Kerala TV show offers Rs10mn prize money

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy lights a traditional lamp as he inaugurates the television reality show contest. DD deputy director G Sajan, former federal minister O Rajagopal and Kerala’s Social Justice Minister Dr M K Muneer are also seen.

By Ashraf Padanna/ThiruvananthapuramThe winner of the social reality show to select the best Kudumbashree neighbourhood group will receive a prize money of Rs10mn while the best idea will be awarded Rs5mn, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy announced at the launch of the reality show on Doordarshan (DD) Malayalam.Billed as the largest self-help movement of women in Asia, Kudumbashree has members from nearly 4.2mn families engaged in various income-generating ventures across the towns and villages of Kerala.The show, Ini Njangal Parayam or Let’s Speak Now, started telecast on the regional channel of the national television with a global footprint, including in the Gulf.The show will showcase the best ideas and innovations of the community development societies (CDSs). The judging panel has shortlisted 70 CDSs from among the 1,074 CDS in the state for the programme.CDS is a federation of area development societies (ADSs) under a village government, municipality or corporation unit’s jurisdiction. There are more than 250,000 ADSs empowering women in the state.“These days only controversies seem to be getting footage on television. This show represents a real change,” the chief minister said. “We Keralites script success stories everywhere else but in our own state. Kudumbashree is an exception”.Chandy said Kerala had prospered by leaps and bounds but around 2% of the population still lead a miserable life. The local governments should concentrate on their welfare like they did through the Kudumbashree, he said. G Sajan, the deputy director of the DD Trivandrum, said the show will be telecast at 7pm on weekdays (Monday-Friday) which will be repeated at 11pm and 8am the next day.Three short films of three-minute durations have been produced on each CDS which are screened before the jury. Marks for each CDS will be awarded based on the screening of the videos and interactions with the representatives of CDSs.Fifteen CDSs will be shortlisted for the semi-final round based on the marks they receive in the preliminary round. Three of them will be selected as finalists and the best CDS will be announced at a mega final event which will be telecast live, including the award distribution.Ten innovative developmental ideas will also be shortlisted as part of the programme.Expert juries include Dr K P Kannan, chairman, Laurie Baker Centre for Habitat Studies, Dr Nivedita Haran, retired additional chief secretary, and Mini Sukumar, director of the Centre for Women Studies, University of Calicut. Celebrities like KPAC Lalitha,  Kalpana and writers George Onakkoor, Rose Mary, Chandramathi and Perumbadavam Sreedharan are also part of the jury. The 100-episode show will run for five months.