Miscellaneous Musings

Caught a couple of other shows during the last few days.

Surprisingly, I liked the one episode I saw of Kya Hua Tera Vaada - a drama dealing with infidelity. Will follow it up when I can. Mona's boss is the guy who played the father in Aapki Antara, which was a very, very good show - the best researched show on a medical issue that I have ever seen on Indian telly. So it totally prejudiced me in favour of KHTV as soon as I saw the guy's face :))

Saw a couple of episodes of Madhubala, - not very impressed - it seems to be a copy of Om Shanti Om at the moment, with gender reversal and a bit of mish mash - Madhu's sister is the one with dreams, but her scenes are very reminiscent of SRK in OSO. Also the chawl sets and the general look gives a feel like a 70's BW movie. Acting is okay, not bad, but nothing that leaps out at you so far. It may pick up though - it's barely a few weeks old.

Punar Vivah is one I am following - one can watch a couple of episodes a week and get the gist of the story, and I like the focus on the kids rather than the wicked saas-bua angle. I watch while browsing online and it's decent. Acting is just okay, though. I like the youngest brother, he has improved since his LNMDJ days.

Phir Subah Hogi - I need to catch up, read the updates, and it appears they are planning a Vikram-Sugni romance. Want to see how that goes - I love Varun Badola. Sugni is good. I have seen a show with Narayani earlier, she's another decent actress.

Caught up with an episode of Parvarish - I enjoy it! The typical Punjabi families, their way of speaking, the humour in the dialogues - it's a fun watch. Nothing addictive the way a good love story is, but good fun and very entertaining. And the acting is good!

Random Ramblings

I used to post on other shows randomly as and when something struck me - haven't done that for a while, ever since Maryada and SGP wrapped up  ... so here goes :)

Posted this in yesterday's post, but posting again - a show which sounds good just because of the cast. The producers are Deeya and Tony Singh, who made Maryada, and interestingly (Google baba ki jai!) also made BHPH, Banegi Apni Baat (which I remember was a good show), Radha Ki Betiyaan (Sanaya in side role), Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin (supposed to be very good, I never watched it) and Bhaskar Bharti (also heard good things about it). The stars include Kanwaljeet Singh, Supriya Pilgaonkar (I love Badi Maa, hope this character is similar!) and Vindhya who played Vidya in Maryada, and impressed me a lot, with a role which was underplayed a lot towards the end - but when she was in the limelight, she was very good.
 http://www.bolegaindia.com/gossips/Vindhya_Tiwari_is_geared_up_to_play_protagonist_in_Star_Plus_new_show-gid-13709-gc-16.html

So another show to look forward to on SP - my only question is, which shows are going to wind up? All are doing pretty well as of now ... the ones I can't stand have the highest TRP's! Yeh Rishta and Patigya seem the likeliest candidates - they are the longest running ones, and past their 'best till' date.

Another random tidbit I picked up while surfing .. the producers of IPKKND, Panglosean and Rajeev Chaddha, are associated with Phir Subah Hogi in some capacity. The article was confusing, mentioned two sets of producers in the same sentence, so not sure of the connection. Can't find the article again. Also Varun Badola was also offered Sajda Tere Pyar Mein, Ronit Roy's role ... I wish he had taken that, I might have watched Sajda then. I like both Shaleen and Ronit, though the female lead has not caught my attention yet. Might try to catch the show more often now that the story is taking off.
All this ;) because I watched an episode or two of PSH, and Varun Badola captured my attention again - that guy may not be the best looking around, but he has AMAZING screen presence! I actually sat through two entire episodes of PSH just waiting to see him on screen! The show is good, but the subject is not really to my taste - I prefer more contemporary stories. Can't relate to an obscure practice followed somewhere in the hinterlands.

Hello Hi Bye Bye

Bye Bye to two shows on Star Plus which I watched fairly regularly and enjoyed ...

Maryada, for its strong characterization, strong female leads and fantastic villain. Loved Devyani, Uttara, Vidya and Priya, liked Imli, absolutely loved Roshnee Devi and Brahmanand Jhakhar - their clashes were the highlights of the show. Fabulous acting, great screenplay for the most part and four strong parallel tracks, which were separate, yet interwoven, so that the screen space could rotate between all the actors. It helped that I had no favourites among the actors, and could enjoy all the tracks equally. My favorite was definitely the Vidya-Gaurav track when she discovers that he is gay and how she deals with it. Daksh Ajay Singh - another fantastic actor - his character was beautifully etched out - a thorough gentleman, so at variance with his earthy, rather rough appearance. He is an actor I will be looking out for - would love to see him again. Roshnee Devi - Mona Ambegaonkar was simply deliciously evil as the crafty cunning politician perpetually at loggerheads with the frankly evil Brahmanand Jhakhar. Loved her Hinglish attempts.

Sasuraal Genda Phool - a cute family show on the lines of previous comedies like Dekh Bhai Dekh and Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi. Initially I made the mistake of watching it expecting a love story =)) ... Suhana and Ishaan soon disabused me of that idea - zilch chemistry, and definitely not the stuff romantic couples are made of. Once I accepted that this show was a comedy, I loved it. My favorite characters - Badi Maa, Supriya Pilgaonkar, and Papa, Suraj Thappar. Tracks I loved and which hooked me to the show - the Radha Bua-Deepak track, and the Panna-Raunaq track. Loved the brother-sister acting of Inder-Panna, especially when Panna was in trouble with her in-laws, when her husband went missing - Inder was such a lovely elder brother, strong, silent, yet fiercely protective. Loved the way they showed Panna's MIL changing over time, till she ended up supporting her DIL over her son - but with very good reason. Again, acting of the entire cast was great. The family moments were lovely - the madcap Kashyap family and their antics. What I liked best was that they behaved like a normal family ... no secrets, isko mat batana, usko mat batana ... everything was shared and discussed by the entire family - like it happens in real life. Special mention of the 'Suhana has a brain tumor track' here - the entire family was told without a fuss, they all shared in the sorrow and the pain of anticipation, supported each other through all the tension of getting the tests done, waiting for the reports and the relief when the tumour was found to be benign. I compare it with the inane track in EHMMBH where half the family, including the real sister, still doesn't know about her sister's cancer, and feel like beating my head! Also had one of my old favorites - Mahesh Thakur, and the twinkle in his eye - he's a terrible single father, has brought up two completely spoilt daughters, but I still like him! Will miss the crazy Kashyap family - my regular watch while waiting for IPKKND to air.

Hello Hi to Phir Subah Hogi - haven't caught the show yet, but I mean to - it has one of my most favorite actors, an AWESOME actor Varun Badola - the guy is simply fabulous! And the show seems to be a serious one ... look forward to watching it. Have seen Narayani Shastri in a show earlier, she's not bad either, but the main draw for me is Varun. I remember when we were watching Koshish - Ek Aasha, halfway through, my husband asked me - is this guy really retarded? His acting was SO realistic and good. And of course, he was the hero - or anti-hero - of one of my all time favorite shows - Astitva.