Article: Small got bigger!!

It was also eventful as it had several of it's loved actors make a comeback, while those already in the roost got bolder by the day. In the trend of Bolly merging with telly world, TV also saw some of its shows being inspired by films. Trade talk: Be it content, controversies or competition, this year saw it all on TV.

Small screen, big stars

If the past few years saw B-Towners try their best to claim their spot among Telly-Towners, this year saw them reign supreme on TV. Almost every top star had a foot in the TV industry this year -- Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit-Nene and Sonali Bendre who've already tasted their bit of telly fame, this year saw Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, Dharmendra, Arjun Rampal, and Sanjay Dutt make impressive TV debuts, while Aamir Khan and Sunny Deol announced their telly intentions too.

Look who's back!

The year also saw many once A-listers on TV make a comeback to the tube. Hiten Tejwani, Ram Kapoor, Sakshi Tanwar, Mohnish Behl, Rakshanda Khan, Sharad Kelkar... all of who were either busy doing films or regional shows, returned to the small screen, much to the delight of their fans. This apart several veteran actors including Jagdeep, Sadhana Singh and Rajesh Puri among others, too were seen on TV.

Beefing up the Bolly way

While Bollywoodians gave TV actors a tough competition in the TRP race, the TV hunks gave some tagdi takkar to the Bolly hotties in the hotbod department. If the big screen has John Abraham, Shahid Kapoor and Salman Khan, the small screen has its own set of actors, who were more than happy to drop their shirts at the drop of the hat to show off their buff bods. Karan Tacker, Angad Hasija, Aamir Ali lead this hot bod pack on the tube.

Big fat telly wedding

If B-Town has huge marketing budgets, the small screen has equally high wedding budgets. The year saw weddings on small screen get lavish like never before. Marriages that lasted for over two weeks with its actors stepping out in their designer best, the weddings were a grand affair. Whether it was 'Bade Achhe Lagte Hain', Zee TV's 'Sanskaar Laxmi', 'Chhoti Bahu' and 'Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein', or 'Sasural Simar Ka', 'Laagi Tujhse Lagan', 'Naa Aana Iss Des Laado', 'Pratigya', 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai' and 'Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon', it was all about big fat telly weddings.

Bold to brazen

After roping in Pak actor Veena Malik to steam up 'Bigg Boss' last year, TV stepped up the bold quotient in 2011. Indian fiction serials got a whole new twist when it depicted the traumas faced by a homosexual character in 'Maryada: Lekin Kab Tak'. Reality shows like 'Emotional Atyachaar's love-sex-dhokha track got even more brazen, while 'Bigg Boss' put out a shocker by roping in adult film actor Sunny Leone as an inmate of its ongoing fifth installment.

TV khit-pit

With Information and Broadcasting ministry making stringent rules for television content, 2011 had a host of controversies on its plate. Right from TV actors Sara and Ali Merchant's divorce following the marriage on 'Bigg Boss' last year to roping the 'adult entertainer' Sunny on TV shows; from Bolly hottie Mallika Sherawat being asked to leave a dance reality show as its judge to TV's biggest star Ronit Roy's role in a hit-and-run case.

Inspired tales

TV serials were either inspired by real life characters -- 'Phulwa' based on the late dacoit turned politician, Phoolan Devi and 'Mukti Bandhan' on late business tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani; or by filmi tales -- 'Maati Ki Banno' (inspired by Karisma Kapoor starrer 'Shakti') and 'Pyaar Ki Ek Kahaani' (inspired by Hollywood's Twilight). Taking a cue again from Hollywood, movies were made on popular Indian sitcoms like 'Office Office' and 'Khichdi' a la Sex And The City.

Source: Aakanksha Naval-Shetye & Prachi Kadam, DNA-Daily News & Analysis

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