EPSIODE UPDATE ARCHIVES

Welcome to Business Baazigar, the biggest reality show on Indian Television! Business Baazigar keeps its promise to become a unique platform of opportunity for ambitious aspirants and their ground-breaking ideas. Road-shows visit several cities across the length and breadth of the country spreading the word- Idea Lao, Paise le Jao. Two lakh entries and aspirants spanning from various ages and different strata of society, economic and educational background poured in. Only one thing united them all - smart ideas and a common aspiration to convert it into a business empire. These business ideas sent by applicants were then screened through a set of rigorous criteria and narrowed down to 200 who were then called in for further evaluation. Web interviews were conducted where highly qualified jury members grilled the candidates regarding their ideas and evaluated them on the basis of their workability, scalability and originality. 50 Finalists are selected.
The Finalists come from all over the country- big cities, small towns and rural areas. They span a wide age group with the youngest being 18 and the oldest finalist well over 60. The ideas that pour in are innovative and unique. If one wants to harvest heep, a weed that grows in the barren desert for paper, textile and for other uses, another wants to take to the skies to end the never-ending traffic in the city. Another idea is about an exclusive shopping mall just for men. A necessity to rebuild one's life when one's life partner has passed away, a desire to look one's best even when one is pregnant, a burning ambition to convert Rs 500 to Rs 5 crore, an idea that will spark off a social revolution: The motivation driving the aspirants are many and varied, but the one thing that connects them all is the passion and the drive to succeed. The 50 selected contestants said good-bye to to their loved ones to come to the city of dreams - Mumbai. They are put up in luxury at Renaissance Hotel and greeted with a rocking launch party with Indian Ocean playing. At the party the Guest of Honor, Subhash Chandra reiterated the raison d'etre of Business Baazigar when he told the audience, 'You bring your dreams and we'll make them come true!' Viewers will now be taken through a roller coaster ride along with these participants as they race against time and money, trying to impress an eminent jury panel to win the big prize - Funding for their Business Idea. The next episode will show intense jury interviews, grilling sessions, contestant responses and the most awaited final 20 finalists. Keep Watching!

Fifty most unique business ideas found their way to the Business Baazigar. The nervous contestants voiced their fears of meeting the jury. The walk through the corridor was not going to be easy for any of the contestants. The jury panel is headed by Subhash Chandra, Chairman of Zee Networks and Essel Group, who along with Mahesh Murthy, an angel investor and Padamshree Anil K Gupta are all highly qualified and determined to find the most innovative idea and the most determined business Baazigar among them all. The first one to present her idea to the jury was Rakhi Sakhuja. Every idea looked equally convincing and so the jury had a tough time in decision-making. The jury questioned the fifty finalists on every possible aspect -- On workability of their idea, the business plan presented, profit margins, scalability, and so forth, each detail examined and each answer subjected to intense scrutiny. Some ideas were outright rejected and the contestant in question asked to try again the next season. Contestant reactions followed. A few thought it was unfair that they were not given a chance to express their views. Others were just happy that they could make it to this round. The criticism was taken into consideration and the contestants were given another chance to voice their opinions. Stress relief programmes, songs and laughter relieved some of the pressure. Very soon, all the interviews were done and the turn to await the decision finally arrives…an envelope in everyone's hands. An air ticket implied rejection, a congratulation greeting implied acceptance. Thirty contestants had to leave on various criterions, the jury always insisting on the need to bridge the gap between an idea and the business plan.

Twenty finalists remain, eagerly waiting for the challenging tasks that await them … Only time can say who will make it and who won't… Keep watching Business Baazigar!

The journey towards the big prize and crores of money - the fulfillment of one unique business idea -- has finally started. In this episode, the twenty Business Baazigar finalists were given their first major challenge. In teams of five, they had to set up a fully functional office within a time constraint of five hours, and a budget constraint of Rs 50,000. All teams immediately sprung into action, and rushed to the two allocated market places -- Lokhanwala Market and Behrambagh in search of everything -- from a pin to a printer. Each of the four teams chose their own leaders and formulated their own strategies. Arundhati's team decided to make their office by spending as little money as possible, Manish's team was stuck on the idea of buying only modular office furniture… at any cost. While Satyajit's team split into three parts to finish the work as quickly as possible, Ali's team tried sticking together, which only led to utter confusion and more time being spent. Working together for the first time, personal differences between the various contestants surfaced from time to time, as was especially evident in Arundhati's team which almost ostracised their elderly team member, Damodar Mishraji. Amidst panic, chaos and last minute disorder, all the teams finally managed to complete their shopping in the allotted time. But the true acid test is the actual setting up of the office, which will be judged by none other than the senior jury member Subhash Chandra… Watch out for the outcome in the next episode!

This is the concluding episode of the first task that was given to 20 Business Baazigar finalists in the previous episode to challenge their basic business skills. The task at hand -- Each team has the four teams have to set up their own office and everything in it, to make it fully functional. This episode began with the four teams of the Business Baazigar finalists setting up their own offices for which they had all so painstakingly shopped. Each team was allotted only one hour to finish, in which they had to arrange everything from top to bottom. While Satyajit's team gave their office a beautiful ethnic finish, Arundhati's team ended up making a royal mess of theirs by hand painting the entire walls. Apart from this, Manish's team had a real tough time fitting their special modular furniture into the given space, and Ali's team turned out to be the only one with a working phone connection. To judge which team had made the best office, senior jury member Subhash Chandra came for inspection and pointed out where each team lacked. But before the jury's final decision, the contestants were asked to point out the weakest link in each of their teams -- Self Elimination. Amidst moments of high emotional drama, most of Arundhati's team voted out the elderly Damodar Mishra, saying that he had not been active enough. Damodarji, in turn, felt his team had not given him any responsibility, thinking that he was too old to actually contribute anything. In the jury room, Satyajit's team was declared the winner having come up with the most aesthetic as well as functional office, and Arundhati's team came last, as their money saving strategy had reflected glaringly in the final product. Two people were eliminated from this team - Vinnie Chadha and Damodar Mishra. Also eliminated were Ashutosh Sharma from Manish's team and Sudheesh Srivastava from Ali's team.

Teary farewells followed, as some dreams were shattered forever, while the remaining 16 contestants were left to face the next challenge

The backdrop: The colourful Juhu beach with its glittering kalakhatta and Pav-bhaji stalls. The task: Run a stall on Juhu beach for only one day and make as much money as you can. The catch: You won't be handed a stall, you have to acquire one.
In this episode, the first of two parts, the 16 Business Baazigar contestants are first divided into four teams and taken to Juhu beach. The challenge is to negotiate with a stall-owner to rent his stall for one day and then run the stall to earn profit from it.

To acquire the stall, contestants are given two hours and a budget of Rs 50, 000. The idea is to test their marketing abilities and bargaining skills and most of all, check how they make a mark for themselves in an unknown market zone.
Partha's team tried their best to convince a very vocal and stubborn Auntiji, owner of Sai Sagar chat shop while Ankur's team and Satyajit's team fixed deals with stall owners after much persuasion. But they made the crucial mistake of not formalising money matters.

Arundhati's team failed to acquire a stall and, at the end of the two hours, is the only team without a stall. The next morning brings with it many surprises, ingenious marketing schemes and even a jingle to sell kalakhatta.

Arundhati's team, who had no stall at all the previous day, arrived early the next day and rented a stall called Famous Kalakhatta for a cheap price. They came prepared with Chef Caps and strategies to make up for lost time.

Their stall does roaring business as does Partha's team. On the other hand, even after hours of searching, the deals of both Ankur's and Satyajit's teams go sour and they are left frantically searching for a stall...

Watch how the teams improvise and rise to the challenges that are in store for them... Watch your favourite Business Baazigar contestants in action as they vie for the biggest prize of all -- a chance to win crores to convert their idea into a business empire.

EPISODE - 6 : Exit Nahid and Ashwini

Episode 6 of Business Baazigar is the concluding part of the Juhu challenge -- where each of the four teams were given the uphill task of running a food stall for 24 hours, on the famous Juhu Beach of Mumbai.

The teams had spent the previous evening surveying the 100-plus stalls on Juhu Beach and then trying to convince the stall owners to allow them to rent out their stall for one day. The winner of this task would be the team that not only recovered the money already spent, but made the maximum profit.

This episode saw a fierce battle of the four Business Baazigar teams to make as money as they could by employing every resource and strategy they could muster.

Each team came up with their own innovative marketing strategies. Some teams did roaring business while others lagged behind.

After no luck all morning, Satyajit's team by mid-day managed to get a reasonably priced kalakhatta stall, but in desperation, Ankur's team ended up renting a stall for a very high price.

Partha's team invented a 'happy hour' and targeted every tourist bus that arrived on the beach, requesting customers to leave their shoes at their stall in attempt to catch them hungry later....

Arundhati's team personally interacted with the Juhu beach tourists and used catchy slogans to draw in customers to sample their kalakhatta gola.

The day had many twists in store for each team - intense activity in the heat of the day caused Nahid to fall ill. Satyajit's team had to shut shop one hour early because the shop owner, jealous of their success, cut electricity to their shop.

In spite of these hindrances, all teams kept up their spirit and the last few minutes saw new marketing schemes being put in to practice...

The only team that ran into losses was Ankur's, who came last. The most trying moment was when the contestants had to vote out one member from their own team.

Irfan accused his entire team of lobbying against him, and Ankur's entire team was disappointed with his performance as the leader. The final call was taken by the jury and two more contestants were eliminated from the Business Baazigar race forever...Nahid Bari and Ashwini Diwan, leaving 14 finalists to face the next challenge.

In Business Baazigar Episode 7, the 14 remaining contestants are split into seven groups of two. All their possessions, including money, are taken away from them.

The Business Baazigar challenge - Survive for 24 hours in the city of dreams, Mumbai, with just Re 1.Once the task is handed out by the anchor Cyrus, the contestants are left in the heart of the city to fend for themselves.

Innovative ideas jostled with primal need to survive as each team had to fight the scorching heat, unavoidable hunger, thirst and adapt fast to their situation.

To add their woes, they also had to contend with stiff competition as well as assure the regulars that they were not a threat to their livelihood.

Swati and Satyajit conducted a detailed survey of the famous Colaba market for money- making possibilities. They decided that they would not take up a job, but would only do business.

On the contrary, Partha and Rakhee took up the first paying job- waiting tables at Caf Leopold, a busy eatery in South Mumbai.

Ali and Ankur also had similar thoughts and decided that they would not look down on any job, however menial. They took up cleaning taxis. On the other end, Mahesh and Manish dreamt bigger and came up with and rejected several ideas.

Most of the jobs that they came across were below their dignity. Mahesh seemed to be more interested in getting hold of a cigarette than a job. Puneet and Nandini fixed a deal of 50-50 with the mehendiwali in Gateway of India and tried gathering customers from far and wide with not much success.

Irfan and Arundathi spent more than half a day planning on their next mission while Leena and Prakash organised an on the spot quiz competition amongst college students and promised them big prizes to be declared after four days. They seemed to have forgotten that their task was only 24 hours long!

Big ideas, innovative money making schemes, team spirit, ego clashes, hunger, thirst and competition are all a part of this task of survival. How much will they earn? Who will succeed? Who will win the judges' heart and finally which unfortunate ones get eliminated? Only time will tell!