Boman Irani’s new Pitch

Photographer, actor, singer Boman Irani is now hosting The Pitch, Bloomberg UTV’s business reality show. "I enjoy trying out different things,” Irani told the Mumbai Newsline section of The Indian Express dated August 23, 2010. The Pitch will hunt among contestants for a young entrepreneur with the best business idea. The winner will receive five crore rupees to enable him to con- vert the concept into reality, Irani ex- plained. "I agreed (to do this show) because I felt a personal connection... my son is trying to establish his entre- preneurial venture, so the show reso- nates with me,” he added.

Boman Irani: "trying out different things”

Irani feels that success or failure of the show is secondary. The aim is to encourage people to take up entrepre- neurship, which young educated Indians rarely do. The participants’ skills would be put to the test by business leaders like Naina Lal Kidwai, Kishore Biyani, Rahul Bajaj and N. Damodaran, Irani informed Mumbai Newsline. Television with its mass appeal and wide reach will help inspire viewers to some extent, he felt. "I have to be up-to-date with the business world,” for which he is reading about prominent personalities in the industry. "The struggle and success of these busi- ness tycoons is very inspiring.”

Looking forward to playing the "humble host,” Irani maintains, "You can’t slash out the actor in me.” But this being a competitive show, the contes- tants will face disappointments and Irani will be there to provide the human touch, the shoulder of support who "can churn up light moments” as well, he revealed to the newspaper.