''Sacch Ka Saamna'' (English: ''Face Off with Truth'') is an Indian reality television which aired on
STAR Plus
StarPlus is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of family dramas, romantic comedies, youth-oriented reali ...
from 15 July 2009.
The second season of the series premiered on 18 December 2011 on
Life OK
Life OK was an Indian pay television channel owned by Star India.
It was launched on 18 December 2011 replacing Star One.
It also started airing in the United States on 1 March 2012, and in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 28 May of that s ...
. Both seasons were hosted by
Rajeev Khandelwal
Rajeev Khandelwal (born 16 October 1975) is an Indian film and television actor, singer and host.
He started his career directing the television series ''Filmy Chakkar''. His break as an actor was as the lead in the television drama, '' Kahiin ...
.
The show is based on the American game show
The Moment of Truth.
Format
The show is based on the same format as ''
The Moment of Truth''. The format is owned by
Howard Schultz
Howard D. Schultz (born July 19, 1953) is an American businessman and author who was the chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017, and interim CEO from 2022 to 2023. Schultz owned the Seattle SuperS ...
of Lighthearted Entertainment.
Prior to appearing on the show, contestants are asked 50 questions while hooked up to a
polygraph
A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a pseudoscientific device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a ...
machine. The biological indicators of the contestant, such as pulse rate, blood pressure, etc. are measured and used by the polygraph to decide whether their answer is true or not. The contestant is not aware of the results of the polygraph for his or her answers.
During the actual show, the contestant is asked 21 of the same questions again. If the contestant answers honestly, he or she moves on to the next question; however, should a contestant lie in his or her answer, or simply refuse to answer a question after it has been asked, the game ends and the contestant loses all their prize money.
There are six levels of prize money in the game. The first level consists of six questions, and answering all of them truthfully will win the contestant Rs. 1,00,000 of prize money. The next level has five questions and the prize money goes up to Rs. 5,00,000. The third, fourth and fifth levels consist of four, three and two questions respectively, with the prize money being Rs. 10,00,000, Rs. 25,00,000 and Rs. 50,00,000 respectively. The final level has only one question, with the truthful answer fetching the maximum prize money of Rs. 1
crore
Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...
.
The questions become increasingly personal and potentially embarrassing in nature as the stakes get higher. The contestants are usually accompanied by close family members or friends, who are seated beside them and the host. Several of the questions tend to be related to the relationship between them and their acquaintances present there. Next to the guests is a buzzer, which they can use to override a question which they feel is better left unanswered. In that case, the contestant will be asked an alternate question which may be easier or tougher than the question it replaced. The buzzer can only be used once during the game.
The series requires contestants to sign an agreement that they will accept the conclusions drawn by the polygraph examiner. The polygraph test is done by
Herb Irvine, a US-based polygraph expert.
Series overview
Reception
Impact
In just its first week, some sections of people demanded the show be stopped stating that admission of gross personal or social misconduct by celebrities on national television will make it more "morally acceptable" for others to indulge in similar activity, thereby leading to a gradual weakening of society's morals.
Some others believe that sensitive and potentially devastating issues should be discussed between the contestants and their family or friends privately, and not publicly as is the case. There are also some who applaud the contestants for having the courage to bare all in full public glare. A few have even questioned the accuracy of the polygraph results.
MP Kamal Akhtar took up the issue in the Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...
, arguing that the questions asked in the show were against Indian culture and demanding a halt to its screening.
Ratings
The series debuted with a rating of 4.6 TVR.
References
External links
''Sacch Ka Saamna'' on STAR Plus website
{{Life OK Programmes
StarPlus original programming
Life OK original programming
Indian game shows
Indian reality television series
2009 Indian television series debuts
2012 Indian television series endings
Indian television series based on American television series