What a Knock Out it was! Cinevista promoters Sunil Mehta and Prem Krishen got the shock of their lives after they were told by Prasar Bharati chief R.R. Shah that the game show Knock-Out that the production company was going to produce for DD had been called off. This week they announced that they were taking the state-owned broadcaster to Court and that they had filed a writ petition against its decision to garbage it.

In early December Cinevista had had a high profile announcement that they would be doing the show and veteran cinema actor Kabir Bedi had been signed on to host it. Reams of media coverage had been given to Kabir Bedi and Knock-Out for almost a fortnight. Then there was total silence followed by Shah's announcement.

The reason given by DD for dumping the show: its holding company, Prasar Bharati, thought that Knock-Out was all about chance and that meant it was akin to gambling, which was something DD should not be encouraging. The show carried a maximum prize of Rs 10.2 million and had been for one hour every Sunday at 21:00 hrs.

Cinevista says the show was not a commissioned one but belonged in the sponsored category and any losses incurred on it would be its responsibility. Hence DD should not have taken the course of action it has. Mehta and Krishen say they have tried to convince DD to take back its decision with not luck; hence they are taking legal recourse now.