TV Review - Reality show Bigg Boss Season Saath 7 and the housemates

- Harish Jharia

‘Bigg Boss Saath 7’ ...the one of the most popular reality shows is already running on Colors TV channel since 15th September, 2013. There were 15 contestants as the housemates in the Bigg Boss house, one out of whom Hazel Keech has been evicted from the house on 21 September 2013.  

Following are the contestants in the Bigg Boss House locked under a virtual confinement for the next three months: 

Anita Advani, 50; an Indian Business-woman claims to be Rajesh Khanna's live-in partner. She had even sent a legal notice to his family members claiming a legal share in his property, after the death of the super star Rajesh Khanna. A soft-spoken, down to earth and straight forward person. She pays respect to others and expects the same from them.

Arman Kohli, 41 is an Indian Actor who acted in many films like Virodhi, Qahar, Dushman zamana, Anaam, Kohra, Juaari, Veer, Jaani Dushman(2002) etc. He is the son of producer, director Rajkumar Kohli. He made his acting debut as a child actor in his father's films Badle Ki Aag (1982) and Raj Tilak (1984). Eventually he was launched as an actor in 1992 in Virodhi. 

Pratyusha Banerjee, 22 is an IndianTelevision Actress who is famous for her role as Anandi in the popular TV serial Balika Vadhu on Colors TV.  She was born and raised in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and is now settled in Mumbai for the last 4 years. She is a short-tempered, and emotional person with reserved nature. 

Sangram Singh, 28 is an Indian Wrestler who came in limelight after he posed in his birthday suit with just a fig-leaf covering his body. He also heated up interactions on internet with a steamy photo-shoot along with Payal Rohatgi. Sangram Singh was born in Madina villageand later paralyzed for 8 years on a wheelchair. Nevertheless, with his will power has transformed him into a famous international wrestler. He won a Gold Medal in the Commonwealth Wrestling bout. He has also been a part of many TV reality shows like 100 percent, De Dhana Dhan, Big TOSS, Guinness World Records and Survivor India. He believes in "Efforts are never wasted" and "Nothing is impossible".


Elli Avram, 23 is a Swedish Actress, all set to make her Bollywood debut opposite TV anchor-turned-actor Manish Paul in Saurabh Varma’s upcoming flick, "Mickey Virus", a comic thriller. She is the daughter of the veteran Swedish actor Maria Granlund, who worked with Ingmar Bergman in Oscar winning film 'Fanny and Alexander'. Elli Avram has learned ballet, belly dance, Bollywood dance, kathak, Bharatnatyam etc. Elli feels attached to India and indian culture since her childhood and feels cofortable in Mumbai.

Rajat Rawail (Now Evicted), 42 is an Indian Film Producer, Actor and Director. He is the Producer of the Bollywood blockbuster movie 'Ready' and has also played a funny character of Tsunami Singh in 'Bodyguard'. He was born and brought up in Mumbai in a filmy family.

Kushal Tandon, 28 is an Indian Model turned Television Actor, known for his role as Virat Singh Vadhera in a television serial ‘Ek Hazaaron Main Meri Behna Hai’. He stood 6th in the ‘Eastern Eye’ a UK magazine's ‘The 50 sexiest Asian men 2012’ and was on the Top 20 in People Magazine. Kushal Tandon hails from Lucknow and is the runner's up of Grasim Mr.India contest. He has also walked on ramp for much fashion shows like  Provogue, Spykar, Giodarna and Lakme. He has featured in many ads with big brands such as Sony Ericsson, Skoda, Activa, Airtel, Dairy Milk, Reid & Taylor etc . Later on, he went to the United States for his studies in the New York Film Academy.

Kamya Punjabi, 35 is an Indian Actress, better known as Sindoora in a television show ‘Banoon Main Teri Dulhan’. She is in the industry for the last ten years. She acted in television shows like Kehta Hai Dil, Kyun Hota Hai Pyaar, Ret, Astitva-Ek Prem Kahani, Comedy Circus etc in addition to a few movies and music albums. 

Hazel Keech (Now Evicted), a British Actress better known for her supporting role in the Bollywood film Bodyguard. She grew up in a British & Indo-Mauritian home. She has always been attracted and attached to Indian culture. She has featured in a music video for the remix song 'Kahin Pe Nigahein' in 2007, remixed by DJ Shezwood.

Shilpa Agnihotri, 31 is an Indian actress / Event manager. She was a well-known face of television shows like Kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi, nach baliye, saas vs bahu, pati patni aur woh, survivor India and many music videos. Being a naval officer's daughter she is an extrovert. When she was 15, she was spotted by someone at a mall outside her college who offered her an ad film that made her a famous Sunsilk face. She married Apurva Agnihotri at the age of 22 and living a happy married life. She is an actor by default, a housewife by choice and an activist working for animal cause. 

Apurva Agnihotri, 40 is an Indian Film and television Actor. He is considered as a shy and introvert person but sometimes thought to be arrogant by strangers. Apurva wants to be remembered as a creative professional behind the camera, creating wonderful films as a director and writer like his father.

Ratan Rajpoot, age not disclosed, is an Indian Television Actress, better known for her lead role in an Indian TV serial 'Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo' as Laali and a reality aired television show 'Swayamvar Season 3' (Ratan Ka Rishta). She is girl from asmall town carrying  very big dreams.

Gauahar Khan, 30 is an Indian Actress, better known for her dance numbers 'Jhalla' and 'Chokra Jawaan' in Ishaqzaade and 'Parda Parda' from Once Upon a Time in Mumbai. She was also featured in a Bollywood movie 'Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year' opposite Ranbir Kapoor. Gauahar was the Miss India international 2002 and started her career as a model. She was widely appreciated for her variety of dance numbers performed in the reality show Jhalak Dikkhla Jaa. Gauahar and her sister were featured in a reality show 'Khan Sisters' on UTV Bindass which turned her image into a celebrity. She has completed her first film as the lead heroine opposite Rajev Khandelwal titled 'Fever', scheduled to be released in January 2014.

VJ Andy, 32 is a British TV Presenter and Choreographer. He earned fame as a VJ With Channel V for the shows viz Dare to Date, Date My Folks, U R Fired, Bollywood Non-Sunsex, Get Gorgeous 5 & 6, Beauty and the Geek and others. He is also the choreographer of the hit music Video ‘Kaliyon ka Chaman’ etc. Andy also did a small role in Bollywood's “Yet another love story” and 'Bachna-E-Haseeno'. He is also the costume designer for some films like Tahsan, Bachna-E-Haseeno and Ghajini. He worked with the top Indian designers for Fashion shows for films and fashion shows.

Tanishaa Mukherji, 35 is an Indian actress, better known for her role in the movie Neal N Nikki and followed by Sarkar, Sarkar Raj, Sssshhh, Tango Charlie etc. She is the daughter of Shomu Mukherjee and actress Tanuja and the younger sister of film star Kajol. She hails from a family that dominated Bollywood since the 1940s. Tanishaa is also acting in a Marathi film titled 'Adhantari'. She has also been the co-producer of the Bollywood movie ‘Son of Sardar’.

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Film Review: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

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People wonder why ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’ film has won the hearts of Bollywood filmgoers? If yes, read this film review wherein an analytic study of this film has been presented.

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                     Milkha Singh

Rating: 90% 

- Harish Jharia

‘Bhag milkha bhag’ is a film based on the life and athletic career of the most famous Indian Olympian Milkha Singh, popularly known as ‘The Flying Sikh’. It is relevant to mention here that the title ‘The Flying Sikh’ was awarded by the then president of Pakistan Gen Ayub Khan when Milkha singh beat the Pakistani runner Abdul Khaliq on the Pakistan soil in 1960. 

He married Nirmal Kaur, an Indian Volleyball team captain in 1966. He has three daughters and a son Jeev Milkha Singh the professional international Golfer. Milkha Singh won the following big medals in addition to the dozens of other medals to his iconic sports career:

• Commonwealth Games: Gold in 1958, Cardiff UK - 440 yards - Gold
• Asian Games: Gold in 1958 Tokyo, Japan - 200 m
• Asian Games: Gold in 1958 Tokyo, Japan - 400 m  
• Asian Games: Gold in  1962 Jakarta, Indonesia - 400 m
• Asian Games: Gold in 1962 Jakarta, Indonesia - 4 x 400 m relay 

                 Farhan Akhtar as Milkha Singh

Film Storyline:

Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) was born in 1935 at Govindpura village, 10 km from Muzaffargarh city of Punjab Province in British India, now in Pakistan. In 1947, at the age of 11 he was left all alone when his sister (Divya Dutta) along with her arrogant husband migrated to India and her parents and rest of the family were killed during partition of British India. His father (Art Malik) was killed in front of his eyes and the last words uttered by his father were… “Bhag Milkha bhag”… “Run Milkha run” that have been adapted as the title of the film by Producer / Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

Young boy Milkha Singh’s (Jabtej Singh) childhood has been portrayed beautifully in the film showing the peace and harmony prevailing in British India before partition. The film then shows the utter contrast in subsequent shots of human massacre and soil converting into red mud, mixed with human blood flowing in the streets.  

On receiving the call “Bhag Milkha bhag”… from his dying father (Art Malik), Milkha Singh ran away from there and joined the Hindu crowd departing for India. His dreadful journey along with the frightened Hindu crowd from Pakistan to India has been effectively picturized by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. 

When the migrating Hindu crowd reached Delhi they were attended to by the Indian Army. An orphan Milkha (Jabtej Singh) found himself lost in the berserk crowd at an absolutely new place. He was all alone and starving for a couple of days. He somehow managed to grab a food packet and started gulping it, when he heard the shrieks of his sister (Divya Dutta). He forgot his hunger and ran towards her, leaving behind his food. 

Milkha’s new life started at a new place Delhi and he found himself in the form of a vagabond, managing his bread out of burglary. He grew up into a young Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) and fell in love with a young girl Biro (Sonam Kapoor), who hated his fugitive lifestyle. Milkha Singh, feeling embarrassed with Biro’s complaints, finally decided to find a better job and eventually, his fate took him to a recruitment center of Indian Army.  He was recruited as a soldier in the Indian Army and posted at EME Center Secunderabad. 

Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) was a born runner and he discovered this inherent talent when he was asked by the seniors to run a 10 mile race for selecting athletes. The EME Centre declared that all the top 10 athletes selected in that race would be entitled for getting mugful of milk and two eggs daily. Milkha Singh put-up all his strength for winning that race for the daily diet of milk and eggs and was eventually selected as one of the athletes for the EME Centre.

After this selection, Milkha Singh did not look back and started winning one race after the other. He ran in Armed Forces athletics, national sports and international sports competitions and toured from one place to the other across the globe. His participation in the Melbourne 1956 Olympics has been portrayed in this film when he fell in an affair with the granddaughter (Rebecca Breeds) of his Australian technical coach. 

As a result of this affaire Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) lost his race on the following day. The defeat in the race was the worst nightmare of his life and he repented for his blunders by slapping himself dozens of times, across his face. This scene of self-beating has been picturized quite intensely by the director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. 

On the same night in Melbourne, Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) goes to his coach and asks “What is the world record for 400m race”, who in turn writes ‘45.90’ seconds on a tissue paper and gives it to him.  

Milkha Singh attaches that world record figure ‘45.90’ at his place of worship and starts a new way of life with one single aim of life ie breaking the 400m world record of ‘45.90’ that eventually he broke by clocking 45.80 in France. 

Star Cast

1. Farhan Akhtar - Milkha Singh
2. Sonam Kapoor - Nirmal Kaur
3. Rebecca Breeds - Stella
4. Dalip Tahil - Jawahar Lal Nehru
5. Prakash Raj - Milkha Singh's coach
6. Pawan Malhotra - Milkha Singh's Senior
7. Divya Dutta - Milkha Singh's Sister
8. Nawab Shah - Coach Javed
9. Meesha Shafi - Perizaad
10. Dev Gill - Abdul Khaliq
11. Shanta Kumar - Gen. Ayub Khan
12. Art Malik - Milkha Singh's Father
13. K K Raina - Mr. Wadhwa
14. Jabtej Singh - Young Milkha
15. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra 
16. Loy Mendonsa 

Review:
Whenever we speak about the movie ‘Sholay’, we think about Ramesh Sippy and Amjad Khan. Similarly, after watching ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’ I kept thinking about Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Farhan Akhtar. The direction is excellent and Milkha Singh played by Farhan is unbelievably outstanding. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has not left any stone unturned in portraying the dramatic life of Milkha Singh. Farhan Akhtar has converted himself into the avatar of Milkha singh so much accurately so that it is hard to distinguish between Milkha Singh and Farhan Akhtar. 
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TV Review of Uttaran – how a Bengali family speaks UP dialect

Ichchha / Meethi (double role of Tina Dutta )

- Harish Jharia 

Story until now:

Uttaran is a story of a domestic maidservant Damini (Vaishali Thakkar) and her offspring Ichchha (Tina Dutta) who eventually transformed into the owners of the household where they were employed. Damini became the owner of a catering firm and Ichchha got married to a Bundela family. The story revolved around Ichchha who faced many adversities of her life and kept moving frequently from one place to the other. 

During one of her destinations, Ichchha happened to stay with a Bengali family of Chatterjees. In frequent turns of events Ichchha committed murder of Avinash Chatterjee who was a rogue and the only son of the Chatterjee family.  Avinash Chatterjee died leaving behind his wife Ekadashi Chatterjee (Krutika Desai) and a son who grownup into Akash Chatterjee (Mrunal Jain). These two characters appeared in the serial when the third generation began in the story and Ichchha’s daughter grew up into a young woman Meethi (double role of Tina Dutta ) . 

The story takes a dramatic turn when Akash Chatterjee (Mrunal Jain) fell in love with Meethi (double role of Tina Dutta as Ichchha and Meethi). At this juncture there are two lead families portrayed on the screen and they are Damini’s family and that of Ekadashi Chatterjee’s (Krutika Desai) Bengali family. 

Akash Chatterjee (Mrunal Jain) 

Observation and Review:

There is a serious fault in the story and that is the language spoken by the Chatterjee family. In spite of being a Bengali family the members of Chaterjee family speak a UP Hindi dialect rather than interacting in Bengali language. Bengalis basically feel pride in speaking in their own language ‘Bengali’. Therefore, it looks odd when a Chatterjee speaks a Hindi dialect like Bundeli, Awadhi or Braj Bhasha.

It appears that the makers of Utaran have resorted to use Hindi dialect with Chatterjees just to justify the aggressive attitude and revengeful cruel activities of that family. They might have used some twists in between the episodes; nevertheless, Chattejees speaking Hindi dialect like Bundeli, Awadhi or Braj Bhasha looks a dedicated attempt to hit higher TRP. 

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Kamal Hasan's Mega budget film on global terrorism 'Vishwaroopam' released across the world except in Tamilnadu State of India:

© Harish Jharia

Vishwaroopam is a 2013 Indian spy thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Kamal Haasan with his brother Chandra Hasan. The lead tole has been played by Kamal Hasan that also has Pooja Kumar, Rahul Bose, Andrea  Jeremiah and Jaideep Ahlawat in supporting roles. Vishvaroopam has also been made simultaneously in Hindi with the title Vishwaroop.  The music of Vishvaroopam has been composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, with lyrics written by Vairamuthu and Haasan himself while Javed Akhtar translated them for the Hindi version.

Vishwaroopam is the first Indian film and second film worldwide after Red Tails (2012), to using the latest hi-tech Auro 3D sound technology. 

(Auro-3D is a revolutionary means of delivering audio that wraps you in a cocoon of life-like sound. For the first time, you will experience the sensation of sounds coming from around as well as above you.)

The film has been released on 25 January 2013 worldwide (except in Tamil Nadu). It is reported that some Tamil Muslim groups have protested against the reported portrayal of Islamic terrorist outfits like Al Qaida in the film.  Subsequently, the Tamilnadu government imposed ban on its release. 

Subsequently, Kamal Hasan has criticized the government for their unjustified ban, without watching the movie. Many film fraternities from Bollywood and the Central Board of Film Certification have come out openly in criticizing the Tamilnadu government’s undemocratic ban on Vishvaroopam in spite of having certified as ‘fit for screening in Indian cinema theaters’ by the Indian Censor Board.  

Story of Vishvaroopam:

The story (as understood from the information collected from internet) of Vishvaroopam has been set in the Unite States, where a nuclear Oncologist Nirupama, (played by Pooja Kumar) consults a psychiatrist about her tough relationships with her husband, Viswanath (played by Kamal Haasan). 

Nirupama’s husband Vishvanath is a Kathak dancer by profession. In fact she married to Vishvnath with a dedicated aim of getting immigrated to the US and gear up her career in nuclear science. 

Meanwhile, after marrying Vishvnath and shifting to the US, she starts developing romantic relations with her boss Omar, (played by Rahul Bose). In fact, Omar is a terrorist having strong links with Al-Qaida, having deadly terrorist plans against the United. 

The story moves on with the love triangle of Nirupama, Omar and Vishwanath in the backdrop of an international terrorist network and a determined fight against the global threat against humanity.  

What is the justification for banning the movie?

The following points come in our mind in response to this question:

1. State government’s ban is not justified when the movie has been certified by the Central Board of Film Certification as ‘suitable for public viewing’ in India. 
2. This point cannot be discussed here anymore because the case is under consideration in  the court of law. 
3. It is hard to understand as to how the Muslim organizations came to know about the anti-Muslim shots and dialogues in the film without watching the movie. 
4. The Tamilnadu Chief Minister mentioned about a dialogue, in the film, expressing possibilities of the opposition leader Karunanidhi becoming the Prime Minister of India. This political crossfire might have prompted the ruling party politicians to oppose the movie Vishvaroopam. 
5. Indian Muslims and the Muslims across the world neither support the terrorist organizations like Al-Qaida, nor do they like to be parts of them. The reason behind this is that the followers of all the religions are attacked and killed by Islamic terrorists, including innocent Muslims.
6. This is a coincidence that the global terrorist organizations are dominated by Islamic radicals. That doesn’t mean that the world is looking with suspicion at Muslims in general. 
7. It has been proved that Afghanistan was dominated and governed by Terrorist organizations headed by Osama Bin Laden. The common people of Afghanistan were prisoners in their own country. They were exploited, killed and molested by the dominating radical groups.

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TV Review Sasural Simar Ka: A Monotonous Irritating Serial on Colors TV Channel

© Harish Jharia 

I watched the 16 October 2012 episode of Sasural Simar Ka and could not hold back without writing this review. Sasural Simar Ka is so very irritating serial that the viewers should better keep a pain balm handy for applying on their forehead and get rid of headache.

In fact 90% of Hindi serials aired in India are baseless, monotonous and irritating like Sasural Simar Ka. All of them have stagnated story lines with unsolved mysteries kept alive in the serial and keeping the viewers guessing. Nevertheless, Sasural Simar Ka appears to be the leader in exploiting these formulas in the most efficient way.  

In Sasural Simar ka there are 5-6 women and the equal number of their male counterparts shown in the serial.  But only 3 women appear to be actively involved in the TV serial. Rest of the women use to stand and watch other characters with monotonous expressions on their faces. 

The male characters appear to be deaf and dumb because they never speak and simply keep turning their heads at the three active lead female characters Simar, Roli and Khushi. Their close-ups are of-course shown as slideshows at regular intervals for showing their reactions to the actions done by Simar, Roli and Khushi. But they are never allowed to speak or do any action at-all all by themselves. 

In the initial story there were no traces of any character like Khushi, a bar girl, who intruded the Baraddwaj family as their daughter-in-law for cheating them of their money and devastating the family. Khushi, in fact, entered the scenario casually and became one of the main characters even outshining ‘Mataji’ the head of the family. This has been done by the makers, obviously, to hit the TRP. 

The role of Simar, in spite of being the lead character, has been made a monotonous, who  always cries, weeps and sheds bucketful of tears from her reddened eyes. She never smiles does not do anything worthwhile in the serial. She is the most irritating character that has been portrayed as a loser. Dipika Samson, the actress who plays the role of Simar, might have forgotten all other feelings except crying even in her real life. 

Watching this serial is not only a waste of time... it is also harmful for the viewer; because, it may disturb their peace of mind. 

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TV Review Bigg Boss-6: Bigg Boss House Infected With Big Boss Syndrome

© Harish Jharia 

The 90 day confinement with 70 cameras watching for 24 hour a day results in many exposures of the inner personas of the contestants  The 15 inmates of Bigg Boss- 6 mostly suffer from homesickness and breakdown because of prolonged separations from their families. They cry and shed tears on their photographs and retire to solitary confinements. 

Other contestants lose their temper and indulge in aggressive quarrels with fellow contestants. Nevertheless, Bigg Boss- 6 has witnessed a rare characteristic called ‘Big Boss Syndrome’ displayed by the ace cricketer Navjot Singh Siddhu. 

It appears that Siddhu is the first contestant in the history of Bigg Boss series, who has addressed the Bigg Boss with a common Hindi title ‘bade bhaai’ (बड़े भाई) rather than calling him by his official address ‘Bigg Boss’. His interaction with the ‘Bigg Boss’ appears to be at equal terms… not accepting the Bigg Boss as the boss of the house. 

It appears as if this is the result of the respectful special treatment given to him by Salman Khan and the other contestants.  Siddhu has been addressed as ‘Siddhu Paa ji’ (सिद्धू पा जी) by the contentants as well as by the anchor Salman Khan. 

Siddhu went to the extent of violating the basic rules of voting for eliminating the contestants. He flatly refused to nominate two inmates for the first weekly elimination round. He embarrassed the Bigg Boss and created a very difficult situation for Bigg Boss to solve. 

Bigg Boss appeared to have landed in an extremely difficult situation and he unexpectedly punished all the 14 inmates rather than nominating Siddhu for the elimination in the first week. The rules were violated by Siddhu and only he should have been punished. 

In Hindi, there are three ways to directly address people (second person) depending on the level of respect we have for them. They are as follows: 

1. Too (तू) = lowest respect / no respect 
2. Tum (तुम) = medium respect / marginal respect
3. Aap (आप) = High respect 

All the contestants, in the Bigg Boss house, use to address Siddhu with Aap (आप), paying him the highest respect; whereas, Siddhu addresses everyone as Too (तू) that is an address usually avoided while interacting with strangers. The address Too (तू) is used for very small children in a family and of course for the servants. 

The inmates have started expressing their displeasure on the role of Siddhu in respect of the first weekly elimination process. On the other hand Bigg Boss has opted for a diplomatic solution for the same and forced Siddhu to come forward and nominate two inmates for elimination. 

Siddhu appears to have created many enemies in the Bigg Boss house and is expected to face difficult situations in the time to come.  

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TV Review: Bigg Boss Season- 6 takes off with Celebrities and a Common-Man as Housemates

© Harish Jharia 

The long awaited Bigg Boss- 6 has finally started its telecast on Indian TV channel ‘Colors’ with 15 contestant housemates, invited from different fields as furnished below:

1. One- non-celebrity common man
2. One- woman social activist from rural India
3. One- professional woman hair dresser 
4. One- celebrity cricketer turned politician
5. One- activist cartoonist hitting headlines
6. Ten- TV actors / Film actors / Models

Ihe Bigg Boss house has moved into the structure designed by the National Award winner, Sabu Cyril at Lonavla. It is a masterpiece in architecture, interiors, furnishings, hi-tech gadgets and esthetics.  Only the beds arranged radially in circular layout looked odd. The front view of the house, swimming pool and other parts of the exteriors are marvelous. 

The initial episodes of this celebrity reality show were quite interesting as the viewers glued to the TV screen to know about the contestants. Nevertheless, it was a bit shocking to watch the second episode in which the process of elimination started. Viewers wanted to watch the housemates to settle down in this controlled environment and study their nature, character, body language and temperament. They needed at least 3 episodes to get used to the persona of the housemates and evaluate them in terms of their period of probable stay in the Bigg Boss house.

  
The common man Kashif Qureshi is not looking like one because he appears to be quite used to the lives of celebrities and posing like them. He looks quite familiar with the showbiz people and trying to mix-up with them; rather than attracting towards the simple people like Aseem Trivedi and Sampat Pal Devi.  He is not looking different among the crowd of celebrities. 

All other contestants are looking excellent with their characters, habits and nature. Bigg Boss-6 is really going to be an excellent show for the next 3 months.

Unlike the previous Bigg Boss shows the contestants are freely and extensively speaking English rather than interacting in Hindi. The Bigg Boss himself has also not pointed out this mistake, repeatedly committed by the housemates. 

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Bigg Boss season- 6: Celebrities and a common-man as Contestant Housemates…

- Harish Jharia 

Bigg Boss has 15 contestants as the housemates locked in the Bigg Boss house for 90 days, cutoff from the outer world without any modern commodities like TV, telephones, computers, newspapers, books, and even watches and clocks. 

Following are the contestants chosen from different walks of public life and hailing from different sections of society: 

Kashif qureshi: Age : 30; Marital status : single; Nationality : Indian; Occupation : martial artist; Introduction : Kashif is the non-celebrity contestant in Bigg Boss.

Dinesh Lal Yadav (Nirahua): Nationality : Indian; Occupation : Bhojpuri (Indian Dialect) singer and film actor; Introduction : Bhojpuri film superstar Dinesh Lal Yadav, grabbed the limelight after delivering hit movies like ‘Til Gum Gauwa’.

Karishma Kotak: Age : 30; Marital Status : Single; Nationality : Britisher; Occupation : Model; Introduction : Karishma is a popular Kingfisher Calender Girl- turned Model

Navjot Singh Sidhu: Age : 48; Marital Status : Married; Nationality : Indian; Occupation : Former Cricketer, TV commentator; Introduction : Former Indian cricketer, Navjot Singh Sidhu took up television commentary, and politics after taking retirement from the game.

Sapna Bhavnani: Age : 41; Marital Status : Married; Nationality : Indian; Occupation : Celebrity Hair Stylist and owner of Mad-o-Wat Salon; Introduction : Sapna is a celebrity hair stylist. Her celebrity clientele includes Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Siddharth Malaya and John Abraham and likes.

Sana Khan: Age : 25: Marital Status : Single; Nationality : Indian; Occupation : Actress, Model & Item girl; Introduction : Sana Khan is an Indian film actress and model, best known for her appearance in the Amul Macho.

Aseem Trivedi: Age : 25; Marital Status : Single; Nationality : Indian; Occupation : Indian, political cartoonist; Introduction : Aseem Trivedi shot into national prominence when charged with sedition and arrested by Mumbai police in 2012.

Delnaaz Irani: Marital Status : Divorced; Nationality : Indian; Occupation : Theatre and Indian television & films actor; Introduction : Delnaaz Irani is a popular Indian television and film actor, famous for portraying the character of Sweetoo, from the movie Kal Ho Na Ho.

Niketan Madhok: Age : 29; Marital Status : Single; Nationality : Indian; Occupation : Model; Introduction : Niketan Madhok is a Model who has walked on ramp for famous Indian and International labels. He came into limelight after Lakme India Fashion Week 2002.

Sampat Pal Devi: Age : 52; Marital Status : Married; Nationality : Indian; Occupation : founder and leader of a group of women vigilantes "Gulabi Gang" in Banda District; Introduction : Sampat Pal Devi is a former government health worker who came into news after the launch of the book “Sampat Pal – A warrior in pink saree” in 2008. 

Urvashi Dholakia: Age : 33; Marital Status : Divorced; Nationality : Indian; Occupation : Actor, Stand-up comedian; Introduction : Urvashi is half-Punjabi, half-Gujarati by birth. She acted in as Komolika, part of the principal cast of Kasautii Zindagii Kay in 2001, the role made her one of most famous vamps on Indian television, in a series which ran till 2008.

Sayantani Ghosh: Age : 28; Marital Status : Single; Nationality : Indian; Occupation : Model-; turned-Indian television & film actress; Introduction : Played the leading role in Aroona Irani’s Naagin in 2007.

Vrajesh Hirjee: Age : 35; Marital Status : Single; Nationality : Indian; Occupation : Theatre and televison actor; Introduction : A famous film, television & theater actor who is known for his comic roles in the movies like Golmal triology and Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein

Aashka Goradia: Age : 26; Marital Status : Single; Nationality : Indian; Occupation : Indian television actress; Introduction : Aashka made her acting debut with Balaji Telefilms Kkusum as a protagonist on Sony TV followed by Akela and Virrudh on Sony TV, Kahin To Hoga on Star Plus, Sindoor Tere Naam Ka and Saath Phere on Zee Tv, and Mere Apne on 9x made her popular amongst the television audience. Aashka has now diversified her career by opening a beverage outlet in Oshiwara named Isayice along with actor Rohit Bakshi and Sister Jaanki Ravatia.

Rajeev Paul: Marital Status : Divorced; Nationality : Indian; Occupation : Indian television and theatre actor and writer; Introduction : Rajeev Paul is an Indian television actor best known for his negative role in Balaji’s daily soap Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii. He also participated in Nach Baliye,a dance reality show with his then wife Delnaaz Irani.

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A Different Bigg Boss Season- 6: Salman Khan Invites Common People to Join the Bigg Boss House Inmates as Contestants

Bigg Boss Season- 6: Alag Chhe!

बिग बॉस सीज़न- ६: अलग छे!

अलग छे = It's different

 Salman Khan the Bigg Boss- 6 Host

- Harish Jharia 

Bigg Boss is back with an assorted blend of emotion, drama, fun and entertainment. Housing celebrities, mostly strangers to one another, from different walks of life, locked in a house, for 90 days… watched by 63 cameras following their activities 24 x 7 is a different life worth experiencing by inmates and watching by TV viewers. 

This season is not going to be just about celebrities but also about the ‘aam aadmi’ (common man); who will join the exclusive band of people with name fame and fortune.   

In addition to the human inmates there are going to be two charming and lively houseguests…  a fish, 'O Fish' and , 'Radhe', a talking Macaw parrot to give company to the housemates and make their stagnated lives colorful.

The new edition of Bigg Boss-6 is going to be aired at a family-friendly timeslot of 9 pm, from Sunday to Monday starting 7 October 2012. 

Do you want to be a contestant on Bigg Boss Season- 6 this year? 
If yes, click on the following link and knock at the door of Bigg Boss House: 

Click on the following image:

Link to the official website of Bigg Boss Season- 6: 

URL: http://colors.in.com/in/biggboss/ 

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TV Review: Colors TV serial… Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon

                       Drashti (Drishti) Dhami

© Harish Jharia  

TV viewers might be remembering a serial based on the life of a dwarf woman titled as ‘Baba aiso var deejo’. This was aired on Imagine TV channel that has since been closed. Nautanki films were the makers of that serial. The same production house, Nautanki Films managed by Saurabh Tewari and Abhinav Shukla is coming up with a news show on Colors. The title of the new serial kept changing since it reached in its final stage for telecast. It was initially titled as "Shikhar" subsequently its name changed to “Kathputli” and the makers finally titled it as “Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon”.

                   Vivian Dsena

I am really convinced with the current title of the show ie “Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon” vis-à-vis   the previous couple of titles that were just not impressive and lacked the real boost that was required for attracting attention of the monotonous TV viewers. The makers literally woke up the disgruntled viewers who were fed-up with watching the stereotype prolonged serial shows with the same indoor shots wth repeated slide shows of close-ups of expressionless characters.

                   Rakhi Vijan

The serial “Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon” has finally arrived with a bang on a large canvas. When I watched its initial episodes I felt as if I was watching a movie and not a TV show.  The serial had all the qualities of a feature film and the most noticeable was the dynamics with which the story moved ahead.

             Pallavi Subhash Chandran

The serial “Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon” is going on well and is sure to get desired TRP and viewership. The main attraction of the serial is that it is about the lives of the Bollywood strugglers aspiring to become film stars. The serial is showing both the aspects of the lives of the people, like that of the celebrities and of the junior artists, working in Bollywood. The common people and TV viewers are quite curious to know more and more about Bollywood, Indian cinema, the actors, technicians and makers. If the makers of “Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon” manage the serial carefully it is going to dominate all other TV shows.

Story line:

This is a story of the  junior artists who aspire to become film stars. The serial started with the initial background of a family of a village head Raj Zutshi, who is a cruel person an atrocious husband toward his wives. He had killed his first wife because she delivered of a baby girl. He has also made it clear that he might repeat the same crime with his present pregnant wife, suspected to have a baby girl in her womb.

                     Raj Zutshi

His wife Pallavi Chandran consults her family midwife Sushmita Mukherjee about the child she is expecting and runs away along with her step daughter from her house for saving her life and that of her children. They board a train and eventually disembark on a Mumbai railway platform. They dramatically get shelter in a chaul and Pallavi Chandran started doing junior artists’ jobs on daily basis. She delivers of a baby girl on a film set during a shoot. That girl is named as ‘Madhubala’ by an elderly veteran actor.  

The serial then abruptly takes a time leap of 18 years and the story continues with interesting and exciting incidents portraying the lives of strugglers, film stars, the junior artists and technicians.

Review:

The serial is really worth watching. Nevertheless, it requires being more realistic and the dramatization and exaggeration will have to be reduced to a considerable limit.  The subject and the storyline are quite new for the TV viewers who are really enthusiastic about knowing all about Bollywood and the lives of the people related to film production.  

Nevertheless, the makers of “Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon” have made it a bit louder and exaggerated than required. The portrayal of the main lead character RK the superstar is too very loud. He is looking like a villain rather than a popular film star who should be intellectually rich and emotionally sensitive. Similarly, the character played by Raj Zutshi has also been shown too very loud and abnormal. In many shots he looked like a lunatic rather than an illiterate village rustic. I felt bad when I saw an artist with such a huge acting talent, looking like doing ‘over acting’.  

I think there is an inevitable requirement of changing the portrayal of these two characters. The superstar should be shown as a darling of everyone across genders and age groups. At the same time Raj Zutshi should be given freedom to display his acting talent suiting to the character and cut-down the exaggeration.

On the other hand, Bhupinder Singh the foster father of the female lead deserves to appear more frequently on the screen. He should be shown a bit more involved in the family affairs equivalent to the character played by Rakhi Vijan and Pallavi Chandran. I think the TV viewer would like to see him more often on the screen doing some worthwhile contribution to the life of Madhubala.

Cast & Crew:

1. Drashti Dhami: Female Lead character- Madhubala
2. Vivian Dsena: Male lead character- RK  (Rishabh Kumar)
3. Rakhi Vijan: Roma
4. Manish Naggdev: Mukund Dixit
5. Raj Zutshi: Balraj Chaudhary
6. Indresh Malik: Bittuji (PA to RK).
7. Shagufta Ali: Badi Chaudhrain
8. Pallavi Subhash Chandran: Padmini (Madhubala's mother)
9. Bhupinder Singh: Shamsher Mallick (Madhubala’s foster father)
10. Lalit Parimoo: Guruji
11. Sushmita Mukherjee: Dai Maa

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