NEW DELHI: Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hain, the celebrity talk show on Zee TV, is slated for a revamped return on 5 September at prime time with Farooque Shaikh.
"The programme would sport better looks, though the basic format would remain the same," anchor Farooque Shaikh told Indiantelevision.com adding jokingly that he'd also look "less fat".
Jeena and Shaikh both had taken a break from the channel for sometime. In between, Suresh Oberoi used to anchor the show. According to Shaikh, the programme's high equity has necessitated that it comes back on air with a new set of exciting guests. "The programme has become a star in itself," he says, hinting at its popularity.
Sad though that the TRPs of the programme cannot be flaunted as Zee does not subscribe to TAM data.
Defending the guest list that is filled with more people from the Hindi film world, Shaikh says that’s because such personalities draw more audience. The guests in the new-look Jeena include film personalities Sunil Dutt and Feroze Khan. "Moreover, film people are willing to participate in our programmes," Shaikh explains.
The NDTV-produced talk show is planning to get interactive in the future to lure audience.
Shaikh, who has taken to small screen after essaying some charming roles in films like Chasme Baddoor, feels that the spontaneity of Jeena’ makes it a good programme.
"On the first day of shooting somebody came to me with a script and I requested them that it should be done away with", he explains, adding that since that day the programme doesn't have any scripts and even he is unaware what would he say next.
For Shaikh, a carefree and spontaneous guest is more fun to have on the programme as it all adds up to fun. In this regard, the anchor of Jeena feels that Shah Rukh Khan and Akshaye Kumar were good sports.
Shaikh himself, however, finds cinema more challenging that television and theatre. "Cinema is such a medium that you cannot hide anything. It magnifies everything and I think it would always remain a challenge and my first love," he explains.
