakshari but I told him to give me a day’s time. I’ve refused big films including Priyanka Chopra’s biopic Mary Kom because such projects hinge only on the main actors. I accepted Antakshari because it is not a show where I can sleepwalk.”
Since Mantra has been roped in, his talent for mimicry and cracking jokes will be highlighted. No written script for him as he believes in hosting a show extempore. He along with Sugandha managed in their inimitable style to convert the press conference into a musical show.
SAB TV's senior EVP and Business Head Anooj Kapoor says the show will highlight the positives of the joint family. “Contestants will be from the Hindi-speaking market, including the Northern States, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. Since showcasing the talent for singing is the format of the show, we invited families and selected only those blessed with gayaki .”
