Mumbai, May 3 -- Two years have passed since Salmans Khan's 10 Ka Dum 2 wrapped up. But there's still no clarity on when the next season of the game show will return. And while Salman, who made his small screen debut with the show, is likely to take up the fifth season of Bigg Boss on Colors as host, he's apparently recommended buddy Sanjay Dutt as anchor for 10 Ka Dum 3. According to reports, Salman had lost interest in hosting the show himself after Sony Entertainment gave the green signal to Kaun Banega Crorepati 4 instead of his show in September last year.
Producer Siddharth Basu from Big Synergy, that has been helming the show for two seasons, says that he'd love to do another version, and so would Salman, but the final decision lies with the channel. "Salman is a very generous star. He would like others to anchor the show, if he doesn't do it for some reason. But he would never want a show to be stuck because of him. He is really keen that either he or Sanjay (Dutt) host 10 Ka Dum 3, whenever it happens. He and Sanju are very close."
But would Sanjay, who has earlier appeared on the show as a guest, work as a host, since there's a marked difference between the personalities of both the actors? "10 Ka Dum is an entertaining show. It was more Salman's show than Bigg Boss can ever be. It was unbiased and a roaring hit. After 10 Ka Dum, people have started seeing Salman in a different light because he presented a side of himself that had never been seen before," says Basu, adding that even Sanjay would be a crackling host, interacting with the audience and celebrity guests in his inimitable style. "In fact, if all goes well, Sanjay should be teaming with us for his TV debut."
A division of Sony Pictures owns the format of 10 Ka Dum. The license for it is currently with the channel. The catch is that it's likely to expire by next year, after which if the channel releases the license, the show would be available to other Hindi GEC players. Ajay Bhalwankar, head of programming, Sony Entertainment, says, "There's a time for everything and right now, our energies are focused on X Factor. We've not decided on anything about 10 Ka Dum 3 yet, and until we freeze plans for the show's third season, it will be difficult to say who will host it."
