Living a dual life

Yashashri Masurkar (Khanak) and Karen Tacker (Shaan) in a scene from Rang Badalti Odhani that aired it's last episode on 22nd July 2011

Recently a very famous and much-loved show called Rang Badalti Odhani on Star One was closed on a happy note. The show wrapped up with the couple expecting and the husband Shantanu aka Shaan signing a hefty singing contract. The family accepted the son and his dream with arms wide open and all were happy. Even the parallel plots were neatly closed and done justice to.

While I unknowingly smiled watching the happy people on the screen a thought crept into my mind….When the channel and the production have put in such effort in making fiction that is so close to reality, complete with emotional layering, how do the people involved, deal with the closure of this second life?

The audiences in India are rather emotional and it isn’t too hard to draw on emotions and all kinds of TV series and entertainment by and large do just that. But is it just the viewer that gets involved? I was once speaking to a friend who works for a production house. She told me that when a show ends they all go through a bout of depression even if they have to jump start another project.

In spite of the ample public statements that the popular English sit-com FRIENDS cast went on to make , it still makes me wonder what lies beneath all of it. Monica or Courney Cox said on Oprah, "The last week of the shoot has been very emotional and Jennifer (Rachel) will probably gasp for breath with just the thought." Lisa Kudrow or Phoebe said on the same show, "I cried so much on the last day of the shoot the next morning I felt like I's suffered a head injury." So with such emotional attachment on the part of the cast, Jennifer Aniston will always be Rachel and just like that Yashashri Masurkar will always be the sweet, simple and strong Khanak and Karen Tacker will always be the suave, modern and urban Shantanu aka Shaan to me.

It is not just about dealing with this dual life personally but also professionally. Smriti Irani and Shweta Tiwari are immediate examples that pop into my mind. Even after a decade it must be easier for you to put a face to Tulsi of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Prerna of Kasauti Zindagi Ki on Star Plus than their real names.

Beyond all the pondering and my public queries into the lives of these dual personalities I would just like to express my heartfelt appreciation towards their efforts at keeping the Indian homes entertained and the idiot box running!

One of a kind dance show!

Hrithik Roshan

They say music is a universal language that breaks all barriers. I have always wondered why dance isn’t given this status. After all dance too is an art that uses no words to express. It too has a language of its own, the language of movement a language that can be seen not heard. A language that need not use sound as a medium of communication, it can use silence and stir the space to convey a message, ever so silently.

Dance is exciting, expressive, cathartic and a quintessential in India! And here comes an event that is going to be huge for many reasons. For one it is all about dance and the name makes it very clear too, JUST DANCE!! It has none other than the Greek-god-look-alike Hrithik Roshan assuming the role of a mascot cum mentor. Now who wouldn’t want to see that handsome man with a good heart that too every weekend?

Farah Khan and Vaibhavi Merchant who are currently the industries’ best will be seen judging the show. It will cover all genres and styles of dance although on individual participation. The fact that the show will only have individual participants has really caught my fancy. I am really curious about how this aspect of the show will roll out.

In my opinion it will be an admirable premise if the competition continues with just a dancer at a time. I think it will require the contestants to push their limits and explore space like never before. Dancing all alone on a large stage will call for immense sense of space, confidence and voluminous performances and that too they’ll have to keep coming week after week. Not just for the space but even to encompass an emotion or situation that should be brought forth through the performance will require focused efforts and an in-depth understanding of dance!

Well, with a mentor like Hrithik Roshan I am sure the participants will get some valuable insights. Starting tomorrow I’ll be watching him on TV every weekend at 9 p.m. not just on Star Plus but on Star One and Star Pravah as well. So i'll be glued to the new wave of fresh talent. What's more you can check out an exclusive web premiere of the show today at 4 p.m. on Star Plus webiste and Facebook

Truth never looked better…..

A screen shot of the SKS2 TV promo

I have been meaning to write this blog for a while now. I have been watching the Sach Ka Saamna season2 promos on TV lately and I must say that Rajeev Khandelwal looks like a complete eye candy in the forthcoming season of Sach Ka Saamna. The first time I saw the season 2 promo I thought to myself, ‘Truth never looked better…’ Being a fan of him that I am, I visited the Star One website (starone.in/sks) for some dope on the show (read Rajeev). I came across his old look and I was amazed to see how different he looks now.

Rajeev Khandelwal has come a long way from the curly-haired wild look to the current more suave and formal look for the show. If before he looked like a cool dude who spoke the truth, he now looks like an experimenter of truth who has made peace with being truthful. The look totally works for me and I am more than sure that it will work for all his other fans as well.

However, I do have a confession to make. I have become a fan of him only after a film called Aamir. In spite of me claiming to be a complete tele-junkie I discovered this stellar actor not on the TV when he kick-started his career with Kahii to Hoga…but with the film Aamir. His performance in the film is an affirmation that he understands pain, agony and the various emotions that come with being human. How else would it be possible for him to portray the character of Aamir in Aamir so well?

So when you know that someone like him will be seated on the host’s seat and dealing with all that is to spill on the screen you are sure tuned in for a good show… I can’t wait for it to be aired and see the messenger of truth every night!

When I stumbled upon love……

I have been watching TV since I was a little girl. In fact it will be fair to say that growing up in a nuclear family and as an only child I was pretty close to…… well to the idiot box. So it only seems right for me to be writing about television and its many ways of entertaining me through the years.

I stumbled upon my love for TV at a very young age and since then it has been a long and memorable journey. Well this is conventionally a materialistic love and I could probably never be able to explain to anyone how I feel about the idiot box. Just to make an effort, I’d say people call the TV an idiot box out of condemn, I call it the idiot box like it’s a nickname for a favourite sibling or cousin.

Talking of love I also stumbled upon the concept of love through TV. Although one feels love, it is difficult to describe it. Philosophers, scientists, artists, lyricists, musicians, sages and name anyone alive on twos or fours can and have experienced love. However humans have the boon or the bane of being able to talk about love.

Love was introduced to me as a happy place in life where all seems well. There is always a rough patch and a happy ending. Love conquers all. Through TV I have always been introduced to love on a platter, it has always  introduced love in the practical sense, in sense of dynamics between the many relations of love that there can be. But if you want to see love being described you will mostly have to turn to the written word over the AV medium.

However, I recently stumbled upon an effort towards describing love on TV. Yeh Ishq Haye on Satr One is a youth show that revolves around a young girl from Agra, Manjari. This show takes us on her journey of finding love. What is fresh about this show? Well this show does not stress on the practical aspects of love but rather makes an effort to describe love through Manajri’s thoughts and emotions. She maintains a diary and writes verses and entries where she discusses love with herself. It is an inert talk that brings to the screen a description of the indescribable.

Which in my opinion is a novel and rather unique concept. The love story in the show is a celibate one till date and hence the character digs at the topic of love more than often and it is soothing to watch. This serial makes you smile, watching the silver screen couple and also when this young girl pours her heart out.

So this is my story of stumbling upon love for TV and on TV. More when I think of something more to share with you……