Back!

 Received a message about a spam comment, logged in to delete it, and browsed through the blog after AGES!!!! With work and home life getting so busy, I haven't been on this blog for well over a year. Nice to browse through old posts ...  I saw that someone complained about some post and it was taken down. Must have been some criticism of their idol, which was difficult to digest! Considering I haven't posted anything, criticism or otherwise, for well over a year,  I was amused and flattered to see that people still visit this place! 

Indian TV is well and truly down the tubes. I watch Anupama and Ahilya ... the first out of sheer habit, and the second because I am genuinely interested to learn more about the queen, who from all available accounts, was an exemplary ruler for over thirty years. Unfortunately, as with more historical shows on Indian tv, am not sure how much fact there is and how much fiction. The show is very slow too. But apart from those two main complaints, it is interesting to watch ... and nice to see a ruler fighting some evils of ancient Indian society, including widow remarriage, implementing modern business practices, and working for the welfare of her subjects. Also amusing to see Dwarkabai's and Dhanaji's plans fall flat every so often, every time they think they've nailed it.

Anupama ... watching, but nothing much to say. Typical Hindi show ... says it all. 

Started watching the adaptation of Those Pricey Thakur Girls on Hotstar ... will continue when I get the time. Also thinking of giving a new Sony show a try ... the one with the unlikely friendship between a crusty angry old man and a young girl. 

Waiting for 83 the movie to show on an online platform ... missed it in the hall, as omicron was rampant. 

Watched an old movie last night The Queen, starring Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth ... very good. Helen Mirren won an Oscar for her role ... well deserved. 

Goodbye to Dad, his dulhan and his daughter

 Watched the last episode of Mere Dad Ki Dulhan last night ... although I haven't been writing, I've been watching the show faithfully since it resumed after lockdown ... it reamined watchable till the end, with a few oddballs here and there ... understandable, given the circumstances. Shweta Tiwari came down with corona, Varun Badola's wife did too, so Varun had to self-isolate till he fortunately tested negative. Despite the hiccups, the makers managed to give us a nice fun show till the very end. They kept it light hearted for the most part, and the characters remained true to themselves ... helped, I guess, by the fabulous actors who played them. Varun and Shweta were very good all through ... I have to say Anjali, playing Niya improved by leaps and bounds through the year and she was so good to watch. Must have learned a lot with such senior actors. 

All the rest too, the actor playing Doctor, Pammy mummy, the four friends - Kabir, Shree and Kajal ... all were fun and were just nice people ... the kind you might meet anywhere in real life. 

Swara, poor girl, got a bit of a raw deal ... I would have respected her more (the character, not the actor), if she had realised Kabir's feelings for Niya and walked out the relationship herself, rather than clinging on to Kabir when it was so obvious he was with her on the rebound from Niya. Rishi (Shaleen Malhotra) also got a bit of a raw deal .. his character was quite weird and the transformation was one of the most poorly written tracks in the show. 

Anyway ... good fun watch ... will miss my evening watch ... but will now catch up with all the shows online which I've been meaning to watch! I wish this team and these actors all the best ... I believe Anjali has already bagged a new show ... I will give it a shot for her ... and hope that I see Varun, Shweta and the others back on tv soon. 

Back again!

 Posting after almost 6 months ... thanks to Corona and the lockdown, all shows were on hold, and I pretty much switched on the online platforms for my entertainment, as did most of the world, I guess. Shows resumes about a month ago ... bravely, I think ... as we now get sporadic reports of TV actors coming in positive for the virus. This scourge seems to be slated to be with us for some time to come.

In the meantime, Indian TV seems to be struggling with fierce competition online ... there is barely anything to watch. I continue watching Mere Dad Ki Dulhan and also started watching Shaadi Mubarak ... looks like the veteran actors hold my interest far more than the newbies. Interestingly, the top draws in the two shows I watch are a husband wife duo ... Varun Badola in Mere Dad ki Dulhan, and his wife Rajeshwari Sachdev, who, though not the main lead, is simply brilliant in Shaadi Mubarak. Have to say, the young girl, Niya in MDKD is also doing well ... she is holding her own with the two veterans Varun and Shweta, and has come a long way from the start of the show. Also helps that there are no outright over the top villains in MDKD, all the characters are pretty normal and real for the most part, so it continues to be watchable. 

Shaadi Mubarak is a more typical show ... Manav Govil as hero is over the top ... partly his character, and partly some overacting ... not very impressed with him so far. Rajshree Thakur as the heroine is very pretty ... looks younger than her age in the show ... while Manav looks older ... she is a more typical bechari abla nari, conservative and docile, but with some spark. Rajeshwari Sachdev as her samdhan is brilliant ... a lady who is on the surface the typical sharp tongued vamp of most shows, but when you scratch the surface, she has the most amazing liberal views ... not least of which is welcoming her bahu's mother as her friend, rather than her samdhan ... and trying to drill some sense into her mamta-for-her-useless-son clouded mind. Hope they keep her this way ... 

Watched a number of shows online during the lockdown ... I liked most of the Hotstar shows, well produced and directed, and with much less maa-behen gaalis than what has become the standard rural India gangster shows on the other online platforms. Also watched a couple of shows on Voot ... not bad either. 

Started watching Indian Matchmaking ... first episode is a hoot ... will continue when I can. 

Heartbreak

Heartbreak has turned Guneet into an angry young woman ...and a man hater.  So Ambar has his work cut out for him to woo her.

Due to the corona virus outbreak, shooting has stopped for TV shows and movies ... and it's quite obvious that the episodes are being stuffed with flashbacks to try to lengthen them ... flashbacks are quite well placed. The best placed ones today were when Guneet remembers her last three betrayals ... by KK, the first online betrayal, whom she met in real life, and he stole her life's savings .. then NDP, the second online betrayal, a man she actually fell in love with, felt a soul connection with ... and then he betrayed her too, when he stood her up at their first date ... then Anurag, who she feared was too good to be true ... and her fears were justified. Though he had some excuse for his bitterness ... must have hurt that he lost her to an unknown, anonymous online virtual man!

Wonder where the makers will take this ... will NDP surface online again? Or will Ambar woo her as Ambar Sharma? Hope for at least a partial return of the khadoos Ambar Sharma ... the new man is way too mellow!

In other news ... Sanaya and Nakuul Mehta's new short film - Ved and Arya released today. Sweet film. Something new for Sanaya ...

And finally ... prayers that the corona virus outbreak comes under control soon ... life is completely disrupted globally ... a microscopic virus has brought the world as we know it, to a standstill. 

Coming clean ...

Last scene first ... abrupt editing here ... Is it a dream? Or does Ambar really tell Guneet that he is No Drama Please? And in the precap ... has Guneet left the house?

Ambar seems to have accepted that he fell in love with Baawra Mann. And he's had time to think after the realisation that BM and Guneet are the same person ... and come to terms with the fact. Then he heard Guneet say that she isn't in love with NDP, she will never forgive him for standing her up ... she doesn't even want to meet him again. So he's reconciled to the fact that he has fallen in love with her, and that she will not reciprocate. He's feeling bad enough about his behaviour that his main motive is to apologise ... not to profess his love.
But for Guneet it comes as a huge shock. Such a huge shock ... that all she can do is repeat ... 'You're No Drama Please?!' again and again ...
She too had lost her heart to NDP ... he has had time to absorb the fact that BM is Guneet ... she will need even more time to absorb that Ambar is NDP.

Rest of the episode was quite serious ... but well done. Ambar defends Guneet from her 'to be but not to be' mother in law ... Anurag leaves after some parting bitter salvos to Guneet ... showing he's not quite the knight in shining armour that he made himself out to be ...

Niya and Kabeer have a long heart to heart where he tries to persuade her to return to work ... life is not fair, deal with it. Kabeer really cares for Niya ... he is struggling between the roles of strict but fair boss, and close friend who wants to be more ...

And I liked Ambar Niya scene ... where Ambar realises the extent of the havoc he has wrought in Niya's life ... that she lost her job because of his antics. 

Mere Dad ki Dulhan - Anger = hurt

So Ambar knows who Baawra Mann is.
He's angry ... his usual reaction. Angry with Guneet ... for being Baawra Mann. Angry because for the first time in years, first time after his wife died, he found someone he could actually talk to ... not Nia, his daughter ... but someone he could talk to as an equal ... bounce his thoughts off, without fear of being judged, and found wanting ... of being 'wrong' ...
Even the couple of hit and miss encounters with 'real' people ... the woman at the restaurant ... the lady who played the mouth organ ... his age, some common interests ... but nothing he found in common with them on meeting them in real life.
But Baawra Mann was different ... almost from the start. He had found himself talking to somebody at his own level ... someone who also had her own doubts and fears ... so he felt less self conscious sharing his own ... someone who, when she told him on chat about her roka, it disturbed him so much that he actually fired off an inane message ... and then spent the rest of the day regretting that impulse ... and actually wanted to apologise ... to say sorry... to say he was wrong ...

And he did. Ambar Sharma, who finds it difficult to say sorry even to his own daughter ... managed to pen a beautiful heartfelt apology to the unknown Baawra Mann ... because he really missed her absence in his life.

And Baawra Mann is Guneet??? A woman he hates? A woman who fights with him constantly?

He's not angry at BM's betrayal ... not angry with her for getting engaged. After all, BM told him she was getting engaged.
He's just angry that Baawra Mann is Guneet.

His first stirring of hope that even he could find ... not love, he's not quite ready for that ... but a companion, a humsafar, someone whose thoughts match his own ... someone to talk to ...
All those hopes dashed.
Because Baawra Mann is Guneet.
And he hates Guneet.
And Guneet hates him. She even told him that if he was the last an on earth, she would never be with him.

And Guneet is equally upset. Dr Anurag is a compromise. She's getting on in age ... she is forty years old ... as her mother never fails to remind her ... it will difficult, if not impossible to find a man, a husband, a companion. She should take what she's getting ... and after all, what's wrong with Dr Anurag?
So why is she so upset at NDP's betrayal? At his no-show? She was let down once earlier too ... by another online man who turned out to be not what he said he was ... she should have learned her lesson.
But she hadn't. Someone she had felt a connect with NDP. She felt he was special. Someone she could talk to. Someone she could share her thoughts with.
And he turned out to be another fraud. And this time it was worse ... because she had actually felt that connect with him, that she had never felt with anyone before. She has lost a friend, a confidante, a soulmate.

Hence her uncharacteristic anger when Ambar forbids the decorators from decorating the house for her roka. Usually its her mother doing the fighting, and Guneet plays the peace maker ... but not this time. She was deliberately picking a fight with Ambar ... because as she told Randeep ... she wanted to fight, to shout, to scream .. to cry ... Her anger needed an outlet. And Ambar Sharma provides the perfect one ... she always fights with him ... he can take it ... he won't wonder why she is fighting ... because that's what they always do.

Ambar doesn't want to see her face. He knows she is also hurt ... but he is too hurt ... every time he sees her face, it reminds him that he has lost Baawra Mann.

I really don't understand the tenant - landlord relationship though ... Guneet and her mother take Ambar too much for granted. A tenant making free use of the landlord's kitchen, the supplies ... and now demanding the space downstairs for the roka?
Ambar was right - their lease is for upstairs, not for the whole house. Makes for better drama ... but the writers have been very good in most things ... this is poor writing.

TV and web shows

Mere Dad Ki Dulhan ... is becoming a decent watch, as Ambar Sharma slowly shedding the worst of his khadoos-pan, influenced by the interactions with his online friend, Baawra Mann. I would be skeptical if it wasn't for the fact that I have personally had a lot of online interactions and made some really wonderful friends online, some of whom are now good friends in real life. I guess even online, if one is careful, one can actually connect with people with similar mindsets.
So yes ... online friendships can lead to real life friendships ... even at the age of 50 plus. As Ambar Sharma is finding ... sometimes one can talk to unknown, anonymous people freely, free of the fear of being judged too harshly ... when people don't know you in the context of your family and relationships, and can evaluate you without all the extra baggage, without being influenced by their own relationships with your loved ones.
And Guneet too ... she has resisted all match making efforts by her mother ... was Ambar Sharma right, and was she really using her mother as a shield to protect herself from her own feelings, her own weaknesses? Ambar holds up a mirror ... and her online friend, No Drama Please, encourages her to go for it ... meet the doctor ... after all, it will make her mother happy, and she can always say no,  can't she?
I like the way they intersperse light hearted scenes with more serious ones ... the fun scenes of the four friends getting Ambar ready for a date ... who is this mysterious Sweety, anyway? Doesn't Ambar want to meet his online friend? Or is 'Sweety' a proposal from someone else? That part is not clear.
Also I like the arc of Niya's office troubles ... yes, she left her training period less than two months into it, after being sent by her office ... and yes, it will have repercussions on her professional life and career. Is it justified? After all, Niya and her father only have each other ... so is it okay for her to put him first? Most children do not ... they do put career first, usually with encouragement from their parents, who feel that children have their whole lives ahead ... but it's something to stop and think about.

Tara continues to be quite irritating ... how can a 16 year old girl be so dumb?! But then she is from a very small town, with no experience of city smartness at all ...
Wonder if her father will actually go to Canada ... or will he stop in Mumbai to train his daughter and help her struggle to redeem his name. Or does the actor have some more work lined up, for which he needs a break. Or is it a plotline to ensure he is not around for the drama lined up for the enxt few weeks. The show ends in February ... so not too long to go.

Watched Jamtara on Netflix ... interesting show, all the more because it is based on a true incident ... a phishing scam by some poorly educated, almost illiterate youths in a backward village, Jamtara. However too much drama ... and not enough details ... how did the kids get the bank details of their victims ... Also I'm quite tired of the rural India gangster dramas ... I want to watch some lighter, urban shows, like Made in Heaven and Four More Shots Please. I can't take more of these gangster shows with their crude language and violence.

Watched De De Pyaar De on Hotsar finally ... Tabu  has some amazing screen presence!!! She lights up all the scenes she comes in. Ajay Devgan looks bored and has the same expression most of the time ... the new girl Rakul Preet is pretty but barely adequate in acting skills. She still does better than Ajay though ... and one wonders what she found to fall in love with in that man, a man who doesn't have the gumption to tell either her or his wife the truth about his relationships - her, that he's still married, and his wife, that Aisha is his girlfriend. Ajay Devgan's looks and acting don't help either ... he's neither charming nor good-looking ... and he looks disinterested most of the time. I loved the talking to Tabu gave her daughter and her in-laws at the end ... stop blaming him for your own faults. And honestly ... since it was a guy falling for a younger woman, they gave the ending they did ... otherwise, Tabu the actress, and Manju the wife were so much better, as actor and character, than either Rakul Preet or her character, and Ajay and his character. 

Movies and Shows

The Rise of Skywalker ... the last in the nine movie series of the Star Wars saga ... a saga that began in the '70s when I was still in school. Haven't really followed the new movies as they came out, but caught up with a few over the summer because of my daughter, who is an avid fan ... and went with her for this last one, more out of nostalgia than anything. Okay watch ... the ending was really stretched ... giving Bollywood a run for its money!!!

Knives Out - great fun watch ... one of the best movies of the year. A whodunit in the old Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot style ... kept me guessing till about halfway through ... and was a totally fun watch all through. Acting top notch ... with some old favorites, including an almost unrecognizeable Christopher Plummer,  a savvy Jamie Lee Curtis, an ageing! (sadly!) Daniel Craig ... and a really cute Latino heroine, whose name should be more familiar than it is!

Also watched the first few episodes of the YHM spinoff, Yeh Hain Chaahatein ... supposedly about a single mother, but was amused to note that the single mother is not actually a single mother, she is just raising her dead sister's child. I suppose that is progressive enough for SP ... to actually have a single  mother would be too much for them ... although a divorced dad was acceptable. Acting is quite bad ... screenplay is weak and very crass ... no subtlety at all. Doubt I will watch this.

Mere Dad Ki Dulhan ... still watching this ... the show has improved as has Ambar Sharma's temperament ... Nia seems very dependent on her dad, but he is actually slowly breaking away and interacting more sensibly with Guneet, Dr Pandey and his staff. Even his interactions with his boss's son, Randeep are more restrained than I would have expected. The story regarding the breaking of relations with his wife's sister and family needs to be more fleshed out still ... but I'm reminded again of why I like Varun Badola so much as an actor. And I am loving Shweta Tiwari as Guneet ... liked her in Parvarish, but she was quite loud and crass there ... here her character is evolving nicely, and I am becoming her fan.
The younger hero, Randeep, needs to tone down a bit ... though he seems to be getting more comfortable with his character ... and I actually like his back story as well ... not just a spoiled rich brat of an indulgent father, but a young man actually trying to make his own name independent of his father, with little success ... still quite spoiled ... but he now has a solid reason to actually work hard and make the travel agency turn around. Wonder if Nia will go back to the US, or will leave her job and stay back. Now that Randeep is firmly in India for at least six months, either could happen. Again I liked the way her boss Kabir quite firmly told her that she has to go back, as she doesn't have a job here any longer. That probably means that she leaves her job and training, and decides to work with Randeep at the agency ... I will be sorry if that happens ... I wish she could complete her training, but two years is a long time for the show to run without her!

Also watching Tara From Satara ... total time pass. 

Watch list

Hotel Mumbai - Dev Patel, Anupam Kher. A fictionalised account of the horrific Mumbai bombings, which concentrates on the Taj Palace hotel attacks. Very gripping and well done. There was some amalgamation of stories from other attack sites, woven into the narrative and reset in the Taj hotel. The narrative brought out how the youth are completely brainwashed into carrying out acts which are actually against their religion, and also firmly declared that Pakistan was behind the terror attacks, as acknowledged by Pakistan itself. Also brought out how how idiotic brainless treacherous so-called 'journalists' worked as traitors for India by broadcasting the plans for bringing down the attackers, thereby warning them and causing more hostage deaths. Those so-called journalists should be tried for treason. Maybe then their true faces will be revealed.

Acting was brilliant all through. A good watch ... disturbing and gripping ... and sobering, as one reflects that the movie is based on true facts.

Side note - watched this in the hall, saw Sanaya's Vicco ad on the big screen :) Looks like while Sanaya waits for a good break on the web platform, she will be doing ads on the side. My interest in following her career, or what's left of it, is dwindling rapidly. Not blaming her too much for not wanting to do TV ... Indian tv has gone down the tubes and there is really nothing worth watching currently. I continue to watch Tara and Mere Dad ki Dulhan, mainly out of habit, not really interest. Although I like Varun Badola, his character is quite obnoxious at the moment ... I am enjoying Shweta Tiwari ... she is a very good actress, and her character is very sweet.

Started watching Out of Love on Hotstar ... a HS original, based on Dr Foster, which I haven't watched. Quite a dark show ... have just watched the first episode ... will update as I watch more. Rasika Duggal is excellent as the paranoid suspicious wife ... the rest of the cast is decent ... she has the lion's share of screen space and acting ... and is doing a very good job so far. 

Intezaar ... and Ghost

Intezaar - music video,
Singers Arijit Singh, Asees Kaur
Featuring Sanaya Irani, Gurmeet Chaudhary
Written By Mithoon
Directed by Arif Khan
Presented by Mohit Suri & Vyrl

Beautiful song, beautiful lyrics, good direction, great acting and dancing. So good to see Sanaya on screen again, doing what she does best - acting, emoting, dancing ... she is good in all three. Story woven into the song, a story of love, pain, jealousy, betrayal, anguish, heartbreak ... told in a few short minutes ... emoted beautifully by the two actors. Both are such good actors ... their eyes emoted without words ... the first time watch, I didn't even hear the song ... the story was told through their eyes and expressions. Great onscreen chemistry ... Sanaya somehow manages to have great chemistry with almost all her costars. 

The second half of the video, when the song changes pitch, was beautifully shot ... past and present juxtaposed swiftly and smoothly ... scenes of the buildup and the denouement barely one second long, cutting from one to the other as the music soars ... the effect was brilliant ... an explosion of emotion ... and then a gentle ebbing as they both realise what they had and lost ... and come to terms with ... a love story without a happy ending. Both neither right or wrong ... just not meant to be. 

I liked her previous music video, Main Jaandiyan ... sung by Neha Bhasin ... this one is even better.

Edited: The short video tells a very intense story ... inspired me to write on it. 

If you watch the new music video Intezaar, it's from the man's point of view. A relationship gone sour, love changed to bickering, fights ... bitterness and recriminations ... and break down of the bond they shared ...
But he still waits ... she is still the love of his life ... He remembers the love, the shared laughter, the shared tears, the togetherness ... And then he remembers the fights ... with regret? The video doesn't make that clear. What is apparent though, is that he is not over her ... his wait continues.
And then he sees her with another man. She has moved on. So his wait will continue ... the lyrics say ... maybe another life, another time, another birth ... but he will wait for her.

From her point of view? She has moved on. She remembers too ... she remembers the shared moments, good and bad ... she remembers both. But finally the bad were more than the good ... she had enough ... the relationship broke ...
And she moved on.
She has a new life. A new man. A new relationship. She is happy in her new life ... the video indicates.
But she hasn't forgotten him. She also remembers the times they shared ... the good and the bad.
Maybe she looks back at 'them', at what they were ... with regret. Maybe not. Maybe it's now just a memory for her. A bittersweet memory ... she does remember the good times ... but she remembers the fights more.
And maybe she doesn't have regrets. Or not as many as he does. It seems it was easier for her to move on. It's not that she hates him ... if anything, time seems to have mellowed the bitterness, softened the tension ... so she can look back through a soft curtain of time, a gentle filter that has softened the sharp edges ... the picture is no more all dark ... there is some light among the shadows.
She remembers ... with some fondness, maybe wistfulness ... for what could have been. But not with regret.
She has moved on.
They were at one time ... but no longer.
Two people ... they don't have to be all right or all wrong ... or one right and one wrong. They both could be right in their individual places. But the places they came from were incompatible ... their paths were parallel for a time,but never quite met. They never quite walked the same path.

And so ... at some time ... the paths had to diverge.

She remembers him ... with sadness, with fondness, with wistfulness.

But she has moved on.

The song was apparently written for Aashiqui 2, but never used. So now it's been brought out as a single.

Edited to add ... Ghost released on 18th October ... sank pretty much as expected, though it did reach the Rs 2 cr mark, to my surprise. The movie was not trashed ... and Sanaya got good reviews, whatever few reviews there were. Her character does intrigue me, from the few reports of the story that are available ... so will try to catch it when it appears on some online platform. 

Indian Idol 11

After a long time, felt like making a post.

Just started watching Indian Idol 11. Watched the audition rounds the last couple of weekends,and the contestants caught my interest enough to continue watching this weekend, the so-labelled Great Grand premiere episode.

I have to say, this crop of Indian Idol singers is superb. I didn't envy the judges their task the last few weeks of whittling the contestants down to 15, and I don't envy them their job in the weeks ahead. It will be made easier for them by the public voting, of course.
Apparently some singers have been in other reality shows too, which probably accounts for how good they are, they’re not all raw.

One thing that annoyed me ... there are just five girls in the top fifteen. Come on, judges, you couldn't find six or seven girls good enough?!

What really annoyed me even more though, was that Anu Malik is back as judge after all the allegations of sexual misconduct against him. Sony packed him off last year ... why did they not stick to their guns and get someone else this year.

Saturday -

KK - was brilliant. Got the stage and the atmosphere rocking.

Adris - Naina thug lenge ... beautifully sung, soulful and with depth.

Rohit - is apparently a singer in Marathi films, wants to make a mark in Bollywood. Jee Karda ... Anu Malik stood on the table to applaud him, I felt he was okay, maybe I didn’t like the song so much. The original singer, Divya Kumar was there to support him, he sang the song much better.

Asmat Hussain - qawwali 'Aaya tere dar pe deewana'. Apparently Asmat took past in some reality show as a child, then lost his way the last few years, including drugs. He has just got back to his music. Took courage for him to confront and accept his shortcomings, his mistakes, and that too in public ... and find his way back. Kudos to him for that.

Sunny ... the boot polish boy, I don’t like to refer to him as that, but I really can’t believe that without any training, this boy sings the way he does. Yeh jo halka halka suroor hai ... he is raw, yes ... he could do with some polishing, yes ... but the raw talent this boy has, is just amazing. I hope even if he doesn't win the show, he gets picked up and mentored by one of the composers or classical singers. His voice, with a little bit of training, would be fabulous.

Rhythm/Ridham ... jhoom barabar jhoom ... I like his voice, it’s softer and more mellow than some of the other male singers who tend to get a little screechy especially in high notes.

Sunday

Rishabh ... the poor little rich boy. Afghan jalebi ... haven’t really heard the song before, although I’ve heard of it. Not bad, and he sang it well,, good stage presence. As he himself said, for the first time in his life, he has to work for something ... his parents can't buy it for him. And that will be his first own earning. Hence the hard work he is obviously putting in.

Nidhi Kumari ... aisa lagta hai, jo na hua hai ... from Refugee. Very sweet soft melodious song, sung well. Good jugalbandhi between the singer and the flutist. Not many variations added by the singer ...
if she wants to stay long, she will need to do more.
I had not heard her during the auditions.


Jannabi ... good performer ... make that, excellent performer ... her Humma humma brought the stage to life. I like her personality too. Again, she needs to work on her vocals, but her stage presence is excellent.

Shubhodeep ... I always like singers with a classical base ... he is no exception. Loved the taans he added at the end. The song Mitwa is a favourite with most reality show singers ... he sang it very well, exploding into brilliance at the end. Agree with Vishal, that a singer like  him is needed to attract the young back to classical music ... and most good singers have a classical base.

Chetna  ... hungama ho gaya ... the second girl ... good strong voice again. Very expressive voice, and she used it well to bring the song to life.

Chelsea ... the youngest at 14 years of age. Sings very well for her age. Jaanejaan oh meri jaanejaan ... an older song, lively and fun. Not yet mature enough to add too many of her own variations ... but very good and confident for her age.

Shahzan ... Ishqe di chaashni ... another singer with a good sweet melodious voice. Sang with expression ... liked him.

Stutee ... Kabhi neem neem kabhi shahad shahad ... started off a little shaky ... then stabilised. Soft lyrical voice ... again very expressive ... brought a lot of expression into her voice. Voice not as strong as a couple of the other girls, but sweet.

Pallav ... aaj din chadaya ... another good singer ... not too many theatrics or dramatics ... just a soft sweet song, sung sweetly ... then took off into gentle rolling aalaps ... could have been half note higher, as the judges said ... would have made a difference to the performance.

All in all a good start. They need to balance the episodes out ... six singers on the first day and nine the second day ... seriously, counting karo toh! ... and cut out the drama. The extra guests were annoying ... it would be more fun to show more BTS videos of the singers rather than bring in a fawning mother (last season it was Dadi) or the cross dressing actors of the Kapil show. I liked the little BTS of Rishab taking some of the other boys for an outing to the club and swimming pool, places they had never been before ... and the fun video of the banana honey mask for Chelsea ...

Aditya Narayan has obviously been given the brief to flirt with Neha a la Manish Paul of last year's Indian Idol... he's not a natural like Manish was,  though ... he's too sweet and boyish, Manish had that required wicked charm, and was all man ... Aditya is still a kid!

BARC Ratings - Apr 25 - week 16

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#TVRising - #Top5 Shows (#Week16): 1. #TheKapilSharmaShow 2. #KumkumBhagya / #SuperDancerChapter3 3. #KundaliBhagya / #Naagin3 / #Kullfi 4. #KasautiiZindagiiKay 5. #TujhseHaiRaabta

#StarPlus: #DilToHappyHaiJi 1.0, #KasautiiZindagiiKay 2.0, #Kullfi 2.1, #KrishnaChaliLondon 1.3, #YehRishtaKKH 2.1, #YehRishteyHainPyaarKe 1.6, #YeHaiMohabbatein 1.2, #Nazar 1.4, #DivyaDrishti 1.6, #TheVoiceOnStarPlus 0.8

#ZeeTV: #RajaaBetaa 0.4, #YeTeriGalliyan 0.9, #Manmohini 1.1, #GuddanTumseNaHoPayega 1.7, #TujhseHaiRaabta 1.8, #KumkumBhagya 2.2, #KundaliBhagya 2.1, #IshqSubhanAllah 1.2, #AapkeAaJaneSe 0.8, #SRGMPLilChamps 0.7

#ColorsTV: #Udaan 0.7, #IshqMeinMarjawan 0.9, #Shakti 1.4, #KesariNandan 1.0, #GathBandhan 1.3, #JhansiKiRani 1.1, #Roop 0.8, #Sitaara 0.7, #Naagin3 2.1, #Courtroom 0.3, #RisingStar3 1.3, #KitchenChampion 0.6, #KKKhatra 0.8

#SonyTV: #MereSai 0.9, #VighnahartaGanesh 0.9, #ChandraguptaMaurya 0.8, #MainMaaykeChaliJaaungi 0.6, #PatialaBabes 0.8, #LadiesSpecial 0.7, #YehUnDinonKiBaatHai 0.7, #CrimePetrol 0.6, #TheKapilSharmaShow 2.3, #SuperDancerChapter3 2.2

#StarBharat: #PyaarKePapad 0.2, #EkThiRaniEkThaRaavan 0.3, #NimkiMukhiya 0.9, #RadhaKrishn 1.0, #Musakaan 0.7, #SufiyanaPyaarMera 0.5, #SavdhaanIndia 0.4

#SabTV: #TenaliRama 0.5, #Bhakharwadi 0.5, #TMKOC 1.5, #Aladdin 0.8, #JijajiChhatPerHain 0.5, #BaavleUtaavle 0.3, #MyNameIjjLakhan 0.2, #BandBajaBandhDarwaza 0.1

#TVRising: #Week16 #StarPlus 171, #SonyTV 139, #ColorsTV 129, #ZeeTV 126, #SabTV 114, #StarBharat 77, #AndTV 45

Sony still at no 2 ... well done! SP at 1 ... the gap is bigger now. None of the current shows are really worth watching ... am watching Patiala Babes and Ladies Special out of habit now, while waiting for some good shows on the OTT platforms.

Movies ... didn't watch Kalank after the bad reviews ... unfortunately Tashkent Files didn't show here. Hope it airs on one of the web platforms ... it's doing surprisingly well in theatres, despite very limited release.

No news from Sanaya ... normally silence means she is busy with something, so fingers crossed. She recently had some highlights done for a photoshoot, but we didn't get news about this from her, we got pics from the hair stylist! She's been quiet on insta too, which again usually means work of some sort. Hopefully Ghost promotions will start soon, as the movie is supposed to release in May.

BARC Ratings - 18th April, week 15

 Salil's tweets

#TVRising - #Top5 Shows (#Week15): 1. #KumkumBhagya / #Kullfi 2. #KumkumBhagya / #Naagin3 / #TheKapilSharmaShow 3. #KasautiiZindagiiKay / #YehRishtaKKH 4. #SuperDancerChapter3 5. #TujhseHaiRaabta

#StarPlus: #DilToHappyHaiJi 1.0, #KasautiiZindagiiKay 2.1, #Kullfi 2.3, #KrishnaChaliLondon 1.5, #YehRishtaKKH 2.1, #YehRishteyHainPyaarKe 1.8, #YeHaiMohabbatein 1.4, #Nazar 1.6, #DivyaDrishti 1.6, #TheVoiceOnStarPlus 0.7

#ZeeTV: #RajaaBetaa 0.4, #YeTeriGalliyan 0.9, #Manmohini 1.1, #GuddanTumseNaHoPayega 1.8, #TujhseHaiRaabta 1.9, #KumkumBhagya 2.3, #KundaliBhagya 2.2, #IshqSubhanAllah 1.1, #AapkeAaJaneSe 0.7, #SRGMPLilChamps 0.6

#ColorsTV: #Udaan 0.7, #IshqMeinMarjawan 1.0, #Shakti 1.4, #KesariNandan 1.1, #GathBandhan 1.4, #JhansiKiRani 1.1, #Roop 0.8, #Sitaara 0.6, #Naagin3 2.2, #Courtroom 0.3, #RisingStar3 1.4, #KitchenChampion 0.6, #KKKhatra 0.8

#SonyTV: #MereSai 0.8, #VighnahartaGanesh 0.9, #ChandraguptaMaurya 0.8, #MainMaaykeChaliJaaungi 0.5, #PatialaBabes 0.8, #LadiesSpecial 0.7, #YehUnDinonKiBaatHai 0.7, #CrimePetrol 0.6, #TheKapilSharmaShow 2.2, #SuperDancerChapter3 2.0

#StarBharat: #PyaarKePapad 0.2, #EkThiRaniEkThaRaavan 0.3, #NimkiMukhiya 0.8, #RadhaKrishn 1.1, #Musakaan 0.7, #SavdhaanIndia 0.4

#SabTV: #TenaliRama 0.4, #Bhakharwadi 0.5, #TMKOC 1.6, #Aladdin 0.8, #JijajiChhatPerHain 0.5, #BaavleUtaavle 0.2, #MyNameIjjLakhan 0.2, #BandBajaBandhDarwaza 0.1

#AndTV: #VikramBetaal 0.2, #ParamavatarShriKrishna 0.3, #MainBhiArdhangini 0.2, #MeriHanikarakBiwi 0.2, #BhabhiJiGharPeHain 0.7, #LaalIshq 0.2, #Daayan 0.2, #HappuKiUltanPaltan 0.6, #ShaadiKeSiyape 0.2

#TVRising: #Week15 #StarPlus 169, #SonyTV 145, #ColorsTV 135, #ZeeTV 125, #SabTV 116, #StarBharat 77, #AndTV 47

Tellychakkar BARC India Ratings

BARC India Ratings: The Kapil Sharma Show, Naagin 3 and Kumkum Bhagya rule the roost

Mumbai: It's BARC time! TellyChakkar brings to you this week's ratings of your favourite shows and channels.

Star Plus is at the first position in the urban sector, followed by Sony Entertainment Television and Colors.
Dangal, Big Magid and Zee TV have the maximum viewership in the rural sector.

Impressions

Urban

Sony’s The Kapil Sharma Show 6460
Colors’ Naagin-3 6188
Zee TV’s Kumkum Bhagya 6036
STAR Plus’ Kulfi Kumar Bajewala 5953
STAR Plus’ Kasauti Zindagi Kay 5787
STAR Plus’ Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 5556
Zee TV’s Kundali Bhagya 5468
Sony's Super Dancer Chapter 3 5392
Zee TV’s Tujhse Hai Raabta 4981
Zee TV’s Guddan Tumse Naa Ho Payega 4730

Rural
Dangal’s Mahima Shanidev Ki 11748
Dangal’s Ramayan 10839
Zee TV’s Kumkum Bhagya 10626
Colors’ Naagin-3 9662
Zee TV’s Kundali Bhagya 9152
STAR Plus’ Kulfi Kumar Bajewala 8663
Zee TV’s Tujhse Hai Raabta 8583
STAR Plus’ Kasauti Zindagi Kay 8410
Sony’s The Kapil Sharma Show 8280
Zee TV’s Guddan Tumse Naa Ho Payega 8220


No comments regarding the top shows on tv ... except that TRP junta and my tastes are as usual, poles apart. Kapil is hugely popular with urban and rural viewers alike though, so am happy for him that he is getting success in his second innings. Just hope he has learned from his mistakes and won't repeat them this time around. Am also glad that while SP is top, Sony is second ... not for their fiction, but for non-fiction ... and they are soon bringing a singing show as well as KBC's next season.

Am still watching three shows ...
Patiala Babes, where Babita is starting to get her act together and get a little more street smart ... Mini is still very irritating.
Ladies Special - Megha's story is interesting ... pride goes before a fall ... and she still cannot understand her own faults at all. Ambition is very good as a driving force, but one has to carry one's people together ahead, and not lose one's humanity on the way. That's what so many people do, and that's the cause of half the problems in the world today, especially in the corporate sector, where profits are ploughed into the fat salaries of the top executives, and the lower levels remain just above the breadline. Idealistic maybe ... but it would be such a better world if salaries at the top were capped, and salaries at the lower levels were allowed to rise. Bindu continues to be too good to be true .. it's high time Amar started questioning his blind devotion to Kangana. I have a feeling he will realise his feelings for Bindu just as Kangana's father enters the picture ... as Kangana's father has already decided that if his spoiled daughter wants her new toy, she must have it. I thought Kangana was married and waiting for a divorce ... what happened to that? Prarthana Viraj are not very interesting ... hopefully Prarthana will accept Viraj's proposal soon and there will be some progress in their story. She needs to understand that Viraj was duty bound not to divulge his identity till the end of his six months internship ... not to her, not to anyone else.
Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar ke ... Meenakshi is too much a clone of Kokila ben ... the actress is really not versatile at all. Shaheer and Mishti make a cute pair ... I like the way their relationship is starting with friendship ...as is Kunal and Kuhu's. Kuhu has been toned down a lot ... the feedback must have reached the makers .. she is much more tolerable now, both actress and character.

Still need to watch Delhi Crime ... maybe this weekend.
Netflix has announced ten new Indian films to be made over the next year ... they are really increasing their Hindi content by leaps and bounds. All from indie BW makers ... some should be good.
Made in heaven season 2 is on the cards.