| Hosting talent hunts that are expected to double up as tear jerking, heavy
on sentiment reality shows can be taxing. Veterans to the game, like Annu Kapoor and Shaan, have had to learn the rules of the new game, and newbies like Aditya Narayan, Himani and Juhi Parmar have entered the arena knowing that much more than just anchoring Antaksharis, would be expected of them. To their credit, most of the hosts have shaped up well. Particularly Juhi Parmar, who took to Star One, and now Star Plus' Antakshari, like a duck to water. When she shifted gears a few months ago, to turn from tearful soap heroine to a garishly made up co-host to Annu Kapoor, there were sniggers about her loud outfits and apprehensions that the formidable Annu would outshine her, as he did all his earlier co-hosts. Some months down the line, Juhi's outfits have stayed as garish, but her stature on the show has grown by leaps and bounds. She now leads the proceedings on the show, and with an energy and enthusiasm that's infectious. Now in its season for youngsters, Juhi has been quick to bond with the tots, dishing out her 'jadoo ki
jhappis' and advice liberally. To his credit, Annu has adopted the role of pater familias, a restrained avatar of his earlier garrulous self. His trove of music and film knowledge still helps in the rounds he conducts almost extempore, but Juhi clearly holds her own. | Juhi's Kumkum co-star Hussain has been, meanwhile, hosting another talent hunt, Indian Idol on Sony. But while the Aman Verma - Mini Mathur hosting team in the earlier Idol seasons used to sparkle with energy, the Hussain-Mini combo is a bit tired. Perhaps, we should wait for the final rounds to see if they can up their energy levels a bit. If you happen to close your eyes and just soak in the voice of the host on Zee's new season of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge, you might just get fooled into thinking that Shaan was back on the show. Young host Aditya Narayan's voice and style of talking is so much like Shaan's, you wonder if it's been a tad intentional on the channel's part to choose someone who sounds like the guy who deserted his post for Star's Voice of India. To his credit, Aditya, who's a newcomer to hosting, does a competent job when it comes to handling moody participants and moodier judges. You need to be really good to handle celeb judges who often take pot shots at each other, indulge in mud slinging and threaten to walk out midway. Which is what is about to happen on Star's Voice of India, if reports leaked to the print media are to be believed. Producer Gajendrra Singh manages to keep viewer interest alive by encouraging bickering among his judges, and now he's needled Aadesh Srivastav, who objected to Alka Yagnik being called 'melody queen', who's now threatened to quit the show. Please. Yagnik, Srivasatav and the rest are respected names in the industry who should not allow such ratings inspired gimmicks to mar their reputations. At the end of the day, it's only the channel that's going to laugh its way to the bank. | |
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