BBC Worldwide India’s India Banega Manch shot entirely on the streets of India

India Banega Manch, is a first-of-its-kind show on Indian TV where the public on locations is the only judge for the performances showcased by contestants from across the country. The show, produced by BBC Worldwide India and airing weekly on Colors, is set on the streets of India including iconic locations like Connaught Place, Red Fort, Juhu Beach, India Gate and more.

Hosted by comedian Krushna Abhishek and chirpy Mona Singh, the show features amateur artistes from all over India performing on a busy street or an iconic location. Each performer has a stipulated time limit of 5 minutes to attract as many people as possible to gather around and watch the performance. For every person that stops to watch, the contestant scores a point.

If a contestant scores higher than the previous performer, they get to stay in the “Jeet Ki Seat”. The performer with the highest score and the largest audience for the day is the winner of the episode.

The winners of 16 episodes then compete against each other for one to be declared the champion. Doubling up as viewers, hosts Krushna Abhishek and Mona Singh are stationed in a mobile TV control room parked near the location. Commentating and giving the viewers at home a feel of what it is like on ground, they catch the nuances of the performances and reactions of the unsuspecting audience.

While it looks like everything happens slickly and spontaneously when you watch the show, the set-up actually involves a lot of behind-the-scenes prep to make it look that good on the TV screen.Set-ups need to be done the night before – and it all needs to be completed in under seven hours, no matter how bad the weather is, how heavy traffic is, or how many crew they have. The time constraints also pose a challenge as everything needs to be done swiftly before day break.

Cameras are set up in 15 hidden locations around the site to ensure all angles are covered, and a ‘hidden’ control room as well as a‘backstage area’ where contestants talk about their experience has to be assembled.

Since the streets and locales of India are the actual stage, the contestants have to do their rehearsals at 4 or 5 am before regular commuters and the general population is up and about. A crew of about 70 people from BBC Worldwide India work around the clock to ensure this undercover talent goes off without a hitch every day.

Each episode sees about 50 contestants who travel from various parts of the country and have to be coordinated, sheltered and looked after for the duration of the shoot.

As the shoot for 3 episodes take place on a trot in a schedule- at any given time the team also handles the care and act production of over 150 people. And they have to control the enthusiastic crowds watching the show. At Juhu Beach, there were more than a 1000 people at a time watching a performance. At Connaught Place, the audience gathered around the ‘manch’ that was set up from all sides to watch the performances. For the shoot with Salman Khan at Bandra fort, there was a massive crowd following him. The crew has to always take all possible precautions to ensure the crowd does not get out of hand and the shoot is completed smoothly.

And as the weather gets hotter, the challenge and stresses of shooting outdoors grows. “At India Gate, the temperatures were at 44 degrees and the stage got too hot to perform on. The crew had to water the area so that our barefoot contestants could perform. The crew also faces issues with equipments malfunctioning due to shooting under the sun for long hours. Being outdoors the whole time makes it extremely difficult for the technical team. Added external distractions like vehicles passing by also pose a challenge to the contestants who are constantly on their toes to ensure the audience gathered around stays put,” commented Soniya Kulkarni, Head of Non-fiction,BBC Worldwide India.

India Banega Manch isn’t just about dance talents. The show has witnessed some of the most offbeat acts to be performed on Indian TV. Traditional yoga was given a modern twist by adding an aerial pole to the act, balancing and performing some extremely difficult but ‘wow’ moves the contestant managed to capture the undivided attention of the crowd at an amusement park in Mumbai. ‘Love Malkhamb group’, another group from Mumbai came on the show not just to win the “Jeet Ki Seat” but also to win hearts. They demonstrated some mind blowing moves of Malkhamband their USP was being able to perform Malkhambat a much higher speed than any other group in the country.

Along with some top-notch, world-class acts, the show also runs high on emotions, pulling at the heart strings of the Indian viewers. In the 3rd episode, there was a group of body balancers, who formed multiple human pyramids from Murshidabad, a small village in West Bengal who hadan ambition to make their mark in entertainment and make a better living for their families. They were delighted when they got a chance to perform on India Banega Manch. For the very first time, they had stepped out of their village and visited a big city like Kolkata. Their video diary on them experiencing the flavours of a big city, experiencing big roads, a lift and good food struck a chord with the audience with compliments flowing in on social media

 
Deepali Handa, Head - Commercial and Production (Non Fiction) BBC Worldwide said, “The show brings forth a very novel and innovative concept. The team is constantly on road to put this show together and due to obvious reasons is constantly faced with new challenges. We have seen some very unique acts on this show and shot at some iconic locations. We hope it resonates with the viewers and tugs at people’s heart strings.”

Manisha Sharma, Programming Head, Colors said, “As innovative content creators, we have always strived to give viewers newer shows that they haven't witnessed before. India Banega Manch has many never-seen-before elements including outdoor shoots with no studios or galas and no judges; a concept that is new for the audiences. The team was able to surpass the challenge of shooting outdoor under extreme circumstances and create high quality content versus the comfort of shooting in studio. The talent presented on the show are from different walks of life and it's a different experience for them to perform against various outdoor backdrops like streets, bazaars, beaches and forts and become crowd pullers purely on the basis of their performance." 

India Banega Manch, produced by BBC Worldwide India airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9pm on Colors.