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Aaj
Tak got Amitabh Bachchan in conversation with Prabhu
Chawla on the occasion of the former's birthday. For
once Mr Chawla was relatively softspoken and kind.
Words flowed out with arresting generosity about how
Mr Bachchan is bigger than the biggest. "You
can loan money to the RBI, if you want," the
anchor was over-the-bill.
Mr
B protested and brushed off the compliments with a
smile.
Mr
Chawla tried to start the conversation with lines
of the interviewer's father's poetry. "Er, let
me do that," Mr B suggested tacitly and went
on to recite Harivanshrai Bachchan's poetry as though
it was invented for this specific occasion.
The
thing about an average Bachchan interview is that
it's never average.
****
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Did
Rajiv (Wooden) Khandelwal really leave Kahiin To Hoga
to be part of that bomb called Time Bomb? One
feels sorry for the people involved with this flamboyant
fiasco. They surely mean well… International terrorism
and all. But they don't seem to have a clue as to how an
audience could be snared into suspense.
The
snare switches to a feeling close to a sneer. Last week,
Khandelwal had to pretend he was with the terrorist (played
by Akash Deep, another Ekta Kapoor breakaway gone to waste
who sneers and snarls so hard you suspect he equates villainy
with hamming). Khandelwal had to beat up his screen-wife,
threaten to poke a knife in her eye and throw acid in her
face, while the villain watched happily.
S&M
meets espionage.
****
Give
us the Saas-Bahu tales any day… Or the game shows which
are getting gloriously prize-friendly. Now Madhavan will
be hosting Sony's Deal Ya No Deal and he's quite
kicked by the idea. "It won't be easy. Not with Mr
Bachchan's game show being on. I believe even Shahrukh Khan
and Manoj Bajpai are going to host game shows. So which
one would I as a viewer want to switch on to? And to make
matters even tougher, I won't have my script written on
the show. It will all have to be improvised on the sets,
glitches and all. So I can make a fool of myself quite easily.
Fortunately I've quite a lot of experience on television
in the past. At the start of my career I hosted a game show
called Tol Mol Ke Bol. So I know the medium quite
well."
Does
he feel TV will downscale his status in Bollywood? "Certainly
not! Let's not underestimate the reach and power of the
home medium. In every country where Deal Ya No Deal is
shown it's hosted by a big name. I think doing a game show
will build on my following."
Adds
Sony business head and executive vice president Tarun Katial,
"Yes, we're doing a game show. Deal Ya No Deal is
our version of Deal Or No Deal, the number one game
show in the world. I visited Spain recently to check out
the show there, and now in France… it's a phenomenal
event. Why Madhavan? Because we needed someone young boyish
intelligent and who is able to connect instantly with the
audience. The world over, the hosts have been young genial
and energetic. Madhavan fitted the bill. One or two other
names, including Saif Ali Khan, were initially thrown around.
But once the project concretised it was Maddy all the way.
And when he shot the promo with us this week we knew we
had made the right choice."
Tarun
cuts down all comparisons with KBC. "Deal
Ya No Deal isn't a bit like any other game show we've
seen from any part of the world. And believe you me; it
wasn't expensive to buy from its international original
copy holders. We at Sony are on the look-out for shows that
would give us a profile distinct from our competitors. When
we started Fame Gurukul we were sneered at for attempting
something so outlandish. And now that's one of our highest
rated shows."
Katial
admits that Sony hopes to consolidate its position further
with Deal Ya No Deal. "It will add considerably
to Madhavan's fan following, that's for sure."
****
On
Saturday, Zee's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa (which I firmly believe
has better singing contestants than Fame Gurukul)
went to a mall for a performance. Frazzled anchor Shaan
didn't know which to praise more. The mall or the contestants.
He focused more on the mall, telling us how nowadays everything
from shopping to dating was done at these public places.
Thank
God Shaan wasn't asked to endorse condoms.
(The
views expressed here are those of the author and indiantelevision.com
need not necessarily subscribe to the same)
(Rajeev
Khandelwal pic by VICKY AHUJA)
(Pictures courtesy: www.manojbajpai.net, www.thehindu.com,
www.santabanta.com, www.indya.com, www.shahrukhkhan.org)
Now
to my amazement I find them doing the same for all star birthdays!
Hema Malini is undoubtedly a super-icon. But even she would
have been embarrassed by the encomiums that poured out ad
nauseam from the night before the birthday. The wah-wahs went
on until well into the end of the following day.
