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Is
there an unwritten rule that makes it mandatory for each soap to incorporate the
festival on hand into its track? Is there a penalty in case of failure to do so?
Or will ignoring a festival show that it's not in sync with the times?  Whatever
the source of the paranoia, the fact was that you had to be subjected to different
dimensions of Holi (only the playing with colours part, not the ritualistic bonfire)
whichever channel you cared to flick to. Apart from predictable Balaji soaps like
Kyunki... that must mark whichever festival happens to be round the corner,
the entire Wadhwa clan played Rang Panchami in Kumkum, where the family
has just been told that the maid Santo is none other than the ever loving-n-sacrificing
Kumkum.
On
Sony's Ek Ladki Anjaani Si, the story needed the backdrop of Holi to get
some goons to beat Anuradha unconscious. The rest of the cast was drenched in
colours in Nikhil's house. On Sahara One's Solhah Singarr, the Chaturvedi
family is out spraying colours on each other, as Menaka and Sumer confront Shagun.
Over again on Sony's Jeete Hain Jiske Liye, Renuka Shahane got to smile
at the camera for a change, as she exchanged colours with screen hubby Ayub Khan.  One
can understand Holi being incorporated into the track of a kids' show like Star
One's Ghost Bana Dost, where Ni Ke the ghost is getting to participate
in the festival after many years, and creates a magical colour to douse all the
baddies in. But take away the Holi element and none of the above mentioned soaps
would have suffered this week. If they all hoped to effect a Silsila like twist
into the proceedings (where two characters discover the infidelity of their spouses),
that certainly didn't happen. Next week should have the soaps back to normal.
That is, till the Ganesh festival comes along.
 If
it wasn't Holi, it was Raju Srivastava wherever else on the tube you cared to
look. The man's become so ubiquitous, it's no longer funny. He's on the Star One
Champs, the Sahara One daily comedy show, the Sony weekly Comedy ka Badshah,
besides Aaj Tak's Gajodhar and Star News' comedy fillers, and perpaps some
more that I haven't caught. The man is obviously making hay while the comedy genre's
shining, but frankly, I am suffering from a Raju overdose. It's time we dug up
some fresh talent to amuse us.
NDTV's
effort at celebrating womanhood on International Women's Day was a tad better
than Star News' segment titled 'Chamatkar Deviyan' (?) - an ode to Indian
women who have made a name for themselves. NDTV imaginatively used its well known
puppets instead, and the mock dialogue that ensued between
'Sonia Gandhi',
'Aishwarya Rai' and an 'Aam Aurat' (common woman) had just the right sarcasm and
humour in it. Much of
the spare time on news channels was devoted to the arrival and impending nuptials
of the current hot, celeb couple - Arun Nayar and Liz Hurley - although precious
little footage was available. Times Now's E Now had correspondents posted
in Jodhpur, tracking the palaces where festivities would be held and getting inane
quotes from musicians and mehndiwalis who were going to be part of the ceremony.
If the print media won't give up on Liz-Arun, why should the electronic media
lag behind, even if just to grab a blurry shot of the couple getting into a car?  Star
One's Antakshari got interesting this week with well known musical couples
taking the combat to a different level, by bickering like kids, thanks to the
newly introduced 'objectiion' rounds. Hosts Annu Kapoor and Juhi Parmar had a
tough time managing the unruly participants, but it was great fun watching biggies
like Aadesh Srivastav, Ismail Durbar and Abhijeet trying to figure out their own
songs from films.
****
 Couch
potato's disappointment of the week - Sony's Durgesh Nandini, that
seemed promising enough, but now seems to be just another show for kids. One wonders
how true the track is to the original Bankimchandra Chatterjee novel...
(The
views expressed here are those of the author and indiantelevision.com need not
necessarily subscribe to the same) | 
