Imagine a visually challenged young boy imitating actress Aishwarya Rai's chirpy voice. Or a lanky high school student doing a perfect spoof of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad.

They were two of the many schoolchildren who participated in a selection round for a spin-off programme linked to one of India's best-known quiz shows - Cadbury's Bournvita Quiz Contest - that will be aired on Sony TV from Feb 19.

Hosted by popular quizmaster Derek O'Brien, the Cadbury's Bournvita Quiz Contest Confidence Challenge will showcase students from Class 5 to Class 9 with special skills in different fields.

"We are looking for students with a proven skill at the state, national and international level. It can be anything - from astronomy to sports to acting to music," O'Brien told IANS.

"The participants should have a good level of general awareness.

"In Chandigarh, one of the finalists is an all-rounder - national football champion, top-ranker, school captain - and he happened to be the son of the school principal's head peon," O'Brien said, citing an example.

According to the show's organisers, they are looking for children with proven talents who have been rewarded by an accredited institution. And the participants must be able to present themselves clearly in Hindi or English.

Also, participants should be able to balance their academics with their extra-curricular activities.

Cadbury's Bournvita Quiz Contest is one of India's oldest quiz shows that began in the 1970s. Originally held in cities across the country, it later became a radio and then a TV show.

From 2006, the organisers plan to have the Confidence Challenge on TV for six months, before reverting to the traditional quiz show format in following months.

The response to the new show has been huge. Over 1,500 students participated in the North India finals held here Friday. Of the top 100, 11 were selected for the TV show to be telecast from February.

Friday's final had some interesting rounds, including a special talent test and a one-minute interview where participants had to pretend to be personalities like Sonia Gandhi and Sania Mirza.

Among the participants were 11-year-old Kartik Sawhney, a visually challenged boy who won a gold medal in the International Abilympics in the Computers category and Parimarjan Negi, 12, the youngest international grandmaster in chess.

Of the 80 students who will participate in the Confidence Challenge TV show, 40 were chosen during selection rounds held in Bangalore, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Delhi. The rest are being selected through nominations made via television.

So, for quizmaster Derek Brien, how is the new show different from the regular quiz shows that he has been hosting for two decades?

"It is more fun, more challenging," he said with a smile.