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Why
was Javed Akhtar seen slugging it out with Ila Arun on Fame
Gurukul? The battle surprised me since I always thought
of the two as friends.
All
these esteemed judges on these music contests seem to be proving
themselves capable of immense belligerence. I suspect a lot
of this pow-wow is engineered to get the TRPs all revved up.
  But
here's Javed Akhtar's official take on the matter. "Our
so-called feud has been blown out of all proportion. Ila Arun
became upset because one of the contestants on Fame Gurukul,
Shamit, was voted out. But judges aren't responsible for a
contestant being ousted! Shamit was voted out by his fellow
contestants. Ila's anger and angst should've been projected
at Shamit's colleagues, not at the judges. Yes, I quite understand
her being upset on Shamit's behalf since he sings very well.
And yes, it was unfortunate that this happened. But at the
same time you can't admonish people for voting for or against
a contestant. Because you've given them the right to do so.
If
the arrangement doesn't suit you then please take away the
right from viewers. Don't take it out on the judges…
I've known Ila for years and years… through her Shabana-Shyam
Benegal connection. We share a very warm relationship. Her
only daughter who got married recently is an ardent fan of
my poetry. One of the walls in her house is filled with my
poetry. Having said this, I must admit we judges on Fame
Gurukul conduct ourselves with a lot of dignity. Bilkul
baddtameezi nahin hoti hai. I guess the occasional arguments,
differences of opinion and opposed viewpoints do add to the
excitement. But all this should be done within the realm of
civility."
But
do these music contests actually serve their purpose? Says
Javed, "I must admit that Fame Gurukul will give
the Hindi film industry some good singers who'll definitely
be absorbed in playback singing. We've a couple of very talented
singers. This platform will definitely give them a headstart…Where
do I find the time to do TV? Arrey kahan! On the contrary
I feel I should do much more work… Recording for Fame
Gurukul takes just one-and-a-half days: Thursdays and
Monday evenings… that's it. And the money paid to the
judges is very good. Why else would anyone want to give so
much time and attention? As a matter of fact television has
become very lucrative these days."
Lucrative,
for people like Javed Akhtar. For viewers it's becoming increasingly
unbearable to sit through some of the sanctimonious bilge
posing as socially relevant analysis.
****
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On
Saturday night I had the singular pleasure of sitting
through what looked like a discussion on sex sex and
more sex on Aaj Tak. Being a Hindi channel one would
think the purveyors of this society-cleansing exercise
would at least get the sex-related words in Hindi
right. But no. The discussion resorted to the American
high-school sex-manuel jargon like "shaadi se
pehle sex" "virgin"(pronounced bhar-jeen)
all meant to tantalize more than inform or enlighten
viewers.
If
Aaj Tak was truly serious about spreading sex awareness,
the channel should have got more authoritative voices
on the programme than two models/starlets who tried
to be 'frank' but ended up sounding more contradictory
than compelling.
Earlier
the same evening on Aaj Tak there was this strange
story in the film-section on Aamir Khan signing a
film with Kareena Kapoor. In the absence of footage
of the two stars together Aaj Tak showed Aamir and
Kareena's sister together in Raja Hindustani.
Will someone please explain the logic underlining
such a strange game of mix 'n' match?
****
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Sex
seems to be the guiding force this week, what with Star
News' Sansani doing a whole late-night segment on
the advent of blue films being made by secret cameras. I
didn't mind the host's concern. But why get so salacious
about it? Why show clippings of hapless girls being put
into compromising positions by men they trust? Isn't this
filming of their humiliating like a double rape?
I
think there should be rules against the way banned footage
is used on television. A line needs to be drawn between
expose and exposure.
****
 The
best happening of the week was Ajay Devgan and Kajol on
Star's KBC. Ajay looked lean and thin and silent.
Kajol seemed her usual ebullient self. In fact I had run
into her at the mahurat of her buddy Karan Johar's new
film just after she had recorded this segment of KBC.
And I overheard Mr Bachchan who's also part of Karan's
film teasing Kajol about winning too much money. Win,
she did. The questions were a bit weird. For example,
what's the ISD code for Russia? Kajol burst out laughing.
Understandably the host-with-the-most was quite benevolent
towards his star guests. He chatted them up reminding
them of his association with their respective parents.
Bet
you didn't know the first film that AB signed was with
Kajol's mom, the talented Tanuja. "Oh yes, I've seen
that film!" Kajol rolled her eyes. "So you've
suffered through that?" AB deadpanned.
Nope.
It doesn't get any more ironical than that. The Kajol-Ajay
segment of KBC was special on many counts. It showed
how celebrity couples stretch their stardom to make a
connection with the needy and stressed. It also showed
how three celebrities --- no, make that one super-celebrity
--- could get together to have fun, provided the right
ambience is created.
(The
views expressed here are those of the author and Indiantelevision.com
need not necessarily subscribe to the same)
(Pic
courtesy: www.indya.com, www.setindia.com)
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