I never went away from television: SRK

NEW DELHI: As the host of the third edition of the popular game show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', Shah Rukh Khan brought a youthful effervescence to the programme.
  
As he embarks on yet another new innings on television as host of the innovatiove game show, 'Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain'.The game show will have adults vying with sharp-minded kids in terms of their ability to answer school grade level questions, Shahrukh Khan seems as excited as he seemed when he made his foray on the small screens two decades ago with the serial 'Fauji'.
  
''I don't think it would be right for one to call 'KBC3' or 'Kya  Aap Panchvi Pass Se Tez Hain' as my comeback to television. I never went away from television in the first place. Infact, I am coming on television for the 11th time since I did the serial 'Fauji' years ago. In any case, my endeavour is always to entertain people be it on TV, stage show or films,'' Shah Rukh Khan said.
  
Talking during his visit to the Capital to promote his new  TV show, the 'King Khan', whose television roles in serials like 'Fauji' upstaged him into limelight, paving the way for a career in  films, said it was to television that he owed his success as an actor.
  
'' Whatever I have become or achieved today has been largely because of television. As a movie actor, I became what I have become, thanks to television. I owe my life to television and stage and, of course movies now,'' Shah Rukh said.
   
Shah Rukh said the evolution of television over the years had been outstanding. In this sense, calling television the small screen was a misnomer.
  
''I feel the term 'small screen' used to describe TV today is misleading. Over the last few decades, there has been an amazing change in television whether it be in terms of quality, technology, eyeballs, business or the level of news coverage. Infact, TV's evolution over the years has been absolutely outstanding and amazing,'' the King Khan said.
  
Noting that TV had taken a great turnover over the last two decades, Shah Rukh said, ''few years ago when I used to go for press  conferences, there used to be just five to six TV cameras and not  much technology was available. Now you have television booming events like this directly accessible all over the country through their OB vans. This huge amount of change is a welcome one.''
  
Shah Rukh said the last few years had witnessed people like Siddharth Basu, who conceptualised shows like 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', 'Jhalak Dikhla Ja' and 'Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez hain', come up with some of the most innovative programmes which made for greater audience participation on these TV shows. In this context, he said the new show to be aired soon on Star Plus, would involve a lot of interaction from children, who today formed a crucial audience for television.
  
A television game show based on the international Mark Burnett format 'Are you smarter than a Fifth Grader', where grade school level questions are put to adults from all walks of life. The game show will witness Shahrukh Khan act as a teacher of class five sprightly kids where adult contestants will be posed ten questions from grade level one to five, the right answers to which would entitle them to a mammoth prize money of Rs 5 crore.
  
The adults will be offered three lifelines wherein they will have the option to take the help of the kids for the answer of the questions. In case, the contestants fail to answer all the ten questions, they will be allowed to quit the show with the prize money won by them but only after saying that 'I am not smarter than a fifth Grader'.
  
The essence of the show is the humour generated out of the inability of adults to answer primary level questions and the pressure experienced by them in their effort to keep their reputations intact in a class of kids from class one to five.
  
''Class one to five kids can take part in the show. They will be my students who will help the 'new adult student' grapple with questions from first to fifth standard. In this sense, there will be lot of interaction with children during the show. The idea is to interact with the families through our interaction with children,'' Shah Rukh said.
   
To be part of the show, the children would have to have a certain level of awareness, he expressed hoped that the knowledge level of the kids on the show would encourage other children to make
efforts to develop general awareness which could enable them to appear on the TV show.
  
''It was the educational aspect attached to the show that had my excited about it. I am sure that watching the show, children of my son's age would also want to come on the show which in turn will  generate in them a curiosity to increase their general awareness,'' he said.

The King Khan said that as an entertainer, his endeavour was to cater first and foremost to children.
  
''Whatever entertainment I have given all these years whether on  TV, stage or films, my attempt has primarily been to entertain children, who I think are the audience with the shortest attention span. This year, I have resolved to do something for children. Doing this show is part of that resolve,''he said.
  
Besides, the game show, Shahrukh also plans to make a film for children.
  
''My teacher Barry John had told me that only if you keep in mind interests, likes or dislikes of children in doing your roles will you be a good actor. So, I would love to do many things for kids. This year I have resolved to do a lot for kids. One of them would be a film that we also can produce.I have this great desire to make a film for children. However, the budgets and the story are something that are still being worked out,'' Shahrukh said.
  
Among his forthcoming ventures, Shahrukh said he was working on two films to be made by his production house, Red Chillies entertainment. One of them would be an animation film. Then, there is Ravi Chopra's 'Bhootnath', where he features in a brief role.
  
''I did 'Bhootnath' because the director of the film Vivek Sharma is a close friend,'' the actor said. Then, there is a item song by Shahrukh in Rakesh Roshan's Filmkraft productions' 'Krrazy4'.
  
Also on the anvil is Aditya Chopra's 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi', shooting for which will begins in May. Hunt is on currently for a new girl to play the female lead in the film opposite Shahrukh.