Jeet shoots for Star of bengal. picture by aranya sen

Hero no. 2 is a week ahead of Hero no. 1 in the race to the small screen. In a filmi twist to the tale, Jeet is turning TV anchor with a talent hunt show on Zee Bangla from August 7. For Jeet though, it’s like coming full circle. t2 hears him out...

Are you on TV because Prosenjit too is hosting a show?

I didn’t know about that, honestly. I came to know about it much later.

Star of Bengal isn’t your first stint on TV...

No, it isn’t. I had earlier done two mega serials for DD1, Janani and Bishbriksha. But as a host of a reality show, this is my first.

Why go into TV at this point of your career?

Well, TV is one medium which has a vast reach. A couple of months back I had done a show for Zee Bangla in Durgapur and Rajiv (Chatterjee, the channel’s business head) had offered me a reality show. I wasn’t too sure what it would be like, neither were they sure what exactly they wanted to do. Then they approached me later again and I really liked the concept of the show this time.

What will you do on the show?

It’s a talent hunt with parents and kids. We have 36 mother-daughter and mother-son pairs. We are going to play with six pairs per episode. There are two rounds, the first is a performance round where a child can either sing, dance or do a little magic show. It’s about how talented they are. The second round is called Bindaas Bonding, where we ask a few questions to the child and his or her mother on stage.

But what’s your role?

I am the host. I have to motivate the kids, keep them in a good mood and connect with the audience too, waving and cheering them up.

And how good do you think you are with a live audience?

Well Rajiv told me to just be myself. That is another important factor why I agreed to host the show. Here, I am not acting; my emotions, my way of speaking and everything is real. I have my own space here. I am Jeet on this show and that is what gave me the kick. Initially I was a bit tense but now I am bang on. I love kids, I enjoy doing what I am doing on the show. It’s fun!

Any homework?

I did a lot of thinking before accepting the show. I thought about the way I should speak and came up with famous quotes to motivate the kids.

Do you think you have it in you to do a KBC or Paanchvi Pass?

Well, people watched KBC or Paanchvi Pass partly for Amitabh Bachchan and SRK but at the end of the day the content matters. People won’t just watch a show for a star. The host has to develop the connectivity with the participants and the audience.

How do you plan to juggle films with TV?

I am not doing much at the moment. I mean I don’t do more than four-five films a year. Besides, I have to shoot for just six-seven days a month for Star of Bengal, so there’s no problem.... This year I plan to do two more Bhojpuri films since my first, Pyaar Jab Kehu Se Hoyi Jaala, has done exceptionally well.

Whose show are you looking forward to? Tell t2@abpmail.com