W

So, is Tulsi dying or not? To figure out where exactly the plot is headed, Wednesday night I decided to catch up with the Virani Parivaar after a long time. Instead of being at Shantiniketan I found them in a hospital. This particular hospital sequence is when the doctor reveals to Mihir (Ronit Roy) and Karan (Hiten Tejwani) about Tulsi's illness. Though Tulsi herself looked blissly unaware of her illness.

It'll now be interesting to see how the plot is taken forward. Or could this just be a part of the drama to take the serial forward; since it's known that Kyunki… is all set for one more leap in the future. Afterall, killing and then resurrecting the popular character has long been a tried and tested strategy for Ekta Kapoor. And it has often worked in the favour of the serial.

And by now even the Indian audiences are used to seeing popular characters dying and coming back. Remember, how Mihir died in the serial and came back then there was Anurag Basu (Cezanne Khan) in Kasauti Zindagi Kay who died and came back. So, maybe if Tulsi had also to die and come back, it will work positively for the serial.

Coming to Tulsi's character, looking back in time it amazes me to see how Smriti herself has grown as an artist along with the character and the show. The serial started as a simple story with many sub-plots weaved in. A Pandit's daughter who elopes and gets married to a rich man's son, against his mother's wishes. Initially she is not accepted into the Virani household but later how she makes her inroads into the parivaar.

Actually, no real story in the serial but the challenge was in building of her character as a strong ideal woman whom masses can identify with. People are not yet tired of seeing Tulsi's character, considering the fact that it has consistently delivered on the TRPs front. Some of the fantastic scenes still remain etched in viewer memory - one is when she loses her husband and the second when she cries out to her mother-in-law about Mihir's continuing affair with Mandira.

Coming to Smriti's real life persona, the other day I caught her giving out some real politically correct statements to a news channel about how she and some of her media friends did a few things to help out people caught up in Mumbai floods. Wonder, if this dying or not dying in the serial has something to do with her political ambitions.

*****

I was waiting with bated breath for KBC 2 since I quite liked the lovely tongue-n-cheek promos with the rapping Big B saying 'Don't lose hope is the moral of the story.' This time around, of course, there is a lot of `Umeed' from the show which catapulted not just the channel but even the Big B to the numero uno position.

I am sure the first episode was a rather nostalgic trip for many viewers; as it was for me. The same music, opulent set, computerji and the return of the Big B; who is perhaps the most loved star in the country.

The only difference, apart from the prize money of course, was that the anchor adorned a very cool and casual look with a smart leather jacket. The small screen couldn't have got bigger than this; as Bachchan went around greeting the people on the show with a slight sprint in his walk. I think, what makes the show rock is really that the anchor doesn't look larger than life on the small screen. He somehow fits into the image of an anchor who's identifies with the common man, sharing his hopes and dreams.

Perhaps, most of the film stars who have failed miserably on the small screen need to take cues cues from him. The whole idea is to sort of fit into the real image and not to appear larger than life which is the require of the big screen.

I am sure even this time the Bachchan magic is going to rock the country..

*****

So, while our big screen stars are trying hard to fit into the small screen; it looks like our small screen stars are becoming big stars in their own right. And no channel wants to miss out on the opportunity to cash in on this.

There is of course the show Pop Korn on Zoom which manages to catch up on the life and times of the small screen stars. There's another show called Pardey ke Peechey on Star Plus which has hottie Sweta Keswani as an anchor. The last episode the show took us on the sets of Kumkum and for Aamna Sharif's birthday party.

Coming back to the anchor, I also saw Sweta anchoring a show called Bollywood, Aur Kya Special on Sahara One. Looks like, hottie Sweta has taken on to anchoring shows rather than acting in serials. Years back, I remember seeing her as a young bahu in Kahanni Ghar Ghar ki. Later, she turns villain in the show as she actually kills her own husband and later loses her sanity.

I think, Sweta makes for a very good choice as an anchor. She's not just a popular face, but is smart and savvy.

*****

Coming to news channels, after reporting on Mumbai's deluge and devastation most of the news analysis has now moved on to whether we need a CEO for Mumbai, Will Mumbai ever be another Sanghai and of course on the progress of the rehabilitation work. It's heartening to see that many of the channels have themselves taken on the task of helping out people in distress. Apart from collecting funds for people who've perhaps lost everything in the torrential rains, they are also helping relatives find their loved ones who have gone missing since the terrible Tuesday.

In between the rain news, I also caught some rushes of a sting operation which showed a senior bureaucrat asking a woman for sexual favours in return for some work. Though the rushes looked like some hazy pictures they actually looked like some sleazy bedroom scenes from a third rated film.

I wonder when these stinking sting operations will stop?