Blockbusters off the blocks

Dubai: "I kept telling myself that I had to win, I just had to win," said Charul Mathur after she won the second Blockbusters heats round.

Mathur, along with Nikhil Soneja, were the first two winners of the adult singles first and second heats that started Thursday afternoon.

Mathur's win was a very lucky one indeed, as she had gone to the games thinking she would be a spectator and not a contestant.

"It is great and kind of surreal. I was actually on my way home from work and was stuck in traffic when my friend called me to go to Mall of the Emirates and watch the Blockbusters. Once we were there, my friend pushed me into taking part. It was all very last minute," she said.

After a much awaited 14-year gap, the quiz show Blockbusters made its way back to Dubai much to the delight of the audience and eager participants.

The audience was mainly made up of the contestant's relatives as a way of showing their support, and the Kilachand Theatre at the Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre displayed a homely environment that made everyone feel immediately at ease.

Several people in the audience sitting in the back could not control their excitement and blurted out answers, much to the shock of those sitting nearby.

However, the contestants apparently did not hear their shouts, or so it seemed, and carried on answering the questions.

Loud murmurs

There were loud murmurs in the audience when a contestant answered "Leslie" upon being asked the first name of the composer Beethoven.

Disagreements arose between audience members and Stuart McClean, the show's host, when they found answers unjust. One question was "What is the brightest star in the universe?" to which everyone unanimously agreed that the answer card was wrong and it had to be the sun.

The audience also had the opportunity to go home with prizes as McClean threw easy questions and sometimes some impossible ones as well.

"I think random would best describe the win. I went in to pass a message to my mom, who was watching the show, when I heard a very easy question being asked. I knew the answer and ended up winning a prize," said Sylvester Batista, 17, who left the show with a DVD player.

"Your mind goes blank once you are on the stage. The games were tense, and I cannot imagine how tense the next round is going to be," said Soneja.

The 30-year-old winner is no stranger to the Blockbusters show as his brother took part in the contest 14 years ago.

"My folks are also fans of Blockbusters, and we used to all sit down as a family and watch the show everyday on television," he said.