Dada's 'dadagiri' on Zee Bangla

The quiz show, Dadagiri Unlimited, anchored by Sourav Ganguly, will debut on Zee Bangla on July 27

Sourav Ganguly, the former captain of the Indian cricket team, will now exhort his fans to prove their dadagiri over the real 'dada' in a reality quiz show – Dadagiri Unlimited on Zee Bangla.

In the past, Ganguly has appeared as a judge on NDTV Imagine for the show, Knights and Angels, where he was seen picking up the cheerleading squad for Kolkata Knight Riders.

In his new show, Dadagiri Unlimited, the prince of Kolkata has donned the garb of an anchor, quizzing participants from 19 districts of Kolkata in a not-so-serious quiz show.

A senior official at Zee Bangla shares, "Ganguly is one of the most loved personalities in Kolkata as well as across the country. He has unmatched star power and is the pride of the state. We aspire to become a global Bangla channel. We already have another equally admired personality, actor Mithun Chakraborty, gracing the channel by being part of our show, Dance Bangla Dance. And with dada on board, we have two most admired personalities acting as the face of the channel."

The channel states that the new reality quiz show is not in the league of hardcore quiz shows, such as Derek O'Brien's Bournvita Quiz Contest, or for that matter, Amitabh Bachchan's Kaun Banega Crorepati. Rather, it's a game show modelled on the quiz format, designed to test the intelligence, wit, timeliness, accuracy and sense of humour of the participants.

Questions on the show will relate to entertainment, sports, history and geography. Ganguly could throw up a question as simple and engrossing as: If there are nine people in a race and you ran past the second placed runner, what would be your position in the race?

Starting July 27, Dadagiri Unlimited will be aired on Mondays to Wednesdays at 9:30 pm. It is replacing the kids' stand up comedy show, Mirakkel Akkel Challenger 4. The show will have 63 episodes, leading to the grand finale in November.

Dadagiri Unlimited will see as many as 821 participants. The idea of the show is to provide commoners the chance to outplay their favourite star and flaunt their dadagiri. Each episode will see different individuals representing their district in the quiz show. The points gathered by individual players will be added up to arrive at the collective score of each district. And as the show progresses, the districts scoring the least points will get eliminated.

Zee Bangla invited entries for the show by announcing the contest on the channel and other network channels. To heighten the interest in the quiz show, it will also feature celebrity participants, such as sportspersons and actors.

The channel is promoting the show heavily. To begin with, a creative campaign – playing upon the idea of inviting people to show their dadagiri with dada – was conceptualised and designed by the channel's creative agency, Response.

The channel began by airing teaser promos of the show, beginning March 7. It has a launch capsule and promos on Bengali news channels, 24 Ghanta and STAR Ananda. From Monday print campaign for the show was also released. Print ads will appear in publications such as Anand Bazar Patrika, The Telegrapgh, Bartaman and Ganasakti.

For promotions on radio, Zee Bangla has roped in Radio Mirchi and Radio Mishty. It has also used outdoor extensively. It has 88 outdoor exposures in Kolkata alone and claims to have put up as many as 231 hoardings in the rest of the state. The outdoor campaign was launched two weeks back.

In September, Zee Bangla plans to take the show on-ground by reaching out to people in college campuses and other areas. The senior Zee Bangla official explains, "The purpose is to allow viewers to understand and accept the format of the show. Once they are familiar with the pattern of the show, it will be easier to conduct activities, including small interactive games with the public. We first wish to establish the product and then consolidate on the success by aiming for higher viewer connect and synergy, both for the show and the channel, through on-ground activations."