| Three's a crowd | ||||
| A. L. Chougule The battle for Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa title is round the corner. Going by convention, ideally there should have been two celebrities in the grand finale this Saturday. But unlike last year when Mona Singh and Shweta Salve fought for the Jhalak title, this year the dance show will have three celebrities in the finale. Not only will the three-corner fight require Sandhya Mridul, Prachi Desai and Jay Bhanushali to put in their best but the three-way split in votes will make the battle even harder to win. As three is said to be crowd, viewers will also not find it easy to choose the best. But why has Sony tweaked the show's format by opting for three contestants in the finale? "It's because we brought back one celebrity through the wild card call," says Sony's executive vice-president and business head Albert Almeida. According to Almeida, three celebrities in the final will make the contest even more interesting and tough because there will be a three-way split in votes. Going for one-to-one straight fight between two celebrities in the finale would have meant extending the show by one week which Albert says was not possible because Jhalak is loaded with celebrities. "They are short on time because of other commitments. Besides, we have other plans for the weekend band. There are two new properties lined up for telecast after Jhalak," he adds. Sandhya says the show has made her fearless. "I had never done difficult lifts and stunts. But Javed (her choreographer and partner) made me do all sorts of crazy things. In fact, by making the choreography difficult he pushed me hard into doing the most intricate steps. But I loved it all. I have rediscovered myself though Jhalak and I have many things to cherish about the show," goes on the unstoppable Sandhya. She admits that she is blunt and speaks her mind without mincing words. She was not happy with Shiamak Davar's marks and told him bluntly on the show. "It's better to be real than diplomatic. This show has re-established my thought that to be happy you got to be honest and straightforward," she adds. For Prachi, Jhalak is the best thing that happened after Kasamh Se. She says her elimination when the show was half-way through gave her a real shock. "I was really taken aback. But I am happy that I came back, thanks to viewers. I have tried my best to come to this stage. The competition is really tough but I will work even harder to win the final," says the youngest contestant on the show. Denying that her comeback in Jhalak... was engineered by Balaji, Prachi says no production house can interfere in another production company's affairs. Like Sandhya, Prachi too has shed her inhibitions. "I have got lot of confidence and don't feel scared to do anything now," she adds. Kasamh Se made her famous as Bani but Prachi says Jhalak has helped her come out of the bahu's persona. |
f Bani laid Prachi's foundation for name, fame and fortune, Neev of Kayamath has done the same for the flamboyant Jay. . "I got Jhalak because of Kayamath. When I took part in the show I didn't expect to go beyond three to four rounds. But thanks to Bindi (his choreographer) I have reached the last three. I survived three danger zone scares. It doesn't matter if I don't win. though I will be little disappointed. Winning and losing is a part of life," he reasons. For Negi, the real surprise of the show who couldn't make it to the finale, winning and losing has no meaning. "I have seen victory and defeat in real life. This is a dance show and life doesn't stop if you lose," he says, adding, "But Jhalak will always remain special to me." A reserved and shy person, Negi hardly used to smile. "But now I smile a lot," he laughs.
He admits that he was a complete non-dancer but says if some people felt that he made it to the last four by fluke or mainly because of votes then they got it all wrong. "I worked hard and improved with each round. All the non-dancers got eliminated but I survived because of my efforts. Votes helped me to be in the competition but that was also the case with others. After all, viewers' votes have 50 per cent weightage," he points out.
According to Shiamak, Sandhya, Prachi and Jay deserve to be in the final. "I feel sorry for Negiji. He is an excellent human being but not a good dancer. Jhalak is a dance show and the best should be in the final. The best dancer was Sudha (Chandran). But unfortunately, she got voted out," he regrets, adding, "Judges should have had more say in the elimination because viewers don't vote on merit but for their eye-candies. The channel is not at fault but the problem is with the format." Ask Shiamak who deserves to win the Jhalak... title and his answer is Sandhya. "No two views on that. She is a fabulous dancer. But Prachi and Jay enjoy more popularity," he adds.http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=18302
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