Anand Kumar would soon join a small screen reality show!

Wait. It's not like any dance or singing contest but a real brain-teaser on the television.

Anand, the founder of Super 30 and mentor of hundreds of students, has agreed to be the key resource person of a reality show, like Kaun Banega Crorepati, being planned by a TV channel. Although the ace mathematician declined to disclose the name of the TV channel or the prize money involved in the show, he said there would be question and four optional answers on screen.

The idea behind the show will be to generate interest among youngsters towards mathematics. 'A TV channels has approached me for starting a reality show on mathematics and I have decided to play a key resource person for such a show, deciding questions for it,' Anand told The Telegraph on Monday. His role would be similar to quizmaster Siddhartha Basu's in the success of Kaun Banega Crorepati.

Anand, who has trained more than 200 aspirants to crack the IIT entrance exam through his Super 30 programme, which provides free coaching to students of economically weaker section of the society, claims that such shows would be very useful to students generating their interest in maths.

The reality show will have two categories of participants - juniors, studying in classes VI to IX and seniors from classes X to XII. The contestants in the show will be chosen based on qualifying rounds held at school level all over the country. 'The exact format of the reality show such as how many questions will be asked and who will be the judge or the anchor and the duration of programme has not been decided but it will be very informative programme for students,' Anand claimed.

In the era of reality shows, he added, a new one based on brain-teasing sums to generate interest in mathematics among children could also go a long way in inspiring today's students and making mathematics a mass movement.

Maintaining that the Indian students have been traditionally good at mathematics, he said it was important to realise why the country frittered away this advantage and how things could be changed by developing logical reasoning. Anand said India needed to tap enormous potential with children. 'Many of them lose interest due to sheer lack of opportunities. Like cricket and films, there should be a role model for maths and science also and the reality show will be an attempt to generate students' interest in mathematics,' added Anand.

Anurag Pradhan, a student of DAV BSEB, said: 'If any television channel is going to launch such reality show on mathematics it is a welcome move.'