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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

OTT platforms taking off

Watched one show online recently -  Made in Heaven on Amazon Prime - written, produced and directed by Zoya Akhtar and associates. One of the writers was Reema Kagti who wrote English Vinglish. Good show, very good production values, excellent storyline ... The lead actress was decent, but I still have to find someone who can do better than San on the small screen. This girl was good in many scenes, but faltered in emotional scenes. The show as a whole was very watchable ... urban India, lifestyles of the rich and famous ... which I have to say I find easier to watch than the Mirzapur, Wasseypur kind of gang shows.

Next on my list - Delhi Crime, based on the Nirbhaya rape case ... on Netflix ... this is going to be a tough watch so I need to have a free weekend when I can go through it in one or two sittings.

On Hotstar comes another new show - Criminal Justice ... hearing good reviews of this one too.

Netflix and Amazon are eyeing the Indian market ... so we are suddenly getting a bunch of new shows. Hotstar was the leader in this market but is feeling the heat of competition, and is upping its content of new original shows ... good news for those tired of Indian tv and its regressive content which caters to the small towns and villages more than ever.

Speaking of Indian TV, a new Rajan Shahi show, a spin off of YRKKH, Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke, has just started on SP. I gave it a shot, as Rajan Shahi's shows are usually watchable, and don't have the scheming vamps and villains that most other Indian shows have. Decent start ... Shaheer Sheikh has come such a long way as an actor! He is really good now ... the best part of the show. Wish he would cut his hair though ... very distracting!!! His mother does a reprise of her Kokila ben role ... she sounds exactly the same as she did in her last show. Shaheer's FL is very pretty and a terrible actress ... why does poor Shaheer get stuck with such girls? First Erica, now Rhea. Her crying scenes are utterly cringeworthy. The girl playing Kuhu is even worse ... they need to replace the actress or tone her down as soon as possible. Shaheer's brother and naanu are good ... his maamu is played by the actor who played Rudra's chacha in RR, both character and actor are ok. Mishti's (Rhea) family is Akshara's family, all known faces and characters.

Still watching Patiala Babes and Ladies Special ... have dropped Maayke as the girl is just too dumb and is a total mamma's baby with no brain of her own. It's usually the Indian men who are like that, and I find them extremely irritating ... a girl like that is worse!

Sanaya news ... she visited Roshni Chopra's store to pick up a new wardrobe, hopefully for Ghost promotions ... and even better, she is doing a show on Zee5 with TV actors and well known designers ... San is wearing Sandeep Khosla Abu Jani, and looks simply gorgeous.



Don't know where and how to watch this, hopefully there will be some clarity soon.
Also Gul Khan confirmed to a fan on twitter that her show with San is very much on, though dates are uncertain.
And Sanaya has shot a pilot for a talk show which she will host, and chat with other tv actors.

So looks like San is back to work mode with a vengeance, and we should see a decent amount of her on screen soon.