Roadies brought its Rebirth season to Chandigarh this week, unveiling a format the 20-year-old show has never attempted before. For the first time, six gang leaders are running the game, split into two rival camps: the OGs, Nikhil Chinapa, Neha Dhupia and Prince Narula, against the NewGs, Abhishek Malhan, Baseer Ali and Bani J. Rather than six individual gangs competing against each other as in past seasons, contestants this year are absorbed into just two larger camps, each trio of leaders pooling their picks and strategy against the other side.Nikhil Chinapa explained what the theme, and the phoenix at the centre of this season’s logo, actually stands for. “The phoenix is a bird from mythology, and there’s a misconception around it,” he said. “People think it means something that cannot die. That’s not it at all. It does die, and the whole point is that it’s reborn from its own ashes.” That, he said, is exactly what REBIRTH is about for the people auditioning, not just the show itself. He pointed to Baseer Ali and Bani J as living proof. “Baseer and Bani didn’t win the show. But that’s the theme, that’s what Roadies gives everyone a chance at. If you’ve proven yourself, this show can still change your life, win or lose.”The energy wasn’t limited to the gang leaders. Contestants had been lining up since early morning, many travelling from across Punjab and Haryana, as well as Jammu and Darjeeling, in hopes of making it onto the show.The Chandigarh leg began a day before the auditions, when Neha Dhupia led a bike rally through the city with over 50 riders, flagging off from the Biker’s Wall in Sector 8 alongside members of the IBiker India. “There is no other place I can expect the same energy as the Chandigarh crowd,” she said. The energy carried into the press meet at Indradhanush Auditorium, Panchkula, where Rannvijay Singha, Dhupia, Chinapa, Prince Narula, Malhan and Baseer Ali met the press and watched hundreds of hopefuls line up. Bani J was not present at this leg.Rannvijay reflected on how the show keeps reinventing itself, and credited the show’s longevity to changing with both its audience and its locations. “Every journey is different. Wherever we go, the traditions, the food, the culture, their local sport, all of it changes with us.”He used a construction metaphor for Chinapa and Narula’s roles in shaping the show. “Nikhil bhai laid the first brick of MTV, he laid the foundation. Then we came in and put cement on it, then Prince added the step on top of that. Now it’s time to give it a shine.”Baseer Ali summed up the format’s constant reinvention simply. “Every year Roadies comes up with a new theme,” he said, “but the passion and excitement stays exactly the same.”Malhan, leading for the first time, credited a conversation with Rhea Chakraborty during his time on The Traitors for the decision. “She was the one who really pushed me to say yes when this offer came in,” he said.The Rebirth trail moves next to Kolkata on September 10 and then Pune on September 12.