It’s a million dollar question. Is Anupam Kher in or out of Sawal Dus Crore Ka (SDCK)? With both Kher and Zee TV singing different tunes, there’s no way one can as yet ‘freeze’ eit-her ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to that.
Going by recent media reports, one gets the impression that Kher has been booted out of SDCK because of the plunging TRP ratings vis-a-vis Star TV’s Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).
Kher, on his part, has a very interesting tale to tell. Apparently, Gajendra Singh (producer of SDCK) called him on his mobile on Monday night and advise him “to tell the media that I did not have dates for the show and therefore I was out of it,” claims a fuming Kher.
“That’s a load of absolute rubbish! To put the record straight, it is a one-year contract and I am committed to shoot between 17-25 of each month,” he clarified, adding, “my contract with ZEE started on 23 October, 2000 and ends next year. This involves a total of 156 episodes. Yes, there is a notice period of two months if either side wants to terminate the contract.”
Zee spokesperson, Sainath Iyer, however, said, “We have not made up our mind on Kher’s departure. We’re still talking with him. As for his dates, let me clarify that we need to have a different commitment now considering the revamped nature of the show. Anyway, Ashutosh Rana has still not replaced Kher. All this speculation is only in the media.”
Not without any basis, though. Kher for one is convinced he’s being made the fall guy. “Last week, Gajendra Singh met me when I was shooting for a children’s serial and said that SDCK was not doing well and that Zee was planning to put it in the 8 pm slot. Personally, I’m not against anyone being asked to leave a show. But then, if the programme isn’t doing well, is the anchor alone to blame? What about the producer, the co-anchor and the rest of the team?” he asked.
So even as his co-anchor Manisha Koirala is still very much a part of the show, Kher feels he’s being, “singled out despite having put in my level best. I have even shot till midnight and co-operated with them in every way. But they seem to be bent on harming my professional standing by arbitrarily throwing me out.”
So, what went wrong with the show? Kher has his theory. “I think we should have rehearsed for at least a month before rushing in. However, that doesn’t mean the show is bad. The figures speak for themselves. On the opening day the TRP ratings was 15. But I certainly feel the show can be improve,” opined the veteran actor.
For the record, Zee spokesperson, Mr Iyer attributes the fall in TRP ratings to “too much of cricket” and “media bias”.