New Delhi, July 08: It’s the star cast of a different kind. After all, 2,000 species of animals and reptiles don’t star in a TV show every day. Sony’s new show, Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao, is doing exactly that. However, PETA is not enthused.
To be shot in Taman Negara rainforest in Malaysia, wild animals such as tigers, elephants, Sumatran rhinoceros, wild pigs, mousse deer, Malayan dogs and pythons promise to raise the testosterone levels with 10 celebrity contestants.
Of course, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) isn’t excited by the show. “If the shoot was taking place within India, we wouldn’t have allowed it to go ahead,” Anuradha Sawhney, chief functionary at PETA India, said.
“Using animals for commercial purposes is simply not ethical. We don’t know what the Malaysian law states, but PETA doesn’t endorse it anywhere in the world. We will see how animals are portrayed,” she added.
Interestingly, the show’s producers do not intend to bring in trained animals for the celebrities’ safety. Instead, the contestants will be put amidst real jungle because “Taman Negara already has a number of species”. And, the wild animals are already sending a chill down the celebrities’ spines in Malaysia.
Already, a unit member has been chased by a wild boar while host Yuddhisthir’s room was once hostage to chameleons.
It remains to be seen how the celebrities — including Marc Robinson, Chetan Hansraj, Akashdeep Saigal, Shweta Tiwari, Anaida, Mona Wasu, Nigar Khan and Upen Patel — tackle the animals besides incessant rainfall and dangerous landslides.
The Taman Negara is believed to be one the oldest rainforests in the entire world: estimated at 130 million years old. In fact, it is considered to be one of the world’s most complex and rich ecosystems.
Of late, animals have become the new attraction for TV producers.
Not long ago, Akshay Kumar-hosted Khatron Ke Khiladi showed several species like lizards, chameleons, spiders and dogs competing with a clutch of beauties.
That’s not all. MTV Roadies and Fear Factor also took the ‘ animal’ route to add excitement.
For instance, alligators were used in Roadies 4 as contestants attempted to complete a task amid a huge set of the lethal species.
–Agencies