Shah Rukh Khan is in dilemma

Shah Rukh Khan will soon host a new quiz show Panchavi Pass (Reuters Photo)

MUMBAI: Shah Rukh Khan, the proud owner of the Kolkata Indian Premier League (IPL) team 'Kolkata Knight Riders', is in a dilemma. Will he perform on the field at the IPL event, or will he be best placed with his antics in a studio for his new television show Panchavi Pass ? The dates of both shows clash. Advertisers who have been kept out of the IPL arena are gearing up and cornering time slots on Panchavi Pass .





IPL's 44-day cricket bonanza flags off on April 18 with 59 T20 matches. Panchavi Pass (PP) is SRK's new quiz show on Star Plus, which begins on the same date. It is to be telecast 8 pm onwards over the weekend. While Star Plus has signed on Airtel as the presenting sponsor for PP, while Airtel's competitor Vodafone is on board as presenting sponsor for IPL, to be telecast on Sony. This has initiated a battle of sponsorship between the broadcasters as SRK endorses Airtel too.

Despite the lukewarm response to SRK's Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), Khan and Star are gearing up for PP. The show is an adaptation of an international television game show, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? Incidentally, Bulldog Media and Entertainment has licensed the format from the owner, Mark Burnett Productions. Synergy Adlabs is to produce the show in India.

The prize money on PP is Rs 5 crore, while that of IPL is several times more. Media agencies buying air time slots told TOI that PP will be set in a classroom-like ambience with five and 10-year-old kids as part of the audience. If a contestant is stuck, he can refer to the audience who will act as his classmates. Cut to IPL. In this case, cricket on field will follow only after entertainment antics of fellow Bollywood personalities, and sizzling 'item numbers', both on and off field.