'I Can Do That' comes to India to challenge celebs

The Indian version of "I Can Do That", a reality TV show format popular in countries like the US, Italy, Israel, Russia and Bulgaria, was launched here on Wednesday, in the presence of its host, actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar and the celebrity contestants.

The show, which will air on Zee TV in October, aims to challenge celebrities across different fields to come out of their comfort zone and try their hands in various tasks.

The contestants include like actors Dino Morea, Gauahar Khan, Gurmeet Choudhary, Rithvik Dhanjani, Madhurima Tuli; actress-designer Mandira Bedi; VJs Bani and Andy; TV host-actress Shibani Dandekar: singer-TV host Meiyang Chang; chef Ranveer Brar Aand comedian Bharti Singh.

"I Can Do That" will show them in a never-seen-before avatar doing tasks like intricate dance choreography, aerial trapeze, stilt-walking, magic, illusion and daredevil stunts among other things.

Farhan is glad that the show is bringing something fresh to the tube.

"It is a new concept on Indian television. We haven't seen such type of a show earlier. Usually we see shows where celebrities do things they are very well-versed with. But this is the first time when they will perform something that they don't know.

"It's a challenging show. Apart from being an entertaining show, 'I Can Do That' will motivate viewers to do things that they wish to," Farhan said at the launch.

Much like the international format, the 12 contestants of "I Can Do That" will first see a demonstration of a task by professionals, and then they will choose which task they will perform by training themselves in it for a week.

Though VJ Bani and Ranvir Brar were not present at the launch, the event, hosted by actor Gunjan Utraja, witnessed some of the celebrities trying their luck in various stunts.

Even the media persons at the event were invited to take part in tasks like walking on broken glass and breaking wooden boards.

The channel officials are hopeful that the show will lend a "sparkle" to Zee TV around the upcoming Diwali season.

"We are confident that after seeing the show viewers will start looking at things from a very different perspective and we hope to that people will turn around and will turn even more positive than what our country is at this moment. It's what we are very keen to do," said Zee TV business head Pradeep Hejmadi.