Posted:
Public says 'No Deal' to Rajeev
By: Vickey Lalwani
June 5, 2006
By: Vickey Lalwani
June 5, 2006
Bringing Rajeev Khandelwal (four episodes old now) in place of Mandira Bedi in Deal Ya No Deal has sunk the show to plummeting depths. The TRPs have registered a drastic drop. According to a source, neither the production house nor the channel are at a loss for words after the costliest anchor on the show made an appearance. Four weeks ago, Rajeev was asked to anchor the show and the boxes were increased from 22 to 26, thereby increasing the family participation. The brain trust was sure that that the move would pay off, but it backfired. Says an insider, "Rajeev has not clicked as an anchor. He fails to connect with the audience as much as Mandira or even Madhavan did, and the figures prove that." Mandy was the best The source says that Mandira was involved and connected with the audience more than Rajeev. "Of the three (Madhavan, Mandira, Khandelwal), Mandira was the best. She generated a lot of excitement. She would sympathise with the loser and give him a shoulder to cry on. On the other hand, Rajeev has a very practical approach. If a participant wins 6 lakhs and not 1 crore, he asks them to relax. He seems disconnected from the player. Even Madhavan didn't empathise much with the losers. Maybe it's a show where a woman works better as an anchor." Sujal, not Rajeev But what about Rajeev being a heartthrob? Shouldn't that have translated into a large female fan following? The source points out, "That fan following from the opposite sex quarters was probably for his character Sujal and not Rajeev, After all, Sujal was a very romantic, passionate guy in KTH. Women like such characters." When contacted, Anupama Mandloi (Sony's programming head) said, "When Deal Ya No Deal was telecast from Friday to Sunday, Friday was always a fragile slot. Now, the show is telecast on Fridays only. I don't think it's the issue of who the anchor is. Rajeev is seen as a trend. Give it some time. The channel is not reacting to the show every week. We are only putting out what we think the viewers will enjoy. You cannot shove something down anybody's throat." No curiosity "TAM ratings show that the Friday slot was not so fragile during the Mandira and Madhavan shows. What is even more shocking is that Rajeev (April 28) failed to beat Mandira (January 25) and Madhavan (November 23) in his first episode, when there should have been a curiosity factor, if he's so popular," the source concludes. |
