HUSSAIN & TINA ARE NB2 CHAMPS

Grand finale takes four hours to finish!

If you tuned in to the finals of Nach Baliye 2 (NB 2) on Star One last night, you'd feel a little disappointed. Not only did the show stretch on for almost four hours — there was an overdose of dance, literally! The ending was by far also quite lackluster — nothing compared to the one last year. And after 13 weeks of hard fought competition, it was Tina and Hussain Kuwajerwala who danced away with a cool 20 lakh rupees and the title of NB 2 champions. Their choreographers, Harshall Kamat and Vitthal Patil, won ten lakhs.
In a competition that was dominated by experienced television stars (Tina was the only one with no television exposure till date), it was nice to see the young couple walk away with the trophy because they deserved it. With favourites Tanaaz and Bakhtyaar out in the semis itself, Yash and Gauri Tonk didn't stand much chance before Tina and Hussain, who'd been giving scintillating performances from the first episode itself. And this was proved by the whopping four lakh vote margin by which they won.
The episode started with the finalists doing a 14 minute 'jugalbandi' together — which gave clear indication who the winner would be. This was followed by the eight eliminated couples giving performances interspersed by amusing skits based on the lovable Munnabhai and his sidekick Circuit, played by Shabbir Ahluwalia and Rajiv Paul respectively.
The judges, Saroj Khan (in a pink sari), Kunal Kohli (in a black sherwani with white trousers, and Malaika Arora (in a flowing purple number) were superfluously sweet to all the couples, something that the trio has become quite good at. Although it was good to see all the couples back on stage, the sheer length of the show must have sent many to sleep.
Shweta and Raja Tiwari, who quit the show because of a sudden liver infection that Raja got, was given a standing ovation after their performance by the appreciative audience. Other memorable performances came from Tanaaz and Bakhtiyaar (poor Bakhtiyaar looked crestfallen), Gaurav Kapoor and Narayani Shastri, and Shweta and Manav Govil. However, it was Saroj Khan's dance that received the most whistles (and a standing ovation). Dressed in a black number, Khan can still give today's heroines (including Malaika who did Yeh Mera Dil from Don) a run for their money with her graceful moves. This was followed by a group dance by all the choreographers, again, done quite well.
The hosts, Sangeeta and Shabbir, then took the stage to shake a leg. Finally when everyone landed on stage, last year's winners, Supriya and Sachin Pilagaonkar, announced the winners. And Tina and Hussain (and their choreographers) gave each other a long group hug for a victory they truly deserved. Raising the golden trophy high, Tina said, "I'd like to thank the judges, my co-contestants, my choreographers, the viewers and, of course, Hussain for this victory. I'm not from the industry, but I was pampered a lot by everyone, and this couldn't be a better first year wedding gift!" Her sentiments were echoed by her elated husband, "What take from here are a lifetime of memories. We're standing here because of our audience who supported us throughout." Runners-up Gauri and Yash Tonk graciously accepted their defeat and the silver trophy that they were presented with

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Tina, Hussain win 'Nach Baliye 2'
IANS [Tuesday, December 19, 2006]