A first Jhalak of Nach

Move over singing shows, it's the season for dance shows now. Star One is back with Nach Baliye 3 and Sony is showcasing Jhalak Dikla Ja 2. However, if one were to go by the first episodes and the promos aired, then clearly Jhalak 2 wins hands down. They have a classier ensemble of performers — be it Ekta's blue-eyed baby, Prachi Desai, small screen superstar, Ronit Roy, actress Sonali Kulkarni or even Chak De coach, Mir Ranjan Negi, who has SRK rooting for him. He is clearly the surprise factor and Khan too expresses his subtle amusement at this.

While jhalak has 12 participants — each of whom has been given a choreographer — Nach Baliye has a team of 10 couples. Surprisingly, last year's Jhalak performers, Pooja and her boyfriend Hanif are taking part in this show. When Pooja was voted out of the previous show on account of her poor dancing skills, what sense does it make to sign her for this show? This is nothing but a sign of desperation as the channel has obviously not managed to rope in the best of stars.

Nach Baliye has a very ordinary bunch of performers who do not have the glam factor to keep the viewers hooked week after week. But Prem Kamath, vice-president, content and communication, Star India, the channel hosting Nach Baliye, is prepared for the inevitable comparisons. "Season 3 of Nach is bigger and better and that's the reason why we gave it a much bigger platform. As the show settles down, people will realise how big the show is," he insists.

But the show is already ridden with controversies even before it has taken off. Juhi Parmar, who was asked to participate by the channel had to initially back off because unlike the other contestants who were there with their boyfriends/spouses, Juhi was single. But looks like the channel has had a change of heart and have roped in Juhi, who will be finding her onscreen dance partner through a swayamvar-like contest — truly, even gimmicks are getting innovative these days. In terms of sheer drama, Nach Baliye overshadows Jhalak. There was a catfight of sorts between Rakhi Sawant and Kashmira Shah. Rakhi accused her of passing snide remarks (about the reverse boob job), an embarrassed Kash denied the same and finally gave in later. The two item girls then kissed and hugged for the camera.

And as far as the judges are concerned, Nach has the graceful Vaibhavi Merchant and Isha Koppikar along with the podgy David Dhawan, who had Salman and Govinda specially visit the studio to root for him. Jhalak has oomphmati Urmila Matondkar, Jumping Jack Jeetu — an obvious sign of Ekta's proximity with Sony, and Shiamak Davar.

Albert Almeida, executive vice-president and business head, Sony Entertainment Television, the channel that's hosting Jhalak is of the opinion that the second season has a lot to offer. "We have a wide mix of top celebrities who are devoting a lot of time to the show despite their other commitments. The second season has got bigger and better with 12 celebrities instead of eight in the first season. The format has been tweaked a bit for better viewer engagement," he adds.

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