Starry, starry nights light up small scre

Starry, starry nights light up small screen

Guest appearances by film stars on TV shows works in favour of both

ROSHNI K OLIVERA Times News Network

Film stars have entered your drawing rooms now. Almost every other night there's an actor on TV making an appearance on some show or the other to promote their movies. The last two months have seen Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Fardeen Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Vidya Balan, Lara Dutta, Akshay Kumar, Akshaye Khanna Tusshar Kapoor among others on popular shows.
Salman, who was on TV around the time Partner released, did his antics on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, asking a contestant to take off his shirt while singing one of his songs, much to the delight of the audience. He even became Love Guru on a channel, dishing out relationship advice to youngsters! Anil Kapoor and Akshaye Khanna have been on TV for their film Gandhi My Father. Riteish Deshmukh too was seen doing a jig on a show. More recently, it was the Chak De girls who were smiling away on the small screen.
Apparently when Akshay Kumar a few days ago was on a reality show, the TRPs that day zoomed. It's not just reality shows, actors have even made an appearance on chat shows and soaps. When singer Himesh Reshamsmiya's debut film as an actor Aap Ka Suroor was to release, he made an appearance in the family drama Teen Bahuraaniyan, where he sang a song from his film.
Not to forget Suniel Shetty and Arbaaz Khan playing cops in Ekta Kapoor's show Kasamh Se for their movie Shootout at Lokhandwala.
Incidentally, Ekta started the trend a few years ago to promote her brother Tusshar Kapoor's movies. She would often have a song from Tusshar's films incorporated in her serials. Saif Ali Khan was one of the first Bollywood stars to make an appearance in a TV show (Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin). It was rather unusual then, but today it's a trend.
Filmmakers and actors are glad they get a chance to talk about their movies. As director Sajid Khan says, "Doing publicity for a film is as important as writing the script and shooting it. And what better way than TV which has such tremendous reach."
A deal is usually struck between the film producer and the production house/channel making the TV show and accordingly actors turn up.
"A lot of effort goes into these special celeb shows," says Payaol Patel, creative head of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. "When we had Salman
and later Akshay in our show, we dedicated the entire episode to them, whereby contestants sang only their songs. So, when Salman asked a contestant to take off his shirt while singing Aa Aa Jaane Jaana, it was a big hit." And what about the TRPs? "Our show has its devoted viewers who watch it irrespective of celebs coming in. However, when we do have celebs, we also get new viewers hooked on to it," says Payaol. Gajendra Singh, producer-director of Voice of India, has another take: "TRPs apart, it's a dream come true for the contestants. Many of them are from small towns and are delighted to see their favourite stars on the show. It's about emotions and emotions work." Well, everyone seems glad with this trend. But, mind you, this has nothing to do with the box office. As Niketan Pandit, who likes watching reality shows and is also a film buff, says, "It's fun to have a filmstar on a show. There's always excitement. But I'm not sure how much it benefits a movie. A movie will draw audiences only if it's good, no amount of publicity can work. Yes, it may help in letting people know there's such a film releasing soon. That's about it."
Till this trend continues, enjoy. And guess what? Meanwhile another trend seems to just have begun... Lalu Prasad Yadav was a guest on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa yesterday!

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