Red carpet premiere of ‘The Challengers: Game of Himalayas’ held in New York City

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New York City: A red carpet premiere of the reality show, “The Challengers: Game of Himalayas” which emphasizes the significance of climate change and showcases the adventures of 11 popular YouTubers from six countries, including three from India, was held at AMC Empire 25 in Times Square on May 25, 2024.

The show, which is available on Amazon Prime, features three Indian vloggers including MTV Roadies winner Ashish Bhatia, India’s most popular female moto vlogger, Ridergirl Vishakha Fulsunge, and India vlog challenge winner, Soumesh Pandey, known as camerawalebhaiya.

The show led contestants on a grueling journey from Lukla Airport to Mount Everest base camp in Nepal, presenting them with various challenges and tasks along the way. Six finalists including Ashish Bhatia from India, Biswas Rai from Nepal, Juanes Velez from Colombia, My Mate Nate from Thailand, Steele Davis from USA, and Wil Dasovich from Philippines will participate in the race to the Summit of Kala Patthar, situated at 18,520 ft, to claim the title of “The Challengers” and a $100,000 cash prize.

Host of the show, India’s popular DJ and MTV presenter, Nikhil Chinapa, who flew from India to New York City to attend the premiere, told News India Times, “It was a physically very demanding show. It was easily the hardest thing that I have done physically in my life. It was also very challenging and exciting. And we have made a great show of it. I am glad I did it” while congratulating the Director of the show, Shree Gurung and his team for their incredible work.

“All the vloggers have made personal vlogs of their journey up to base camp and also to highlight the facts around climate change and the glacial melting that is causing. These vloggers all have their own communities and tremendous fan followings across the world,” noted Chinapa about vloggers participating in the show and their impact on climate change. “And their messages will hopefully impact people’s perception, the choices they make with the products that they use, and the way they live their lives in general.”

Chinapa commended the efforts of Gurung since the show was “extraordinarily difficult” to complete from a logistical point of view as they had to move a lot of heavy machinery such as cameras and generators to the mountain.

“We believe, climate change is an important issue for the new generation to be aware of. The best way to reach out to them is via vloggers and creators,” Director Gurung told News India Times on the impact vloggers can have on climate change matters through this show.

Gurung, a filmmaker with over 15 years of experience in Event Management, said his dream was to “organize a film competition in the Himalayas to bring out the stories of Himalayas.” He added it took 12 days to shoot this show and encouraged everyone to watch it to find out about the winner.

Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations, Lok Thapa, who was at the premiere, told News India Times, “The reality TV series featuring the journey of eminent vloggers to Sagarmatha, Mount Everest, reflect their determination, commitment, perseverance and most of all, tenacity of purpose” adding the series serves “as a powerful platform to spotlight Nepal’s rich culture, nature and adventure.”

“The Himalayan region, which remains the water tower of Asia serving for more than one fifth of humanity, is disproportionately affected by climate change impacts. We need urgent global actions to stop this climate catastrophe in the region” said Ambassador Thapa while highlighting the effects of climate change. “On this, the effort by the vloggers from different countries and across the regions to put the audience across the importance of climate action is commendable.”

Ambassador Thapa said the show has been able to bring the much-needed attention to this critical issue, and its global reach signifies a pivotal step forward in climate action, advocacy, and climate justice.

During her vote of thanks, Founder of The Great Nepali Diaspora, Preeti Adhikary, who co-hosted the premiere, expressed her appreciation to diplomats, celebrities, and guests from Nepal, India, and across the United States who were present while extending gratitude to the volunteers who contributed to the event’s success. While commending Director Gurung’s passion for climate change advocacy, Adhikary told News India Times, “There couldn’t have been a better way to showcase not just the beauty of the Himalayas but also bring the much-needed awareness around the fragility of the ecosystem there.”