MoNayalicious Mania-13* {SaJan Spl} - Page 97

Nach Baliye 7: Why the opening ceremony was a big bore

Seven years back, Star had cracked one of the most novel ideas in reality TV- getting celebrity couples on the dance floor for a one-of-a-kind reality show. Six instalments later, the reality show premiered on television with its seventh edition on Sunday. With more glamour, glitz and the stardust in the form of the contestants and the judges, Nach Baliye 7 had everyone's expectations sky rocketing. But the first episode quashed all such desires at once. While Preity Zinta's smiled could do no magic, Chetan Bhagat's ridiculous comments and his desperate attempt to create drama added to our cringe list.

Here's why we were bored by the opening episode of Nach Baliye 7.

A reality show or a TV soap?

Remember how Indian television was flooded with the typical saas-bahu serials where the Tulsis and the Parvatis and the Kumkums had the house running, amidst all the trillions of tragedies that were ushered on them? Well, Nach Baliye seems to be no different. Straight out of an Ekta Kapoor soap opera, Nach Baliye 7 was a huge disappointment. NB7 doesn't come across as a dance show but is more of a drama! And now we know why? Ekta's producing the show and the change in format (which is tentatively her brainchild) has not worked wonders as well.

Chetan Bhagat- Why?

There's just one question you want to ask the makers after the show's over. Why Chetan Bhagat? The celebrated author has no sense of dancing and is adding nothing on the show. Technically a dance show, Nach Baliye 7 makers have brought the 2 States writer, merely to rake in TRPs. How? Chetan's philosophical preachings and over-the-top drama is what NB makers are cashing on. But for the audiences, it was a definite thumbs down.

Irritating hosts!

Normally, you always tend to associate actors to the shows they host on TV. Whether it's Jay Bhanushali or Saumya Tandan who had become synonymous with Dance India Dance or a Manish Paul for Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, TV actors find recognition through numerous reality shows. Same cannot be said about Karan Patel or Rithvik Dhanjani. Despite being suited botted for the event, they could hardly be any close to entertaining. Their banter sounded repetitive and was miles away from being funny. Sorry, but the two hot TV guys could not save the day.

Nach Baliye 7: A shoddy mix of Ekta Kapoor's soaps, Splitsvilla, Bigg Boss and Khatron Ke Khiladi

Nach Baliye has been one of the most loved reality shows in the running for years. While the earlier six editions were high on dance, the makers had attempted a slightly different approach with Nach Baliye 7. And after the first episode was telecast, we can say one thing for sure: the entire format has gone horribly wrong and how!

Over the years, we have seen celebrity judges and real life couples showing their manoeuvres on stage. Fun, frothy and filled with a lot of naach-gaana, the earlier editions of Nach Baliye were far more entertaining than the latest season. Being one of the most ardent fans of the show, it would be an understatement to say I was disappointed.

The opening ceremony left me angry and under whelmed. From the dances to the judges to the anchors, Nach Baliye 7 seems to have nothing working for the show. Seeming like an incomplete, haphazard mix of Bigg Boss, Fear Factor, Splitsvilla and obviously adding to it dollops of Ekta's regular saas-bahu drama, Nach Baliye 7 will leave you offended instead of being entertained.

The new format is far from being interesting or novel as well. The makers have unnecessarily made NB 7 a mish mash of various reality shows, copying several elements from each of the above mentioned reality shows. So, like a Bigg Boss, you have two houses with the contestants performing regular tasks, like Khatron Ke Khiladi. Again, like Splitsvilla, the couples are split into guys and girls and are living in separate houses. Really? Is this a couple dance show? From the look and feel of it, it comes across as a shoddy Bigg-Boss-meets-Splitsvilla-meets-Khatron-Ke-Khiladi.

And not to forget, add the Balaji melodrama to it. While one would question the presence of Chetan Bhagat as one of the judges on the show, what's more painful is to sit through his comments, which is more on the lines of a pravachan. A love guru and a philosopher, Chetan seems to have taken his literary intellect way too seriously and only leaves you irritated. What is he even doing on a dance show- that's the question you will ask before you watch the show. After the show, you will have an answer to it.

What? Well, in the rat race of TRPs, channels are battling it out for every single rating point. In a mad survival of the best, Nach Baliye 7 seems to have lost all the energy and entertainment that it was once famous for. Understandably Ekta's brainchild, the change in the format- adding a lot more drama to it (thanks to Chetan Bhagat, who tries desperately to start a feud) and bringing in some insignificant twists and turns- will not work in its favour.

Preity Zinta's bubbly charm too fails to save this almost miserable episode which was more drama and less of dance. Are the makers listening?