The Indian Game Show Kaun Banega Crorepati in the Context of Media Globalization
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The Indian Game Show Kaun Banega Crorepati in the context of Media Globalization and Glocalization A thesis presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Enakshi Roy June 2011 © 2011 Enakshi Roy. All Rights Reserved. This thesis titled The Indian Game Show Kaun Banega Crorepati in the context of Media Globalization and Glocalization by ENAKSHI ROY has been approved for the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and the Scripps College of Communication by Michael S. Sweeney Professor of Journalism Gregory J. Shepherd Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii ABSTRACT ROY, ENASKHI, M.S., June 2011, Journalism The Indian Game Show Kaun Banega Crorepati in the context of Media Globalization and Glocalization Director of Thesis: Michael Sweeney The game show Kaun Banega Crorepati, adapted from the British show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? changed the television-scape of India. This study guided by the framework of glocalization examines how Kaun Banega Crorepati was successfully localized for an Indian audience. The study includes interviews with the producers of the show and a textual analysis of 50 episodes of the show through four seasons, and identifies elements such as: references to cricket, Bollywood, Indian history and mythology or religion; presence of famous movie stars as hosts, focus on contestants’ stories, and preaching, and examines how each of these elements made the show uniquely Indian. The findings indicate that while references to cricket, Indian history, and mythology or religion were more prominent in the first three seasons, in the fourth season the show’s producers focused on contestant stories and preaching. References to Bollywood was dominant in all the four seasons. Future research should expand the findings of this study by analyzing Indian adaptations of other show genres to determine if these findings are generalizable beyond the quiz show format. Approved: _____________________________________________________________ Michael S. Sweeney Professor of Journalism iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my thesis chair, Dr. Michael Sweeney, for all his time and patience. His enthusiasm and keenness about the subject encouraged me to pursue this thesis. The writing process would have been very difficult without Dr. Sweeney’s suggestions, revisions and attention to detail. This thesis would not have been possible without my committee members, Professor Mary Rogus and Dr. Kevin Grieves. I would like to thank them for sharing with me their insights on the television industry. I want to thank Siddhartha Basu and Atul Thakur for their time and the invaluable information they shared with me on the production of Kaun Banega Crorepati. I extend earnest thanks to the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, for accepting me to the program. With the school’s help, I enjoyed the chance to live and learn in another country, to experience a different culture, and to see another side of the world. Heartfelt thanks I also offer to my friends Aisha Mohammed and Amarjeet Shankar Singh, whose support and encouragement got me through the graduate school. Finally I would like to thank my family for their love and support: my uncle Sudipto Roy, my mentor; my brother, Dr. Krishnendu Roy, for being my guide in America; my father Bipul Kumar Roy, who nurtured in us the dream of education; and my mother, Tamali Roy, who allowed me to watch television in spite of stiff opposition, and whose commonsense approach to life has helped me come this far. Thank you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Scope and Rationale ........................................................................................................ 2 Design and Theoretical Proposition ................................................................................ 3 Chapter 2: Background ....................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 3: Literature Review ............................................................................................ 14 Theoretical Framework of the Study: Globalization and “Glocalization” ................... 19 Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 4: Methodology ................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 5: Creating Indian Identity of the Millionaire Model .......................................... 43 Creative Autonomy to Locals in Creating an Indian Identity ....................................... 44 Language in Creating Local Identity ............................................................................ 47 Questions in Creating a Local Identity ......................................................................... 48 Contribution of Hosts Toward KBC’s Local Identity ................................................... 49 Chapter 6: Episodes and Television Commercial Analysis .............................................. 60 Television Commercial Analysis .................................................................................. 60 Episode Analysis ........................................................................................................... 66 Greetings and Banter ................................................................................................. 66 Awe of Actors ........................................................................................................... 69 Contestant Stories ..................................................................................................... 71 Preaching ................................................................................................................... 74 Regionalism .............................................................................................................. 78 History ....................................................................................................................... 80 Mythology and Religion ........................................................................................... 82 Cricket Reference ...................................................................................................... 84 Reference to Bollywood ........................................................................................... 85 International Affairs and Events Questions .............................................................. 89 Chapter 7: Conclusion....................................................................................................... 91 v References ......................................................................................................................... 96 Appendix ......................................................................................................................... 103 Appendix A: Episodes Watched ................................................................................. 103 Appendix B: Television Commercials Watched ........................................................ 112 vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The study focuses on television game shows in the context of media globalization and “glocalization.” It looks at the Indian game show Kaun Banega Crorepati and examines how a “format replicated” show was localized for the Indian audience. The study concentrates on the changes introduced in the Indian version of the popular British game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire over four seasons and how these changes, in respect to format of the show, presentation style and content, made a Western show a local one. Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) is a licensed franchise of the British show Who Wants to Be Millionaire. This show is one of the most successful ever on Indian television. The show has had four seasons over the last 10 years. (In India the season of television shows does not follow the fall-spring pattern that is prevalent in U.S.A. In India a television show’s season can stretch from anywhere from three months to a year and a half of consecutive episodes). Presently the show, which was originally broadcast in Hindi with English graphics and some English in the host’s greetings and banter, is being produced in seven Indian language versions: Bangla, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Bangladeshi.1 This is testimony to the fact that the show is immensely popular and that glocalization is being implemented at every step. In India, the show, armed with astronomical prize money, the biggest movie star of India, Amitabh Bachchan, as its host and a mass-based programming strategy, was an instant hit in the year 2000. In a country that has 17%2 of the world’s population, and with a per capita income as low as Rs 16,688 ($380) in the year 2000-01, Rs 10 million 1 (S. Basu, personal communication, March 11, 2011). 2 Indian government national census data. (2001). ($225,000) is a lot of money. Most could not dream of earning this large an amount even in a lifetime, but if they were lucky and smart they could