Popular television actor Karan Kundra, who shot for digital survival series “Stupid Man Smart Phone” — wherein a smartphone and a super network was the only means of survival — says the show was life threatening sometimes.
“This show was life threatening at times, but the beauty of Arunachal Pradesh took my breath away. I’ve done travel reality shows in the past as well, but this show was like none other, especially given that we had a chance to interact with our fans through social media, where we would ask them for assistance, directions and even the most basic survival tips,” Karan said in a statement.
A VOOT Original, the show will go live on Viacom 18’s video-on-demand streaming service from Wednesday.
It features Karan, as well as celebrities like Sumeet Vyas, Evelyn Sharma and funnyman Sahil Khattar scaling a treacherous mountain pass, battling wildlife and river rapids in the forests and beating the gruelling desert sun. Their social media followers aid in their survival choices.
Produced by BBC Worldwide Productions, the show is hosted by Sumeet, who said: “Travel, adventure, survival and reality coupled with the idea of a smartphone coming to your rescue – ‘Stupid Man Smart Phone’ as a format to me was extremely exciting”.
“The show challenged me to push my personal boundaries, be it physical or mental to perform stunts that I would never have thought possible. This journey, along with my three co-contestants has been an enriching experiment and one that I will cherish throughout my lifetime,” he added.
Recounting her experience in the lush forests of the Tamil Nadu and Kerala border, Evelyn said: “I am a passionate traveller and the show allowed me to explore a terrain that I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing otherwise. I don’t think any amount of training could truly prepare us for what we faced whilst on the journey but it was a fun experience nonetheless.”
Khattar, who accompanied Sumeet on the second leg of the trip to Rajasthan, said: “It was one crazy ride. I found myself uprooted from my comfort zone and facing trials like drinking camel milk, eating cacti and surviving a hot desert which was both difficult and fascinating.”
The show is unique with today’s social media madness at the heart of it, commented Monika Shergill, Head of Content, VOOT.
