Fandom world - Anurag Basu returns to TV, grills celebs as reality show host.

Host Anurag Basu with guest Sourav Ganguly on the sets of Ke Hobe Biggest Fan. Picture by Aranya Sen

“Aami chutiye adda marchhi! Ekta Bangali er cheye beshi aar ki chaite paare,” smiled Anurag Basu. With his blockbuster-in-waiting Kites releasing next Friday, the director-of-the-moment is also the host-of-the-moment.

Following in the footsteps of fellow filmmakers Karan Johar and Farah Khan, the Gangster director makes his debut on the couch, hosting the newest reality show on the block, Ke Hobe Biggest Fan (starting tonight, Thursday to Saturday, at 9.30pm on Zee Bangla).

A celebrity-meets-fan format, Ke Hobe Biggest Fan will have Bolly and Tolly celebrities coming face-to-face with some die-hard fans, with Anurag acting as the go-between. “The idol-fan relationship is very unique. The idol may have been a fan once, while the fan himself can become an idol in future,” said Anurag.

While immediate parallels may be drawn with the similarly-themed Lift Kara De hosted by Karan Johar on Sony, the makers of Ke Hobe Biggest Fan insist that their format is home-grown. “That show had fans performing tasks to woo their idol, while ours has a simple Q&A format divided into five rounds,” said the Life in a... Metro man.

Starting with the Screen Test round which whittles down the fan count to just five through the Kaun Banega Crorepati-inspired ‘fastest finger first’ format, the show moves on to the Action, Flashback, Censor and Climax rounds, with the last man (or woman) standing being acknowledged as the “biggest fan”.

“The Censor round is all about uncomfortable posers that put the guest on the backfoot.... I have even had some celebs I am close to personally taking me aside minutes before the show, telling me not to ask them a particular controversial question,” chuckled the man who made his TV debut more than a decade ago with India’s first soap, Tara.

From Soha Ali Khan to Sourav Ganguly, Bhaichung Bhutia to Bappi Lahiri, Kumar Sanu to Koel Mullick, Anurag has already grilled a mix of celebs. “They have all been very gracious and a lot of fun. Did you know that Kumar Sanu was called Chhanu when he was a kid?” asked Anurag.

And while he did insist on a photograph with Sourav Ganguly at the shoot on Tuesday afternoon, Anurag is clear about the one man he wants to see on the Ke Hobe Biggest Fan couch. “I really admire (finance minister) Pranab Mukherjee. I would love to meet him one day. I am sure I will be very nervous,” smiled Anurag before zipping off to New York for the Kites grand premiere.

Which celebrity do you want to see on Zee Bangla’s Ke Hobe Biggest Fan couch? Tell t2@abpmail.com