Siddharth Kak talks about Hunnarbaaz & his association with DD National
Mumbai, 25 January 2018: Siddharth Kak is a name that we all are quite familiar with because of his credible contribution in the world of Indian television. His contributions to Indian television also have worked in favor of the betterment of the nation. His ongoing offering on DD National, Hunnarbaaz is another masterpiece, which is giving millions of people a good platform to explore their skills and take it forward.
The show has recently touched a milestone of successful 100 episodes. In an exclusive conversation with business cash, Mr. Kak opens up about his idea behind Hunnarbaaz and more.
Excerpts from the conversation –
Talking about his journey with Hunnarbaaz as a producer and host, so far, he told us, “It’s been a very interesting journey so far because it’s a journey where one gets to learn a lot of things. I have had a long journey on television. We have looked for the talent in the area of culture with our previous shows and now we are looking for talent in the area of livelihood. It’s all about the search of people who are less privileged and whose talent we have never acknowledged. We call them as invisible people and it’s very strange that these people comprise 80% of the Indian working population in the informal working sector.”
“There are some sectors where skills are carried from one generation to the other. The kids walk on the same path as their parents by learning their skills. They don’t have any degree. We don’t respect them and the work that they do but we can’t do their job. These are the people who made our lives easy but we never respect them like the electricians, the plumbers amongst others. I think that we take them for granted. They are born to help us but, still we don’t respect them, pay them and help in their development,” he added.
Sharing about the idea behind a concept like Hunnarbaaz, he continued, “These skilled persons are respected in some parts of other countries. So, the whole idea of Hunnarbaaz is to make these invisible people visible and we want to show the whole world that they are the stars of our lives but still we have never acknowledged them. The idea is to discover such people and give them the right platform for their skill.”
We further quizzed Mr. Kak about how the skilled people are discovered to be on the show. He said, “There is a whole ecosystem. Our show has partnership with Prime Minister’s Skill India Mission. The training is provided to them free of cost. The people, who had to quit studies midway because of the shortage of money, are taken for skill development. There are many people whose lives have been changed.”
“There are millions of people who are searching for jobs and the purpose of the program is to bring them together. It works as a common information centre for all those who are unaware of the opportunities that are available for them in other cities apart from theirs. So, we have a Missed Call initiative in which we provide them a number and provide them all the information about the availability of the opportunities for them and about where to get skilled. There are customer care executives who connect with people over calls in eight languages to solve their queries,” he explained.
He further continued, “The show becomes a source of inspiration and aspirations for many from a number of role models. Sachin Tendulkar is a brand ambassador of Skill India Mission where he talks about skills and inspire people with his support. Other celebrities like Sonakshi Sinha, Gul Panag, Vivek Oberoi among others also support the mission. The Skill India Mission focuses on getting skilled so that a degree of dignity and security for oneself and family follows afterwards.”
Siddharth Kak has a long and a deep association with DD National since the days of channel’s cult show Surabhi. When we asked him about his association with the channel, he said, “DD National is a very appropriate platform. It is based upon not how you have entertained the people and the numbers you have got but the fact that you are trying to do something which is important for the nation. In fact the Prime Minister’s Mann Ki Baat airs on DD and not on any other GECs because its nation’s channel. Our show airs immediately after Mann Ki Baat.”
The producer and host of the show, Mr. Kak is looking forward to make people stars out of the invisible ones who haven’t been considered yet. Talking about his future projects, he further told us, “I am happy to observe life with young people and I leave the management of the show in their hands. I am interested in other fields as well that I am developing. We looking forward to the digital field as we have some fascinating stories to tell about India that we would like to bring on the digital platform. My daughter Antara and I are working on reviewing movies where we review movies with our own perspectives.”
