This isn’t a “stunt.” Zee TV, which has so far stayed away from big-ticket reality shows with Bollywood stars on board, has finally decided to hop on the bandwagon, with a difference.
The channel has signed action hero Sunny Deol for Jaanbaaz, a stunt-based show for Bollywood stuntmen. The show will be shot in Mumbai from next month. While Sunny will be the sole judge, action director Alan Amin will be the mentor and expert on the show.
According to Zee’s head of fiction Ashish Golwalkar, singing, dancing, comedy, action and adventure have been covered in the reality space but not pure stunts, which are an integral part of every Hindi film.
“Even internationally, stunt-based shows are quite popular. We are not adapting any international format but foreign shows are our reference point for Jaanbaaz,” says Ashish.
As for signing Sunny Deol for the show, Ashish says he is the only actor who is truly identified with action films.
“Look at the so-called action heroes like Akshay (Kumar) and Ajay (Devgn). Over the years they have been more successful in comedy films. Sunny is the only one whose image goes with our show’s format,” he says.