The winning formula for Gulf News' Blockbusters

Dubai: It only takes a couple of wrong answers to kill the dream of winning Gulf News' Blockbusters, according to the winner of Saturday's first heat.

Gautam Reddy, a 30-year-old account manager from India, said two or three mistakes severely dented a competitor's chances of progressing in the competition.

He said: "I wouldn't really say it was a high pressure atmosphere inside the theatre but I still made a mess of a few of the questions. There were also a couple of times in the game when the questions were really easy and I thought it must be a trick answer.

"[The presenter] Stuart McClean is very good; he reads the questions in a clear and concise manner and is very easy to understand. I haven't seen who the other winners are yet so I can't confidently say I am going to win overall but I think I've got a pretty good chance."

Reddy prepared for the event by reading a lot of books and spending copious amounts of time surfing online.

"I have always participated in quizzes from a very young age. I learnt a lot of stuff from taking part in similar competitions in high school and college. I also read a lot and spend a lot of time on the internet so I suppose you could call that preparation. I wasn't doing anything else on Saturday so I thought I'd give it a shot," he said.

Delighted

"The crowd were generally well behaved but I did hear some people whispering the answers to their friends and I think my competitors heard too because on a few occasions they buzzed just before me," he added.

Subhash J. Bhagnari, a 51-year-old agency manager from India, said it was very exciting to be reunited with the Blockbusters family again after winning Saturday's second heat.

He said: "I have been part of Gulf News Blockbusters since the very beginning. I had been hoping and hoping it would come back and I'm delighted it finally has. I would love to have Blockbusters three times a year!

"There is a great atmosphere in the theatre and it shows there is so much intelligence here in Dubai. I used to spend a lot of time preparing for Blockbusters because in the late 80s and early 90s my knowledge was limited.

"These days I watch TV and I find the questions fairly easy providing my memory does not fail me. There are a lot of 'giants' in the competition so I would be quite happy to reach the semi-finals."

Audience members Antara Jaidev and Ritwik Vinod won DVD players from Toshiba on Saturday.