Welcome to Great India Race

A-1- Great India Race is an extraordinary television show where competing contestants will race across the length and breadth of the Indian sub-continent, guided only by cryptic clues given to contestants when they reach a specified leg in the journey. Great India Race is the First Actuality Show on South Indian television

A-2- Contestants competing in Great India Race, unlike many music, dance and entertaining reality shows, will be in the actual world facing actual realities – without rehearsals ,without re-takes, without a second chance

A-3- Great India Race is an extraordinary show which involves adventure, travel, discovery, and exploration in a competitive format –and will test your guts, endurance, emotional quotient and, more importantly, your ability to work as a Pair-Partner Team traversing the great country that is India. And it is a great race from start to finish –beyond compare. The Great India Race will envisage a race route across the country breaking the journey into various legs—however the exact route and legs will not be known beforehand. Contestants will get to know , through clues, about successive legs as they complete one leg and are about to embark on the next leg.

A-4- Not at all .Great India Race is not a competition identified with automobiles or athletics or any sport –actually it will involve more adventure and thrills

Q-5- What is a Pair-Partner Team in the Great India Race (GIR)?

A-5- GIR, the Actuality Show, will be a competition between partners who function in pairs. Thus each team will consist of two persons—who could be friends, spouses, siblings, parents, relatives,companions,parent-child,teacher-student,grandparent-grandchildren et al. They need to be at least 21 years of age and have the authority to make their own decisions and be medically fit to participate. GIR Pair-Partners have no gender restriction—you can have all-male or all-female or male-female teams

Q-6- Can you throw more light on the role of Pair-Partners in GIR?

A-6- The teams that are finally shortlisted to participate in GIR have to be together for over two months traveling across the country. They will enjoy fun ,excitement and thrill—as well as the challenge of travelling together, staying together, eating together and competing together as a team with other similar teams in a bid to complete the race. Hence it is extremely essential that they have perfect understanding, empathy and willingness to help each other during the course of the show-- facing the multitude of unforeseen, exciting challenges that each will encounter during the GIR. Over time, the GIR will be more about discovering yourselves and your team member and emotional bonding-- besides discovering the great diversity and outdoors of India

Q-7- We feel that we have it in us to work as a team—can you tell us a bit more about the modus operandi of GIR ?

A-7- Amrita TV, through an elaborate selection and orientation process will select a specified number of Pair-Partner Teams for GIR .The selected teams will compete with each other travelling from one specified location to another across India to reach the final destination. The navigation of the race will be determined by puzzle-like clues not revealed until contestants have arrived at different specified locations. In every leg, team(s) will be eliminated leaving the successful teams to forge ahead to complete the race

Q-8- What will be the mode of travel and the terrain to be covered in GIR ?

A-8- Every competing Pair-Partner Team may have to travel by train, bus, auto, taxi, bullock cart… as the situation demands! They may be required to manouvere busy roads ,trek lonely paths ,climb mountains ,cross rivers; encounter heat & cold, or rain & snow; enjoy and experience different cultures, taste different food —indeed experience the great physical and socio-cultural diversity of India

Q-9- What are the financial and other support systems while participating in GIR ?

A-9- Each GIR team will be provided a fixed sum of money for completing every leg of the competition, and they have to manage within that budget. Borrowing money,use of credit cards or taking help of friends, relatives, contacts to enjoy an unfair advantage in the GIR will not be permissible.

Q-10- How do teams come to know the GIR route, and progress from one destination to the next ?

A-10- Pair-Partner Teams will compete by travelling from one specified location to another across India to reach the final destination. The navigation of the race will be determined by puzzle-like clues not revealed until contestants have arrived at different specified locations. Amrita TV is planning to have celebrities and well-known personalities to present the clues to competing teams as they race from one destination to the other. The majority of clues will involve some kind of interaction with the local population of the destinations the teams find themselves in. Thus as mentioned earlier, successful progress will call for tremendous stamina, sharp ingenuity, never-say-die team work and intrepid adaptability.

Q-11- How does the GIR experience of each team get transformed into a television show on Amrita TV?

A-11-The entire GIR experience of every contestant team will be captured by the Amrita TV band of professional camera persons and crew which will be recording almost every move of the Pair-Partners from the beginning to the moment they are eliminated. This professionally shot footage will be telecast in the Great India Race Actuality Show on Amrita TV. Thus a global audience will be viewing the entire GIR from flag off to the finishing line –so to speak

Q-12- Does this mean that all the memorable, exciting, emotional moments that the contestants actually go through during the entire GIR will be on Amrita TV?

A-12- Yes ,this Actuality Show will involve adventure, travel, discovery, exploration of the great India outdoors .The real-time joys , sorrows ,heartbreaks, milestones of the victorious and the vanquished will guarantee unforgettable moments of emotion, drama, humour, mega fun and excitement to audiences across the world .Thus after the commencement of telecast of GIR, contestants can soon find themselves to be mini-celebrities –being instantly recognized in public places. Moreover, the GIR has the potential to open many doors of opportunities resulting in glory and fame-- which can have a transformative influence in their lives

Q-14- Can we take breaks in between to come back to base camp or homes between legs?

A-14- Yes there will be some breaks between legs in the Race which will be communicated to participants in due course

Q-15- What if someone is not able to carry on due to exigencies or unforeseen personal factors?

A-15- The GIR is a show and the Show must go on .So any team which cannot continue for whatever reason, will face disqualification from GIR. However if it is an exigency which uniformly affects all the teams due to the occurrence of unnatural happenings or incidences, the opinion of Amrita TV and/or the Producer of GIR will be final

Q-16- Will contestants be paid for travel, boarding and lodging during the course of GIR with holidays to relax and recoup?

A-16- All contestants will conform to rules and regulations regarding cash allowances for travel, boarding, lodging, rest periods –which has to be strictly followed.

Q-17- Will teams have the freedom to stay with relatives, friends or acquaintances?

A-17- No such flexibility or discretion will be available unless specifically stipulated and communicated

Q-18- What is the travel kit which contestants will be allowed to carry—and does that luggage have to be personally carried by the contestant en-route the GIR?

A-18- Yes they have to carry a travel kit which will be announced.

Q-19- Are cell phones, GPS, navigational aids, laptops with internet or any other connectivity gadgets permissible in the GIR?

A-19- No electronic gear will be allowed no cell phones, laptops GPS’s- a route map only will be allowed

Q-20- If for any reason a Pair-Partner cannot continue together as a team, will there be an opportunity to consider a replacement or regrouping of a team?

A-20- No this will not be possible—any break-up of teams will result in summary disqualification from GIR

Q-21- Will Amrita TV insist on a medical certificate to validate the physical fitness of contestants?

A-21- Yes, contestants will have to pass a fitness exam.

Q-22- Will Amrita TV have a process to assess the compatibility of Pair-Partners before the final selection of teams?

A-22- Yes teams will be chosen based upon good, workable compatibility.

Q-23- If the Pair-Partner comprise a male-female team can they get separate accommodations for overnight stay at each location?

A-23- Yes to the extent possible.

Q-24- Can contestants carry cameras to record their own breathtaking experience as they traverse India during the course of GIR?

A-24- Yes, they can carry their own cameras for personal use, as long as it doesn’t interfere with GIR.

Q-25- What is the nature of the orientation/grooming for selected teams before the commencement of GIR?

A-25- Contestants will be given a special orientation to prepare them for on - camera spontaneity.

Q-26- Is there any component of audience /SMS voting in GIR?

A-26- Yes but it is not part of the elimination criteria. SMS voting will be for prizes

Q-27- What are the risks and rewards in GIR?

A-27- As with any adventure in life there will be risks As for the rewards, besides handsome prizes (to be declared soon), participants get a fabulous opportunity to experience a globally televised race across one of the most fascinating countries in the world.

Q-28- Who is eligible to register for GIR and what is the last date for registrations?

A-28- Anyone who is at least 21 years of age is eligible. And the last date is April 30, 2008.

Q-29- WOW! We are all fired up to participate in GIR, which we believe will be an experience of a lifetime. So what do we do next?

A-29- Please send in one CV for each member of the team and a CD of the Pair/Partner team with a maximum length of 5 minutes. Video should demonstrate the team’s attitude and their mutual chemistry. Video can be in any format, as it is not intended for broadcast.
Pair-Partners to rush CV and CD by April 30, 2008 to--