Do we need a section just for TED Talks?

Shah Rukh Khan Headlines TED Talks Launch in India
Hosted by Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan, TED launches first non-English show, "Nayi Soch”
By Naman Ramachandran


CREDIT: Courtesy of Amit Madheshiya / TED
TED, the company renowned for its talks and conferences, is the latest U.S. player bidding to attract Indian eyeballs.

In February, the company greenlit “TED Talks India: Nayi Soch” in association with 21st Century Fox’s Star India and the FremantleMedia Group, a show hosted by Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan. The Hindi-language show, TED’s first not in English, is now in post-production.

TED’s head of television and the show’s executive producer Juliet Blake told Variety that there will be eight episodes, with each featuring 4-5 speakers, 35 from India and a few from the U.S. and the U.K. Speakers include Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Indian media personality Karan Johar, screenwriter, lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar, controversial television producer Ekta Kapoor, and Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj.

TED is owned by the Sapling Foundation, a private non-profit organization established in 1996 by publishing entrepreneur Chris Anderson. The company had revenues of $62 million in 2016 from a mixture of conference registrations, business sponsorships and philanthropic donations. Revenue surpluses are reinvested into the company’s programs that include TED Talks, TEDx events around the world, and TED-Ed educational initiatives.


Blake, whose producing credits also include “The Hundred-Foot Journey” and “Farscape,” says: “It’s been an extraordinary experience finding these miraculous people doing unbelievable work. We’ve also found lots of other people who are not so well-known but are doing really interesting work, whether they’re working in slums, photography, or science, or people that are involved in the space race in India.”


Each episode will be an hour long, including 15 minutes of commercials. Every episode will have a specific theme. They range from the power of women, to the future of technology, to the power of the spoken word.

“The themes have been developed so that we are giving a really interesting cross section of speakers the opportunity to talk about something that they really care about, that is interesting not just to India but to the rest of the world,” says Blake. The precedent in the socially conscious television space in India was set by “Satyamev Jayate,” hosted by Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan that enjoyed three successful seasons on the Star and Doordarshan networks between 2012-2014.

“TED is more than just being socially conscious. ‘Satyamev Jayate’ is an absolutely phenomenal show, but ours is different,” says Blake. “That show was very much focused on social problems within India. It was a problem based show. Our program looks at ideas. We want to uplift people. We want people to see solutions.”

Blake says that Khan was deeply involved in the curation of the show and the choice of speakers. And, while he was provided with questions to ask speakers, more often than not he went off script and asked his own questions. Khan’s previous television hosting stints include the formats “Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?” (“Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?”) and “Kaun Banega Crorepati” (“Who Wants to be a Millionaire”).

“We chose him because he has an enquiring mind. He wants clarity, not just for himself but for India,” says Blake. “We are hoping that we get a mass audience. It is meaningful content done in an entertaining way.” The show will air from late November on the Star network, which has a reach of 650 million. It will also be available on the TED website.

http://variety.com/2017/tv/asia/shah-rukh-khan-ted-talks-in-india-1202576300/

 

I'm hoping for English Subtitles.

 

Yes, fingers crossed!

 

TED Talks India: Nayi Soch — Not just Shah Rukh Khan, a host of speakers inspire with their innovations
Gayatri Gauri

Dec,11 2017 10:55 42 IST

If TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is all about “ideas worth spreading”, their Indian collaboration with Star Network, TED Talks India Nayi Soch is probably the best show to have premiered on Indian television, in recent times.

The last television show to have a semblance of meaning and relevance in its attempt to reflect social evils was Satyameva Jayate hosted by Aamir Khan. Now we have an equally important show, far removed from reality TV and entertainment fare, and hosted by Shah Rukh Khan.

Aamir cried and made the nation cry in Satyameva Jayate. In Ted Talks Nayi Soch, Shah Rukh goes a step further and simply listens to other speakers and seems as inspired as the rest of us.


Shah Rukh Khan as the host of Ted Talks India: Nayi Soch

But before we go into the details of the show, first a big thumbs up for the right choice of host. Shah Rukh has been a speaker on the International TED talk, and continues to be a source of inspiration. Humble in his approach and presence; sharp, witty and progressive in his thoughts and words; an Economics graduate from Delhi university and having been bestowed an honorary doctorate from University of Edinburgh for his outstanding contribution to philanthropy, altruism and global reach as an actor — Shah Rukh is the ideal person to host a show that’s all about inspiration, innovation and ideas. Of course, his short exchanges with each speaker, include his standard light quip to bring a laugh or two.

Talking of the speakers, it’s an interesting change from the international show, to hear them all speak in Hindi on various subjects. This instantly makes them accessible to the masses who can understand and connect. The first episode started with an extremely brief introduction by Shah Rukh, thankfully without the usual Bollywood fanfare or silly jokes. It is time that television channels realise that Bollywood has become seriously boring with the likes of Karan Johar and Rohit Shetty dominating the small screen; let's not forget every other news channel coming up with inane celebrity interviews.

Hence, it’s the most refreshing to see a show that minimises the towering presence of a Bollywood star like Shah Rukh Khan and focuses entirely on the speakers who limit their talk time to 3-5 minutes. The first episode brings us an excellent choice of people who we have not heard before.


The first speaker was Dr Gautam Bhan, who spoke about the lack of housing for an insanely populated country like ours. His perspective tells us to change our attitude towards slum dwellers and their rights to what he calls perfectly —“basti”. The solution, according to him, is not to demolish slums but provide better living conditions to them. “Ghar saste hain magar durast nahin,” he rightly points out.

The next speaker is Shubhendu Sharma, an industrial engineer who stopped making automobiles and instead creates mini forests in cities. He has already made a hundred jungles in 35 cities. According to him, it is possible to make a forest in a 6-car park area at the cost of an iPhone. Certainly, with today’s global warming hitting a stormy sky, this environmental idea of creating “dharti aur jeeevan” needs to spread like forest fires.


Next, music composer Sneha Khanwalkar (Gangs of Wasseypur, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye) came up with an imaginative presentation on creating your own “zone” the way she did on stage with her song, 'Main hoon mera zone'.

The fourth speaker was Manu Prakash, a physicist who informs us how a hundred crore people are still living without electricity and how the use of science can help bring positive changes. He showed audiences a Foldscope - a paper microscope created by him. It can be used for a simple blood test machine in remote villages without basic amenities. He urges everyone to start thinking of science not as a tough subject to clear in exams, but a fun thing to explore and use right in our homes and kitchens.

Novelist Manju Kapoor came up with the basic idea of changing our attitude and treating men and women equally, so that gender equality prevails in relationships between couples. The idea of providing “emotional education” to Indian men to make them aware of their conditioned behavior, can bring about a healthy change in families. This segment was totally avoidable as the speaker was more of a plug for Star Plus’show Yeh Hai Mohabattein based on Kapoor’s novel.

Lastly, Anirudh Sharma, a young scientist, showed us how he actually uses pollution to create something productive. As he quoted, "pollution is nothing but resources not harvested”. He has put this belief into practice by creating ink out of soot.

Ted Talks India: Nayi Soch airs at 7 pm every Sunday on Star, or you can catch the episodes on Hotstar.

http://www.firstpost.com/entertainm...s-inspire-with-their-innovations-4252675.html

 

Well done ShahRukh! I think He really believes in this show and it seems to be a worthwhile and interesting concept.

 

I believe that SRK believes in what this show can do for India. He has seen how people reacted to HIS TedTalk. SRK seems to be innately curious, naturally inquisitive, and a true intelligentsia and more than willing to share his knowledge. I look forward to the series to see how innovative it will be. If the rest of the shows are like the first one, it should be a success. I really was in awe of the paper microscope and the ink created from pollution.

 

Have you been able to watch it @skrogers?

 

Yes. As I said, "I really was in awe of the paper microscope and the ink created from pollution". The paper microscope was awesome in that it can bring health resources to primitive areas economically. The ink was so resourceful in reducing environmental pollution and developing a product from the pollution. The caliber of the show was excellent and I loved the subtitles b/c I am not Hindi knowledgeable. I watched it on HOTSTAR.

 

Sadly Hotstar is not available where I live. One talk is listed on the TED website, hopefully they will add more. Until then I will have to remain TED- deprived.

 

TED Talks India: Karan Johar reads out a letter to his twins Yash and Roohi on Shah Rukh Khan's show
Karan Johar is the next speaker on Shah Rukh Khan's TED Talks India: Nayi Soch. | Written By Aishwarya V Mumbai Published: December 19, 2017 09:51 am




Shah Rukh Khan's show TED Talks India: Nayi Soch has inspirational speakers from all walks of life including the world of entertainment, sports, science, literature and more. In the upcoming episode, we will see ace filmmaker Karan Johar who spoke about his two kids - Yash and Roohi by penning a letter for them.

Talking about it, a source stated to a leading tabloid, "Since the subject of the episode was 'Changing Relationships', Karan focused his speech on his kids. In his letter to the twins, he wrote how his father, Yash Johar, had given him the freedom to choose what he wanted to be. Karan wrote that he too hopes to be as supportive of his children."

The letter reads, "As you grow up, people will try to label you according to colour, looks, religion, popularity, and money. People will gossip about you, but know that no one can label you. Just because you are different, it doesn’t make you wrong. You may be treated differently in school; mothers of your classmates will come to drop them, but you will have your father to take care of that. While most of your classmates' mothers will make a WhatsApp group to discuss your homework, I will be the only father in it."

That's really sweet!

About parenthood, Karan had earlier said, “My life has changed since Roohi and Yash arrived. At 44, this is my biggest blockbuster. I still haven’t realised the enormity of what’s happened. They’re only two months old. And all they do is eat, sleep, burp, wail and poop. Kabhi khushi, kabhie gham! While I stare at them in wonder. But I can’t get over the fact that they are mine. It’s like a powerful switch has suddenly come on in my life, filling the emptiness in my personal space with new energy. I get teary-eyed just looking at them. It’s surreal to think of them as my daughter and son. It’s daunting even, but in a gorgeous way, when I wake up suddenly at night to remember that I have life breathing in the next room that I’m totally accountable for. My universe was Dad, Mom and films. But now there are Roohi and Yash. My two new friends.”


https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertain...ns-yash-and-roohi-shah-rukh-khans-show-393856