Sony to telecast Indian “Fame Academy”

After the success of the Indian version of reality talent show Pop Idol on Sony Entertainment Television Asia, the broadcaster is set to launch another hit reality show.

Fame Academy, which has worked well for the BBC, will be launched on Sony Entertainment Television Asia in a daily prime-time slot. Even as it is still called ‘Fame Academy,’ the channel is contemplating the title ‘Kala Academy’ for the Indian version, which goes on-air in June 2005.

As was the case with ‘Indian Idol,’ the show would again see the partnership of the production houses Miditech and Optimystix. Sources close to the situation informed that the show is slated for later June or early July. ‘Fame Academy’ too is a musical but the reality quotient of the show is much higher than Indian Idol. The channel would build a set, an academy, which would be completely wired so as to capture every emotion of the participants.

The show will be preceded by a four-city audition. However, as the auditions wouldn’t be aired, the focus on capturing these would not be as high as it was in the case of Indian Idol. The completion of the audition would give the programmers 14 finalists who would be taken to the ‘academy’. A team of top experts professionally will train their raw talent. The sources said that almost 40 cameras would follow the students’ every move 24×7.

The channel stating that it is still too early in the day, didn’t offer any comments. And as for the industry, the fact that the show is a big ticket property again and the channel’s sales team is already in the process of finalising sponsors, indicates the optimism around it. The 18 week show will make way for the second round of ‘Indian Idol’. Definitely looks like another round high emotion drama and lots of music for Sony.