After Class

The Making of a Hero

Naziba Basher

We all have a dream -- a dream to be a hero someday. We dream to make a difference in the world, to bring change into society, to do something good for our country. We dream of children laughing and green grass, and we dream of a better life for everyone. But to make these dreams come true we need a little bit of help. That is the kind of help the eight contestants are availing from Annona Ruma, director of Campus Hero, Channel i, to make a difference in their own ways.

The top eight contestants competing to be the Campus Hero. photo : channel I

Campus Hero is the only reality show where young boys get an opportunity to fulfill their dreams. The first season having completed its first year is now left with their top eight contestants. The show consists of stages where the participants would find different ways to make sure that their dreams can turn into reality. "We take in young male participants in this show, since we believe that it is the young boys who need to change society today," says Ruma. "We find women being victimised all the time in our country, mainly because, women change and are more accepting to new ideas. Unfortunately, for some reason, it takes the men a longer time to change their views."

The moral of this show is 'Bhalo kaaj kora' (doing a good deed). Keeping this moral in mind, these contestants show the country what they have in mind to bring a unique and effective change in society. The objective of this show is not only to make a hero stand so that he can start making differences on his own, but it is also to provide contestants and learners with a learning process. It teaches how to take responsibility and how to make big things happen while making sure you have your feet firmly planted to the ground. In other words, the reality show shows that we should never be afraid to dream big and give shape to our visions as long as it can be done in a realistic manner.

The participants on stage. photo : channel I

The show initially started with one question- 'What is your dream?' Channel i had received 7500 responses to the question from which they had to pick only the best 16. From those 16 dreams, 16 young boys became a part of a show that had given them opportunities to make changes for themselves and for the society. In the first round, these boys were put through IQ tests, physical ability tests, and tests for judging their speaking skills where they would justify their dreams and look for a feasible way to make those dreams come true. "Of course, all these young boys had big dreams about their country and how they could make a difference. We respect their dreams and try to find a feasible way of making these inspiring dreams come true," says Ruma.

After the tests took place at the Channel i camp, the contestants were paired up accordingly. These eight pairs had to work together as they performed tasks. "This was done to teach the boys a lot about teamwork so that they could use this experience later in their lives while trying to make a difference in the world with the help of others," says Ruma.

"A lot of the boys are doing very well already. For instance, a boy named Arif has made excellent progress throughout the show and was successful enough to change the life of a boy who used to sell nuts in Jahangirnagar by providing his father and many more fathers with rickshaws to earn enough money to be able to send their children to school. Much like Arif, all the other boys are also making excellent progress," exclaims Ruma.

The top eight contestants are Afsid, Arif, Emon, Enamul, Gourango, Joti, Shamim and Pappu. They are now in groups of four as they are learning about teamwork, leadership and working with other volunteers. Without any financial aid, these boys will be tested to see which one of them can work hard and become a true hero.

With the help of the esteemed judges, Professor Syed Mazurul Islam, Humayan Kabir and a guest celebrity judge for each episode (currently, Actor-Director-Freedom fighter Sohel Rana is presiding over as the celebrity judge) and Annona Ruma, these boys have already had their lives changed. It is now their turn to change the lives of others by fulfilling their dreams of becoming the first ever Campus Hero.