Rima's Misadventures: The Game Show

Disclaimer: All the characters in the story are above the age of 18.

Rima was thrilled to participate in 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', the Indian version of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'. She was sitting nervously in front of the computer screen along with nine other participants, who were all seated in a semi-circle around the main stage of the set. She was about to play 'Fastest Fingers First', a round where the participants had to arrange four answers in a particular order. The fastest person to order the answers correctly would get a chance to play the main game.

Rima looked around and saw that there was no audience in the set. It was understandable; the pandemic was not yet over, but the restrictions were getting looser day by day. She was wearing a bright red sleeveless blouse and a pink saree to look presentable on camera, though she didn't really have much hope about getting to the Hot Seat. She and the other contestants were told not to wear face masks while the game was on. She noticed the edge of the computer screen had stickers written 'Kone Banega Crorepati.'

"They haven't spelled the name of the show correctly," thought Rima.

The intro music started playing in the background and Rima was excited to see the legendary Bollywood star who had been hosting the show for a long time. The host entered the stage and a fake applause track ran in the background, to compensate for the missing audience. But somehow, he looked like a duplicate, as if he was doing a mimicry of himself. The beard looked fake and the hair on his head looked like a toupee.

"Maybe, famous people look different in real life than on screen," thought Rima.

After the host gave a short welcoming address, he announced the start of the game and a question appeared on Rima's screen.

Arrange the following planets in increasing order of distance from the sun in our Solar System:

A. Mercury, B. Venus, C. Earth, D. Mars.

Rima was surprised for a fraction of a second. The answers were already in correct order. She quickly submitted the order.

"Time's up and let's see who has entered the correct order the fastest," said the host in his classic trademark voice, "The contestant who has given the correct order in the least amount of time is...Rima Kamekar!"

Rima was shocked. She couldn't believe that she won the round. She got up and walked towards the host, with the fake applause track running in the background. But she realised she couldn't really hug him or shake his hand, because of the Covid-19 safety regulations, so they just greeted each other with folded hands. Rima felt that the host was shorter than he appeared on movies.

The host directed Rima to the Hot Seat and Rima gracefully held the folds of her saree to avoid tripping over it with her heels. The seat was way high from the floor. She had to support herself on the horizontal bar across the front legs of the chair to push herself up on the seat.

After making herself comfortable in the seat, she was able to see the host sitting right opposite to her, across his own computer screen. Again, she felt something odd about him, the way he looked. He looked like a poor doppelganger of the Bollywood star. Rima was somehow sure he was just a double.

"Maybe the real one is sick, it's possible he might have got Covid," she thought.

"So Rima ji, what will you do with 2 crore (20 million) rupees, the ultimate cash prize, if you win them tonight?" asked the host.

"Well, I haven't really thought about it," said Rima with a giggle, "Maybe buy a bungalow."

"I can assure you that two crore rupees is not approximate enough to buy a bungalow in a city like Mumbai," said the host with a laugh and there was a laugh track running in the background.

Rima too nodded in agreement with a fake smile. She was beginning to feel something fishy about the whole game show.

"Let me explain you the rules of this game," said the host, "There will be 20 questions to reach the amount of Rs. 2 crore. Starting with Rs. 1000 for the getting the 1st question correct which we also call the zeroth hurdle. Then, Rs. 1 lakh (100,000) in the first hurdle which is at 10th question. Then Rs. 50 lakh at 15th question, which is the second hurdle, and the final hurdle of course is at 20th question for Rs. 2 crore."

"Once you reach a hurdle, you can't get anything less than that hurdle," continued the host, "If you get the first question right, you win Rs. 1000 for sure, nothing less than that. Once you give a wrong answer, you will be out of the game, you will only win the prize of the hurdle you crossed. There's no option to quit the game at any question, an answer must be given, even if it's wrong. There are three usual lifelines, 50-50, Phone a Friend, Flip the Question. We don't have the Audience Poll lifeline unfortunately, because of the pandemic."

Rima nodded in disappointment with him.

"However, we have a better lifeline than that, and it can be used multiple times," said the host.

Rima was curious now.

"If you're unsure about a question, you can strip an article of clothing, without guessing the right or wrong answer. That way, you can move on to the next question. You can use this lifeline anytime you want, how many times you can afford to use it. It's called Strip to Pass."

Rima's mind went blank. Was she hearing this right? Was she dreaming? Rima pinched herself on the right wrist, hiding it from the cameras and the host. She didn't wake up after the pinch. Was the lifeline some sort of a prank?

"By living with my exhibitionist roommate, I have begun to think like her. I might have heard something wrong," thought Rima.

"So Rima, let's play Kone Banega Crorepati," said the host enthusiastically.

The applause track ran again while the host and Rima contributed their applauses.

"First question right at your screen. Which is the country with the highest population? Option A. China, B. India, C. Bangladesh, D. Sri Lanka."

Rima was surprised to see such a simple question. But the first questions were always the easiest.

"China," she said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, one hundred percent."

"Computer ji, please lock Option A, China."

The screen highlighted the option in amber and then turned green instantly.

"Rima ji, congratulations, you've just won Rs. 1000! This is the minimum you will take away to home today."

A loud applause track was played and the host seemed happy too.

The subsequent questions were easier and Rima didn't feel any difficulty at answering any of them. She quickly reached the 10th question.

"Rima ji, the tenth question for Rs. 1 lakh, for crossing the first hurdle is on your computer screen," said the host.

Rima was nervous now. She knew the question would be hard.

"Who were the first Europeans to colonise a part of India?" read the host from the computer screen, "Your options are A. Portugese B. Dutch C. British D. French."

"Shit," whispered Rima to herself.

She tried hard guessing the answer. It was most definitely not the British. She kept thinking, but couldn't arrive at an answer.

"I would like to use a lifeline, 50-50."

"Computer ji, please remove two wrong options from the screen," commanded the host.

Now the only two options were on the screen.

A. Portuguese, B. Dutch.

Rima was still unsure about it.

"I would like to use another lifeline," said Rima.

"And that would be?"

"Flip the Question."

"Computer ji, Rima ji would like to use the lifeline Flip the Question. Please provide a different question."

The question on the computer screen changed.

What is the current height of Mt. Everest from mean sea level? Option A. 8848 metres, B. 8484 metres, C. 8459 metre, D. 8948 metres.

Rima almost hit her head with her palm. She restrained herself because she knew that each of her actions were being captured on cameras. This question was even more difficult than the previous one.

"I would like to use my last lifeline, Phone a Friend," said Rima.

"Ok, who do you wanna call? We have the contact numbers of three friends, Deepa Parmar, Varun Kumar and Kavya Sudesh."

"I would like to call Deepa," said Rima.

"Computer ji, please call Deepa Parmar."

They heard the ringing tone of the call, but Deepa didn't pick it. Rima got anxious.

"Who do you wanna call apart from Deepa?" asked the host.

"Kavya?" she said more as a question because she felt awkward calling Varun. She hadn't really told him about her participiation in the contest.

Kavya, fortunately, picked up the call quickly.

"Hello Kavya, I'm calling from Kone Banega Crorepati. Your friend Rima is in the Hot Seat and needs your help in answering a question."

"Oh! Rima actually reached the Hot Seat. That's great!"

"Kavya, you have got only 30 seconds to hear the question and answer it. Rima, be ready to read the questions and options to Kavya. Your time starts now."

"Hey Kavya," said Rima and she repeated the questions and options and the clock started ticking.

"I don't know Rima," said Kavya.

Rima was shocked. How could she not know? She could literally browse the question on the internet.

"Sorry Rima, I really can't help you in this one. I have got no idea," came Kavya's voice.

Rima was bewildered. Did Kavya really want Rima to lose?

"Unfortunately, the time is up Rima," said the host and the call with Kavya was cut, "We would like to know your next decision."

"I would like to quit the game," said Rima with a disappointing sigh.

"Let me repeat the rules of the game Rima, you can't really quit the game. You could either give a random answer, or you can use one more lifeline."

Rima remembered the absurd lifeline.

"Strip to Pass?"

"That's right," said the host with a smile, seemingly a rather mischievous one, "You could strip an article of clothing in exchange for staying in the game."

Rima was baffled again. But she wanted to win one lakh rupees, after getting so far in the game. She couldn't really believe that she was ready to do something to win a lakh rupees. She looked at her heels. She could lose them.

"I would like to use Strip to Pass," said Rima, startled at her own answer.

"Well, you could get up from your seat and stand aside, facing the camera, and strip an article of clothing of your choice."

"Do my heels count as an article of clothing?"

"Do you wear your shoes? Yes. So heels do count as an item clothing. Anything you wear comes under an item of clothing. Even a wristwatch, hairband, anklet, bracelet, or ring, anything."

Rima did as the host instructed. She got up from her seat and stood in front of common table that supported both the player's and host's computer screen. She felt awkward, facing the camera, raising her heels up one by one and bending down to reach them and undo the straps. She held them in one of her hands. It was quite tricky to sit back in the hot seat with one hand occupied with her heels.

"You can keep the heels down for now," said the host, "It's been a continuous round of questions, so let's take a break."

The focused light at the centre stage dimmed and a normal lighting lit up the studio. She saw that most of the remaining contestants still sitting in their 'Fastest Fingers First' seats, were women. There were only two men. Almost all of them were conventionally good looking.

A lady from the production team, wearing a mask and cap in a normal T-shirt and a pair of jeans came near Rima.

"You can visit the bathroom now if you want, I have to accompany you," said the cap lady.

"Yeah sure," said Rima.

She got down from the Hot Seat and put on the heels.

The cap lady and Rima walked together out of the studio set into a hallway. Rima walked past the table with trays which contained the purses, wallets, handbags, mobile phones, masks and other belongings of the contestants. Rima's small and shiny red purse stood out among the others.

"Could I use my phone for a moment?" asked Rima.

"Sorry ma'am, it's against the rules of the game to use phone while you're playing, even during breaks," said the cap lady.

They both entered the bathroom and Rima got inside a stall. After relieving herself, she came out and stood in front of the bathroom sink, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She was looking pretty she thought, admiring her midriff at the sides which the saree didn't cover. Her midriff wasn't too skinny, but wasn't chubby either, just the right amount of fat.

She realised that her blouse was maybe too revealing, the cleavage was definitely not according to the family show standards. She spread the saree over her blouse to cover it properly. Apart from that, everything looked modest.

"Sorry for a personal question, but what made you enter this show?" asked the cap lady.

"What do you mean? This is Kaun Banega Crorepati right?" said Rima, using a tissue paper to adjust her makeup.

The cap lady tried controlling her laughter with closed mouth.

"Why are you laughing?"

"You know this is just a parody version of the show right? Did you really think that the host out there is the great Bollywood star?"

Rima didn't know what to say. She did feel something was bit off about the whole game show. That's why they didn't use the correct spelling of the show! She hoped that the cap lady would reveal more stuff.

"On which channel are they gonna broadcast this episode?" Rima asked.

"Not TV channel exactly, you know these things are not shown on TV. This is for those cheap streaming apps that are flooding nowadays. But this show is for a somewhat standard platform. They wanna make this show look almost like the original, but have some kinky stuff. You know right, the Strip to Pass lifeline and all. I mean, do you really think they would show a woman strip on national television in India, that too in a family friendly show like the original Kaun Banega Crorepati? Girl, you signed the contract before entering the game, did you not read it before signing it?"

Rima realised one thing now, she didn't really read the terms and conditions of the contract before signing it. Her roommate Deepa had suggested her to enter the contest. And it was Kavya, her opposite door neighbour and Deepa's 'no-strings-attached' girlfriend who suggested Deepa to join the contest. But Deepa just passed it on to Rima and Deepa herself did most of the contest registration work. Rima herself never read the contract thoroughly, she just entered her personal biodata and signed it.

"I did read the contract, but only once," said Rima with some stutter.

"Read such contracts twice or thrice," said the cap lady, "What you're gonna do is really bold you know. I mean, you really look great in the saree and bright blouse and all. They surely wanted you to be in the Hot Seat. You were the only participant that didn't require a costume change. All the other female participants needed to change to a rented wardrobe to appear well dressed. Come on let's go, we don't have much time to waste."

On her way back to the studio and then the Hot Seat, Rima kept thinking how stupid she had been to participate in the show.

"But I'm gonna win some money, so how does it matter?" she thought, "Also, I haven't told my parents or any relatives about this. I wanted to give them a surprise, but well, it's better now to keep shut about this."

"Take off the heels," said the cap lady to Rima before leaving and Rima obliged.

The 11th question came up on the screen and to her dismay, she didn't know the answer at all. All her lifelines were used up in vain in the last question and she wasn't really sure if she wanted to play the game anymore.

"I really don't know the answer, so maybe I can guess," said Rima.

"Think once again Rima ji, you can still use the Strip to Pass lifeline to go further. It's not impossible to win Rs. 2 crore, you have been playing really well," said the host.

Out of curiosity, Rima imagined the hypothetical situation of stripping off all her clothes for the remainder of questions. She had her saree, petticoat, blouse, bra and panties. Even if she reached a situation where she had to get totally nude, she would cross the 15th question, which was the second hurdle. Rs. 50 lakh was good enough money. She felt stupid about not having any extra accessories with her to strip.

"I will use...Strip to Pass," said Rima slowly.

"You know the drill," said the host, showing her the stripping spot with his hand.

She again got up and stood in front of the camera. She was very hesitant to remove her saree from over her shoulder. She then held the end and unrolled the saree and untucked it from her petticoat. She was standing for a moment in only her sleeveless blouse which showed an ample amount of her deep cleavage, her midriff totally exposed, and her petticoat which reached just above her ankles.

"This is not bad, this is just like wearing a crop top and long skirt," she whispered to herself.

She then crumpled up the saree and held it in her hands and got back to the Hot Seat.

"You can give the saree to me," said the host, extending his hands from across the computer screens.

Rima hesitantly gave her saree to him. She almost felt like giving her only article of clothing to him; it made her feel vulnerable. She still felt odd wearing a blouse and a petticoat. She felt weirder that she actually stripped her saree in front of a camera.

Then the 12th question came up and she was glad for once that she knew the answer of the question.

The 13th question was also easy. She was gaining some confidence now, after answering two questions correctly in a row.

"Maybe I can reach the second hurdle without actually losing any more clothes," Rima thought.

Then the 14th question came up. Rima had no clue about the question or the answer.

Rima was in a great dilemma now. Though she had hypothesised about going totally nude by the 15th question, this was the moment when she actually had to start getting naked. Her level of unclothing had till now been somewhat modest, still family-friendly. Now, she had to either lose her blouse, or her petticoat. If she lost her petticoat, she would practically be nude below her waist, as she was wearing lace white panties which was seemingly translucent.

"But it would be momentary, as I would get back to my seat after that, the camera won't capture much of my legs much once I'm seated," she thought, "If I lose my blouse, I would have to be constantly in my bra on the camera, which is worse. My bra is also very revealing."

"So, what's your decision Rima ji. To guess an incorrect answer and go back home with Rs. 1 lakh, or use the Strip to Pass again to get closer to second hurdle?" asked the host.

"Strip to Pass," said Rima meekly.

She got up and took the couple of steps to the same stripping spot, this time much slower. She untied the petticoat lace, which was holding it around her hips, and let the petticoat drop around her ankles. For some reason, she didn't pick it up soon. She knew she was showing an ample amount of her asscheeks to the host in her translucent panties, even though it was shadowed. She reflexed her hands over her pantied crotch and then stepped away and picked up the dropped petticoat and turned back and rushed to her seat, showing her ass bounce for a good two seconds on camera.

She was already feeling the heat from embarrassment through her whole body. There was an applause track running and the other contestants and the host clapped too.

As usual, the host extended his hands to get the crumpled up petticoat and she again gave it to him hesitantly. This time, she was actually giving away a major clothing of cover, she felt very naked now after losing the petticoat. But she hoped that the camera wouldn't focus much on her lower body while she was seated.

"Rima ji, the next question is gonna get you across the second hurdle, if you get this 15th question right, you could take home a minimum of Rs. 50 lakh for sure this evening. So, keep in mind about that and let's play the next question," said the host.