Bay Area siblings live childhood dream as contestants on ‘ Amazing Race.’
Bay Area siblings grew up watching race on TV — now they’re a part of it
“The Amazing Race”: Reality. 9 p. m. Wednesdays on CBS.
Teams on “The Amazing Race” face global challenges on TV. When the cameras aren’t rolling, it gets even tougher.
For example, contestants must wash their underwear in sinks for the duration of the adventure. And if those drawers don’t dry before the next leg of their global sprint, our favorite teams are running around in damp skivvies.
It’s something Eswar and Aparna Dhinakaran can laugh about now. “I’m excited you can’t smell through the TV,” Eswar joked during a phone conversation with The Chronicle. “That sort of technology hasn’t been invented yet.”
The Bay Arearaised brother and sister, ages 24 and 26, respectively, competed as a team on the latest season of the Emmywinning reality competition series, set to premiere Wednesday, Oct. 14, on CBS.
For those who haven’t watched, “The Amazing Race” is a show in which teams of two compete in a race around the world. Along the way, the competitors are given challenges — some physical, some intellectual, almost all difficult. The last team to complete the challenge each week is sent home, losing its shot at a $ 1 million prize.
Born in Chennai, India, the siblings grew up in Fremont, where they recall watching the show with their parents every Sunday night.
“There was a season when they went to Chennai,” Aparna said. “I remember being like, ‘ Wow, they went to my hometown!’ Something in me was like, ‘ I want to be on ‘ The Amazing Race.’ This has to happen.’”
Eswar and Aparna attended UC
Berkeley and became software engineers. But Aparna hadn’t given up on her dreams of competing on the show. She waited until her brother turned 21, the minimum age to participate, and filed the application.
On Feb. 11, 2017 ( the date is burned into Aparna’s memory), the pair made their way to a casting call in Santa Clara.
“We thought there would be like five teams that showed up,” said Aparna. Instead, the siblings were joined by thousands of “Amazing Race” hopefuls, some in costumes or carrying signs. They auditioned and waited almost a year before a producer followed up with the next steps.
A few interviews later, the Dhinakarans found themselves preparing to embark on Season 32 of “The Amazing Race.”
“It still feels like butterflies in my stomach,” Aparna said. “How cool is that, to be on a show that you watched as you grew up? Sometimes it still doesn’t feel real.”
A lot has changed since Eswar and
Aparna finished their amazing race. The new season was filmed in November 2018, and both siblings have eased back into Bay Area life. But the driven pair, possessing an ability to get on each others’ nerves as only brothers and sisters can, recall adjusting quickly to cameras filming their every move and settling into their authentic selves throughout production.
“We’re both competitive as hell,” Aparna said. “( We) fought about who got the window seat, who got the aisle seat.”
Like any reality television series, even a relatively highbrow one like “The Amazing Race,” producers guide the teams’ personality narrative. Some teams appear villainous; others tug at viewers’ heartstrings with a touching backstory. Eswar and Aparna will discover which edit they received Wednesday night, along with the show’s millions of viewers.
“When we first got back, we were super worried about the edit,” Aparna admitted. “( But) because it’s been two years, I’m less worried about what I said because I’m probably a different person.”
The Dhinakarans shrug off any concern about what viewers might think of their personalities, except maybe their parents.
“I’m sure we’re going to get an earful from them,” Eswar said.
The Bay area team couldn’t reveal how far they made it this season or whether they brought home the $ 1 million prize. And because of COVID19 safety precautions, they won’t get to host big viewing parties with their friends.
Instead, the pair plan to watch “The Amazing Race” in Fremont with their parents, just as they did all those years ago.