Aaj Ki Raat Hai Zindagi

Did You Know?

• The series brought forth and celebrated unsung heroes who were selfless in their endeavors, who were then given a gift by the invited celebrity.
• Guests on the show included Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, Mohit Chauhan, Parineeti Chopra, Maryam Siddiqui, and Kapil Sharma.
• Popular television actresses Sanaya Irani and Rashami Desai made appearances on the show.

Development and production

In September 2015, STAR Plus CEO Uday Shankar came up with the idea of adapting the British series Tonight's the Night for Indian television. The result was Aaj Ki Raat Hai Zindagi, a show meant to shine a light on ordinary people who had done something remarkable. Shankar asked Amitabh Bachchan to host, and Bachchan agreed, saying he appreciated the channel’s offer. Shankar described the show as something that would both entertain and motivate viewers, leaving them with a reason to smile. He also noted that after working together on Kaun Banega Crorepati, they were teaming up again with the country’s biggest star for a fresh television project. In October 2015, Hussain Kuwajerwala was brought on as co-host. He recalled that his birthday fell on a Monday, and by Tuesday he was already filming with Bachchan, calling it the best birthday present he could have received. Before the premiere, Bachchan admitted he was anxious about how the audience would respond, saying that thoughts of the show being accepted or rejected were constantly on his mind. The series debuted on 18 October 2015 on STAR Plus, airing Sundays. Each episode brought in well-known Bollywood celebrities to give gifts to everyday heroes who had helped others. The first guests were Alia Bhatt and Shilpa Shetty. Because it was a limited series, it ended on 10 January 2016 after 13 episodes, due to low ratings. A source told Mid-Day that the channel had high hopes for the program, but the falling TRPs showed it had failed to capture the audience’s interest.

Reception

Aaj Ki Raat Hai Zindagi received average reviews from critics. Shruti Kapoor of India Today described the series as quite different from Tonight's the Night, stating that Bachchan's show had a good concept but bad packaging, while praising Bachchan's hosting as the only saving grace. Tista Sengupta of Rediff.com called the series inspiring but not so impressive, noting that the concept was beautiful and Amitabh Bachchan was fabulous, but the show still did not get it right. Rajyasree Sen of Live Mint wrote that it was not high entertainment from any angle, but was worth watching because it was a pleasant change to hear happy and inspiring real-life stories about people making a difference, encouraging readers to tune in.