Archana Puran Singh, the vivacious actress and host, is having a good time co-anchoring Jhalak Dikhla Jaa with hubby Parmeet Sethi. "The best part is that I am working with Parmeet and we are being paid very well. Besides, the level of dancing is very good. What I like most about the show is that it has raised the bar of dance to a higher level by mixing Bollywood with Western and Latin forms of dance," says Archana who feels Jhalak has taken the genre of reality dance shows to an altogether different league. "It's quite different from the typical Bollywood dancing that we get to see in such shows."
"In fact, my mother who is 75 years old didn't like the show in the beginning because she couldn't understand salsa, samba, rumba and cha-cha-cha style of dancing. She found it boring to begin with but now she has changed her opinion. She finds it very graceful and stylish," she adds. According to Archana, Jhalak has brought in lot of awareness about ballroom dancing and suddenly people are talking highly about it.
"The mixture of Bollywood and Latin-Western dance has worked very well, thanks to BBC, the original format holder of the show, which was very particular about keeping the show's format intact," she reveals. Jhalak has entered the last leg of the competition and Archana feels viewers shouldn't act complacent when it comes to voting for their favourite contestant.
"Ajay Jadeja lost by a small margin of votes. It would be very sad if a good dancer loses because of a lack of support from the viewers," says Archana who feels Mona Singh is a sheer revelation in the show. "She has the best graph and the widest curves. Her journey from being a raw to an excellent dancer is amazing. Shveta Salve is not only a very good dancer but she keeps improving every week." However, in Archana's opinion the ability to dance alone will not decide the winner.
"A contestant's popularity will play a crucial role as well. People go to see a Shah Rukh Khan film because he is a star and not because he is the best actor in the industry. Naseeruddin Shah is the best actor but he is not a star and therefore his films don't become as big hits as that of Shah Rukh, Aamir, Salman or Akshay," she says.
Going by Archana's logic, Mona Singh's chances of winning the Jhalak title are very bright. "Talent-wise Shveta is good but I feel Mona has better chances, given her popularity as a television star. Jassi is still fresh in people's mind. Besides, her innocence and old-world charm and the ability to cover the entire stage gracefully might work in her favour," feels Archana.
Great points by Archana! Especially the film one. Watch Dhoom 2 become a huge hit cos its starcast and not cos of the acting or story. Likewise, junta votes for whoever they like, regardless of who is better or more talented.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
