Sunday 11 August 2013

Pehchan Kaun?


I usually overlook educative programs whenever I use to browse through the television channels. To be honest, after a certain age I stopped to watch quiz related programs, well I always prefer to give my brain every possible opportunity to chill out  and relax. But something happened about a couple of years back, it was midnight and I simply continued to press the remote in search for something interesting. At midnight most of the TV channels transform into some kind of serious sales and marketing platform and I’m really impressed with their presentation. They sale an extremely wide range of products including Health products (specially products which would reduce our weight without any exercise, which would make us fair in just 3 days, etc), Spiritual & Religious products, Memory increasing products, Lingerie products, Exciting yet funny household products and an endless list of many other innovative products.

After I browsed through a hell lot of sales and marketing programs, it was time for me to enjoy some serious quiz. I stopped at a “Pehchaan Kaun?” kind of game show. The right hand side of the TV screen was filled with an image of two Bollywood celebrities, well their entire faces wasn't visible but it didn't take me even a second to recognize the faces and I was 100% sure that it's Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor hiding behind. The anchor was a damn hot and an extremely talented lady and she occupied the left hand side of the TV screen. At the bottom some numbers were being flashed and the host constantly requested me to just dial those numbers and answer the celebrity names correctly and said that I could easily earn 50,000 Rs. 

I wondered that's lot of money for such a simple question, well every Indian is a Bollywood/Cricket expert. I was about to change the channel, but all of a sudden someone called live and the anchor picked up the call. I wanted to feel the caller’s happiness through his voice as soon as he would have earned those 50,000 Rs. But what the hell? He couldn't answer correctly and simply replied over the phone as “Vinod Khanna and Hema Malini”. It took me a while to digest his answers. I mean, how on earth could someone have done such a blunder?  For a moment I thought that I might have overreacted and it wasn't fair to have such high expectation from an average Indian. I felt little good and was proud of my intelligence, but never dared to call those numbers. Well, I've decent amount of work experience in telecom domain and particularly Mobile Value Aided services.

I continued to watch the game show and couldn't have waited much longer to hear the answers of the next caller. In the mean time the host repeatedly tried to convince me that I could easily be the lucky winner and advised me to go for it. For a moment I just wondered "How does she knows that I didn't call till now?" But I wasn't tempted to call her and preferred to enjoy the show only as an audience. The next caller answered “Jitendra and Mandakini” and the show continued. I waited for the 3rd caller and she answered “Akshay Khanna and Rani Mukherjee” That time I realized something very fishy about the show. I just couldn't digest the fact that an Indian lady couldn't identify Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor in that image. 

That night I tried to google some information about such kind of TV shows and found few complains about them. It seems those phone numbers are premium numbers with very high call rates(10 to 15 Rs per minute) In such an over populated Bollywood crazy country, just imagine how many calls they use to receive within an hour during the show. They use the kind of technology which keeps the genuine callers on hold and play some recorded voice response, something like "Please be on line, very soon your call will be connected to the anchor"

Also one more thing, I've witnessed few live calls during News, Cricket and some Stock related programs. It’s really interesting to see how an authentic Indian use to react during live calls. It’s something like this:

Anchor: Yes Mr Amit Please ask your question

Amit: Hello! Hello!

Anchor: Mr Amit, can you hear us? Please reduce your TV volume.

Amit: Hello! I’m Amit from Delhi(sound little nervous and very excited)

Anchor: Yes Mr Amit Please ask your question.

Most of the live calls which I’ve witnessed on TV are pretty much similar with different flavors. But in those Bollywood quiz kind of shows, the callers are always straight forward. They don't waste any time and without any excitement they simply use to say 2 celebrity names. I was so much impressed and influenced with the creative mind behind those shows that I enjoyed them for the next couple of days as well. I observed that the callers have similar kind of voice, as if they have a gang of 10-15 callers. How could people think of such innovative ways of making quick money? Initially I was little confused and worried that how could they telecast such shows that too in some reputed TV channels? But later I realized that in a country where everything else is so transparent right from bureaucracy to Babacrazy, from 2 G to Anna G. So what’s the problem with such innovative and creative quiz shows? 

55 comments:

  1. interesting observation.. but i went live on radio once, to answer a qui question and got a pretty neat too!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice to know U already have experience on such business :) Glad U liked the post and thanks a lot for visiting out here Aersh!

      Delete
  2. ha ha. Ditto Jahid. I also saw and managed to remain just the audience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha Madhu Ji :) Always better to enjoy such shows as a audience only:)

      Delete
  3. Good one. I had a similar observation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good to see U here MD :) Glad to know U also had similar observations :)

      Delete
  4. I and my grandpa wasted rs.500 on this thing out of boredom and these guys are cheats,
    their case is screwed!
    Wonderful writeup :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha.. 500 is a lot of money :) But good that U learned the lesson. Glad U liked the post and thanks a lot for visiting out here Heli!

      Delete
  5. hahaha Jahid Bhai :) Purely a minute game you caght it right .. I had picked this job work .. for a US company some 5 years back as I was an Ops Manager in an Intl Call center and the Indian version is really funny and irritating .. when you know the actors so well .. its tough to believe how the callers are not able to identify :D
    Its a plain fraud in a style ( where the premium number provider earns the most)
    for every 100 bucks they collect ( getting such calls ) they distribute 30 bucks as including their recurring expenses and prize money to few .. rest they keep :D
    The one who wins may have lost won 4000 and may have lost 3000 in minutes :D
    Thanks you reminded :D I am all giggles

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Jack, every parties involved have their share. The operators have the maximum share. Nice to know U have field experience on such kind of business :) Glad U liked the post and could refresh some of Ur old memories!

      Delete
  6. btw .. the ones which you are showing are not Hrithik and Preity Zinta .. but Dharmendra and Sreedevi :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it's Rajesh Khanna and Saira Banu :)

      Delete
  7. :-(..jahid I fell victim to this once a few years back when I was dead bored ..not that I wanted to win I was simply curious to know what happens when I call..as you said.I got a call waiting IVR and ended loosing RS 36!!..when I cut the call maybe after a minute or so..!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha Binesh :) U too? little unexpected :) but it's OK, onlt 36 Rs :)

      Delete
  8. I had tried it during the initial days of its start and wasted around Rs.25.. I guess they charged me around Rs.12/min... Then realised it was fake...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha.. Meghana :) It's OK, just 25 Rs. Good that U realized it's fake pretty soon :)

      Delete
  9. Truth unveiled :)
    Education for becoming a crook -true for so many of us :(

    Your story will surely open eyes of gullible onlookers!

    Dramatic presentation is really captivating :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mrinmoy da for Ur appreciation :) Glad U liked the post and I hope it would be an eye opener of many of us!

      Delete
  10. Good post Jahid. I always knew that reality show can only survive with the money made from phones calls by the public. Thanks for sharing this post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Uma, glad U liked the post. Yes, money requires in every business but there should be some sort of ethics as well!

      Delete
  11. Honestly, this article was an eyeopener for me. Everyone seems so busy minting money these days that ethics and values seem to the stuff of the bygone era.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice to know that this post was an eye opener for U. These things happen so openly, seriously ethics is a rare thing now a days. Thanks for visiting out here Jini!

      Delete
  12. On NZ TV they recently had people voting for their favourite contestants in a song contest with the same intent. You could vote as often as you wanted. The only difference between your story and mine is that each time you voted you were warned that the call would cost $1. Who cared whether the best singer won or the most popular as long as they made money on those calls?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aha! NZ is also on the same track :) but I think laws would be little strict out there. You are correct, nobody cares cared whether the best singer wins or the most popular as long as they make money on those calls. Thanks for visiting out here!

      Delete
  13. Agree with a country so obsessed with cricket and movies, there are always a chance of such gimmick being played to cheat the innocents.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sad but true, we are so much obsessed with cricket and Bollywood and there's always opportunity for the intellectuals to cheat innocent public. Thanks a lot for visiting out here!

      Delete
  14. This type of tv show/ads are very common and people watch and call...its a big fraud and nobody can stop them because they are not doing anything wrong..if you observe such ads last for 1 hour and the right answer is given exctly when the hour is about to end..during this time they make up for the money spent in tv ads and make a LOT of profit over it.

    People (like my uncle do not understand that such a thing is a total cheat. He ended up calling!! I asked himme what happened he said they put him n hold for an entire 7 minutes,,after which he got bored and hung up.. calculte 15rs* 7 minutes.. thats the amount of money they earnt in just 7 minutes by just a single user! God know how many such innocent people call! n how long they hold! Sorry for the extremeley long reply :P but this issue just pisses me off!!Something must be done here!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Vidhi for Ur detailed reply. yeah, these kind of shows are very common and particularly at midnight. They definitely understand the law and even if thet break the law, who cares? :) Sad to know that Ur uncle don't understand that such a thing is a total cheat. May be one day he would realize. Thanks for visiting out here Vidhi !

      Delete
  15. Well,well surprises never cease.

    On second thoughts i shouldn't be surprised -we excel in thuggery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha.. always feel good to see Ur comments Indu Ji :) Yes, U R correct, these sort of things shouldn't surprise us, as we excel in thuggery.

      Delete
  16. Jahid how much will you pay me if I answer the celebrity pictures in your post... :-P

    And mind you this is India...Yaha to Taj Mahal bhi bek jaate hai ye to bas call karke kama rahe hai....Remember Mr.Natwarlal(I mean the real one not the reel one)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha.. Harsha :) I would keep U on hold for a long time before U could answer the celebrity puzzle :) Haha.. there's so many real Natwarlal in India. Which one U R talking about?

      Delete
  17. Replies
    1. Thanks Mukhtiar Bhai :) glad U liked the post!

      Delete
  18. I know which show u r talking of. I was watching it myself a few months back n i too sensed that they are cheating us...l.good post, i didnt know they can make money this way.
    That day, my kom kept pestering me ki beta phone lagao, kya pata mil hi jaye...but i said no

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Ritesh, these sort of shows are very popular and there's lot of money for the organizers. Good that U didn't call those numbers, else U would have felt little guilty :) Glad U liked the post!

      Delete
  19. even now the show is still on

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha.. Karuna, the market is so huge and the cost involved for them to organize such shows is much less compared to the profit. It's going to continue for a long time, till some strict regulations comes from TRAI !

      Delete
  20. Nice investigative journalism :)

    I saw those shows a few times, never giving them a thought as I am skeptic about all easy money shows.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. investigative journalism!! Haha.. :) It's fun to watch how they openly cheat the innocent public!

      Delete
  21. somebody known to me,once called in such show and lost 100 rupees in call without connecting to the anchor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Like Ur friend many people lost money in such kind of shows :) I think one time is OK enough to learn the lesson :)

      Delete
  22. Bang on...Once I saw this show and attempted to call. As soon as I heard 12 Rs a minute I disconnected.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good that U disconnected immediately, else would have regretted till now :) Thanks for visiting out here Sangeeta!

      Delete
  23. hello jahid bhai.. you always come up with something so relatable, presenting it in your own unique way. That's why I try to visit you as soon as I have any time.

    Even I watched such show many times, i found the answers rather amusing. So I used to use the show for sum cheap laughs :) It's amazing, rather it's a pity that such fraud schemes work in India on the most open manner and platform. Loved your post Jahid bhai.. see you again :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank U so much Deepak Sir. U always encourage me :) Ya, these things are quite common in India and the trend started in national media channels also. Thanks for visiting Deepak Sir!

      Delete
  24. Really interesting...Hope you have more people from falling prey to such scams!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dude. Glad U liked the post and I hope this post would be an eye opener for some people. Thanks a lot for visiting out here!

      Delete
  25. Even I have seen this kinda show... And I swear even I was at loss of words when people couldn't recognize the easiest of the answers.. Obviously, as you told, it is yet another con in a country of cons.. Sad but true !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ya, these shows are very common since quite sometime. Rightly said "it is yet another con in a country of cons" Thanks a lot for visiting out here Jyotsna!

      Delete
  26. Hilarious post !! :) I dont usually read such humorous posts on blogs, but this one was too good..

    love to follow you Jahid :)

    Best
    Nupur

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really delighted that U found the post hilarious :) Thanks for visiting out here Nupur and also thanks for the encouragement :)

      Delete
  27. Wow...I didn't knew that. Thanks for letting us know about it :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hehe.. Pankti Ji, U should seriously watch one complete episode of such quiz shows. It's very interesting actually :)

      Delete
  28. my friend answered it correct. bt then they asked rs 8000 to rs 12000 as registration fee... i think its fake..

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...