In this era when daily soaps and talk shows are dominating the small screen, game shows engaging commoners are making a comeback in the Tamil television channels in the past few months.
Tamilodu Vilaiyadu, a show inspired by Wordle, a popular game, has teams of school students across the State battling it out in a game of wits. The Tamil language proficiency and ready wit of the students are tested in this show being telecast on Kalaignar TV on Sunday evenings.
With its addictive format of ‘guess the word’, the show initially had nearly 44 schools shortlisted and has reached semi-finals. Composer James Vasanthan, who is hosting the show, says the game was designed to kindle the interest of youngsters in learning Tamil language and literature. The teams were shortlisted with the support of the Federation of Association of Private Schools and the School Education Department.
Team members take turns in various rounds to guess three-letter words and four-letter words, with one alphabet revealed within a few attempts and a specific time limit. The entire team would play the final round presenting hints to find the word related to Tamil classical, contemporary literature and culture.
“We chose a mixed age group in each team of three students not to deprive younger children of an opportunity. We are also planning to launch a mobile gaming application for adults to get a chance to play the game,” says James Vasanthan. Auditions are on simultaneously for season-2, with a few modifications in the rounds. Students will also be trained before the show is telecast in a few months, he adds.
Celebrities against contestants
Tik Tik Tik, a new game show, was recently launched. It pits television celebrities against contestants chosen from different backgrounds.
Promising to be a blend of entertainment and exciting challenges, the show, aired on Vijay TV, has celebrities and contestants from different professions competing to win cash prizes. As its tag-line, ‘money, money, money’, suggests, winners of the rounds that test their spontaneity, wit, and talent take home instant cash prizes starting from ₹10,000.
Hosted by television personalities Bala and Keerthi Shantanu, the fun-filled show has rounds in which celebrities must choose from eight categories, some of which would be related to the profession of other contestants.
Ms. Keerthi, who is better known as ‘Kiki’, is all excited about hosting her first game show on Vijay TV on Sundays at 5 p.m. “The rounds seem simple. In one of the rounds, celebrities and contestants must identify the objects from pictures on display for a few seconds. Though the pictures may seem simple to identify, the challenge lies in the quick wit of the contestants,” she says.
Keerthi, who has had many years of experience in hosting shows, says, “We, the hosts, have to keep the show engaging and lively, unlike the other ones where you just announce events. It is a nice learning experience, too. People from different walks of life — including vegetable vendors, farmers, and fans of popular actors — participate in the show. We learnt about farming and the use of agricultural tools from a contestant. It is a delight to see contestants also enjoy the show.”
