Kaun jeetega Bollywood ka ticket

I don't generally follow Indian television so I come in late with this news: Shabana Azmi is mixed up in another talent contest TV show, this one entitled "Kaun jeetega Bollywood ka ticket." The title means "who will win a ticket to Bollywood?" - and, apparently, the show's prize is a role in a mainstream film. The show began airing in India on Sunday.

According to this piece, Shabana ji is in charge of mentoring contestants from the eastern portion of India. When asked what connection to the east drew her into that role, she credited eastern legends like Satyajit Ray and Gautam Ghose as significant influences in her career. Here's some more news about the show, which is apparently produced by Ekta Kapoor (a friend of Shabana ji's best known for producing wildly popular television serials). Zeenat Aman is also slated to be a judge on the show, along with actor Amrita Singh and director Mahesh Manjrekar.

"I'm glad for once that this show has three women as mentors and not just a token woman as judge," Shabana ji says according to this article about the show. That's certainly Ekta Kapoor's deliberate touch at work.

I'm sure clips from this show will turn up on the internet sooner or later so I will keep you posted if I come across any.

UPDATE: Here's a link to a source for on-line viewing of the first episode. I haven't tried it myself so I can't vouch for the quality.