Is it true that an anchor makes or breaks a show?

This weekend there was a touch of finality. It was about bidding adieu to some shows and faces we got so used to watching week after week. This week Mission Ustaad completed its successful run and found its Ustaads. L'il Champs is one week short of the grand finale. While these two shows inched towards its finale, the other two shows took a few steps backwards.

After thirteen week's of rigorous battle Mission Ustaad finally got its Ustaad and it was none other than the truly deserving Jodi of - Sonali and Roop Kumar Rathod. This Jodi with all the other Jodi's gave some brilliant performances with the social messages as the icing on cake. Mission Ustaad showed that music is aesthetic and such musical shows can run very well without any drama. This show had some of the best participants, some great judges but the show would not have been as successful without the effective anchoring. Simone Singh deserves a big round of applause for hosting the show so brilliantly. She played a very important part in communicating the mission to the masses and having a firm grip on the pulse of the show.

Even SaReGaMaPa has now reached its penultimate stages and the last studio rounds were completed this week. After last weeks fiasco, this week the show saw fun and masti; devoid of any drama. The two judges were absent from the show this week and their absence was felt very much. From the performances on Friday, it was evident that even the contestants took things too lightly in their absence. But Saturday saw some energetic performances, lots of fun and frolic and some very touching moments too. It was indeed overwhelming to meet the second celebrity guest of the show Tejashwini and Akshay's interaction with her was indeed very touching. Another host who deserves a big round of applause is the host of L'il Champ – Aditya Narayan. He completed yet another successful series and he has truly metamorphosed into a brilliant host like his predecessors while emerging with a style of his own. His interaction with the kids, judges, audience and the celebrity guests was very endearing.

If two shows have reached their final destination then there are two shows, which have inched away from it. True to its reputation, Star VOI has repeated something that it has been doing from the very onset of this show. The show producer seems to be too fond of stretching the show. The show after reaching final five got two extra contestants in through Wild Card round and the Challenger round. Now this week they decided to stay away from elimination. Yet again the show is looking for the top five. How fair would the decision be now if one among the previous top five gets eliminated next week? Showing self created drama through AV's is becoming a common feature of this show. Where hosts of other shows are doing so well this is one show where the host has fallen short in the anchoring department. Abhaas Joshi though highly exuberant and a brilliant singer has failed to have the show under his control as expected from a host. This was the second week in a row where he was told off and this time by one of the judges who objected to his comments. He needs to get a grip on his comments and style.

If any other show can beat VOI for stretching a show and not following any format whatsoever, then it's definitely K for Kishore. This show is one show which is too inconsistent, be it performance wise or judges ratings or even the format. The show after reaching final six now took six more challengers. Last few weeks it seemed the performances of the contestants were improving, but this week all such hopes were dashed with some miserable performances by all the contestants. The viewers are still unclear about the objective of this show and it seems so are the judges. The hosts don't look very familiar with the proceedings either.


To deliver a successful show - apart from talents, three more things are also required - Clear cut format, Good packaging and good anchoring. If any of these departments fall short, the show also collapses. It's time all the channel houses pay attention to this and deliver what it promises at the onset.

Author: Barnali

Note: The views expressed are solely of the author. For any information, please contact the author.