It’s Indi-yeah for Israel

But the production house which is looking for reality TV contestants from amongst the Israeli diaspora living in India finds it absolutely normal.

Tmira Yardeni, producer of the show, explains, “The show is like some of the reality shows on the Indian telly. So many of our youngsters come to India to live here, to explore the country. We want to showcase the phenomena that India draws hordes of Israelis.

It is big now and it is only fair to show it in Israel.” But why India? “The reason is simple – India is the main goal for young Israelis nowadays. They want to come here to find out what’s what and they go on their discovery trips around,” Tmira adds. Do Israelis follow Indian TV? “Not really,” comes Tmira’s honest answer and she adds, “We just got to know that there is something like an Indian Idol on the telly here. However, there may be many reality shows in Israel, this is the first one to have India as a vital part of it. And we have a reason. We want to show what’s hot with the Israeli youth now – India!”

The Israelis in various parts of India are busy auditioning these days. Ask the production team how they got hold of all these Israelis in India and they smile. “Social networking! We sent two people here to publicise and create an appropriate atmosphere and then came down here with the judges of the show,” explains Tmira. And what is the show about?

“It’s about singing. The one who sings best wins. We’re looking for representatives of Israeli youth and we are open to finding them either here or back in Israel,” says Gal Uchovsky, one of the judges on the show. Another judge Uargol adds, “It’s a youthful show and we want to show all that youngsters are known for – courage, loads of attitude and life!”

How is the experience of shooting here in India? “People here are so lovable. Now that I have come to India, I realise why everybody back in Israel talks about India all the time. It is a beautiful place,” says Michal Limor, a part of the production team. And what exactly do they find fascinating here? “Colours, food, people, rickshaws. And the fact that we are in India-yeah!” adds Limor.