~~*Article~Get real, telly bahus*~~

I know, I know I've brought this up before, but what is one to do? I keep seeing the same thing again and again, no matter which entertainment channel I tune into. I thought Sahara One was supposed to be 'different,' I thought the channel had decided not to go down the saas-bahu road. (Recently, channel spokespersons said Sahara One would portray 'real' women, and the channel's new punchline was 'television ka naya rang').

But the only naya rang I could see was the colour of the pancake on Himani Shivpuri's face (she's the saas in a serial called Suno Har Dil Kuch Kehta Hai). Otherwise, the soaked-in-zari saris, the clunky jewellery and the rolling eyes were more of the same. The bahu of the serial was also as sweet and sacrificing as in all the other saas-bahu serials. Or perhaps Sahara's naya rang tagline meant the colour black, because it also has a serial, Sati, where the female protagonist wears only black. Even her bangles are black. T

hank God she stops short of black lipstick, else Sati might have ended up as a horror show, instead of a serial about a woman lawyer who takes up women's causes. So okay, there's no saas-bahu angle in this soap - yet. But give it time. Who knows what the future might bring? The Bahu Wore Black, maybe?
The spook quotient of news and entertainment channels continues to go up. Zee News continues to comb the country, looking for assorted ghosts in their show, Bhoot Bangla. What's scary is the number of 'true' ghost stories they keep coming up with. Apparently, every nook and cranny of India is teeming with other-worldly spirits.

The entertainment channels have their own standard horror shows like Shh... Koi Hai (Star Plus) and Raat Hone Ko Hai (Sahara One); there's also something called Mano Ya Na Mano on Star One. When I last saw it, there was an episode on numerology which told us that plenty of people, if they change their names (by adding alphabets), can actually change their luck. Given the bizarre spellings of Ekta Kapoor's serials, I was convinced that Mano Ya Na Mano must be from the Balaji stable. (But no, it's made by Siddhartha Kak. If it was made by Ekta, no doubt it would have been called Mmano Yaa Naa Mmano). The show is anchored by Irfan Khan (or is it Irrfan Khan?), who's shot partly in shadow (to match with the theme of the show, I guess) and who can look quite sinister himself.

So is supernatural the new TRP-netter? Horror shows have been around since the beginning of satellite TV (Zee had The Zee Horror Show, made by the redoubtable Ramsay brothers, when the channel launched, more than a decade ago). There's a spurt right now though. And I'm not talking about some of the regular stuff news channels often put out. Lots of the crime shows themselves could do double duty as horror shows, with all their gruesome descriptions of murder and rape.

And finally. CNBC Awaaz, in its Khaas Mulakat series, had a refreshing interview with Amitabh Bachchan. For once, Amitabh was not just quizzed about his forthcoming films and roles. Interviewer Sanjay Pugalia asked him about ABCL and AB Corp, about how much money he makes (Amitabh revealed that when he was valued by investors, his worth was pegged at 15 crore), how he invests it (as a matter of interest, in fixed deposits and mutual funds).

There were also some pointed questions about the Big B's now-gone-sour relationship with the Nehru-Gandhi family, his political support to Mulayam Singh Yadav, his income tax problems etc, all of which Amitabh expertly stonewalled (he's perfected the art over the years, the bland answers are accompanied by a completely blank, uncomprehending look: "Political support? Ji nahin, main to rajniti karta hi nahin hoon." Or "Income tax problems? Never. Not at all. They're just doing their job." And so on). But full marks to Pugalia for trying, and for not sounding like an overawed fan, which happens to lots of TV interviewers who talk to movie stars, even if it's Mallika Sherawat (maybe they're just overawed by her necklines).