TV: Answering Bollywood’s call

People who compete in reality television talent programs carve careers in all sorts of industries — pop music, modelling, fashion design, even culinary arts.

Think Masterchef, Australia’s Got Talent, Project Runway and Australia’s Next Top Model.

Now the talent-quest formula is being pushed even further with Bollywood Star.

This original, four-part series gives one lucky Australian the chance to land a ‘‘coveted’’ role in a Bollywood film.

Kooky concept, right? The role is in a film by renowned Bollywood producer and director Mahesh Bhatt, who has more than 50 film titles to his name.

Bhatt is confident a role in his next film will give contestants (most of whom are Australians with Indian heritage) the chance to become the next big Bollywood star.

Even though most of us prefer the films which come out of Hollywood, this series has plenty of entertainment value.

The gruelling audition process — where contestants must dance, sing and act against hundreds of other hopefuls —is just as much fun as the talent shows we see on the major television networks.

Once six finalists have been selected, they travel to Mumbai, where they are trained by the best coaches Bollywood has to offer.

The journey from Australia to India is less talent show and more like an observational documentary.

It is fascinating to watch the way the contestants deal with cross-cultural shocks such as living and working in the Dharavi slums of Mumbai.

Bollywood Star begins Saturday at 7.30pm on SBS ONE.