Small screen is no more small. If anything, it has become the battle field for some of the biggest big screen actors. Gone are the days when small screen meant Ekta Kapoors and the likes’ mindless soap operas with one sari clad weeping women and a bitch. These are the days of reality shows, shows that extend beyond exercising one’s vocal cords or shaking a limb. TV shows such the survivor, the amazing race, fear factor created records of their own in the West and now Indian television is fast trying to tread this reality road. Channels are fighting tooth and claw with one another, trying to woo the audience with every possible means- from the attraction of a star studded judges panel or host, to the lure of offensive amounts of money and even the romance of playing with ones fears, they are offering it all. In this flood of reality shows, three stand out above the others, owing to sheer star power- “Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain”, “Dus ka Dum” and most recently “Khatron Ki Khiladi”.
Khatron Ki Khiladi
This is the much hyped show airing on the newly launched channel colors with Akshay Kumar as the primary Khiladi. I had approached the show with a lot of expectations but it turned out to be very boring television in the end, so much so that I too nodded my head vigorously at the end of the first stunt and then switched channels. The hype too much, the flaws too many in this desi “take” on fear factor. The first thing I found a little pesky was the chanting of “AUM BHOOR BHUWAH SWAHA..”. Why! Oh Why! tell me, do the participants need to ask for God’s safety net? Are the stunts poorly designed or are they prone to accidents? Is the show violating safety standards? But ok fine India is a spiritual country, we trust in God blah blah.. so lets move past this, although not before I say that the chant totally failed to achieve what it had been designed to achieve- to inspire fear in the viewers.
Now the rest of the show is pretty boring. The show lacks the urgency, so much an integral part of its fountainhead (fear factor). It lacks the display of pure nerves, rivalry, determination, all the essential elements that make fear factor what it is. If one is in a game show like this, one should be there to win, not to make friends and this very vital point is completely missed. There is no adrenalin rush at any moment during the show. And if you are expecting a bevy of beautiful, adventerous ladies, you are in for a huge surprise. Not only are they not the “In” kind but they are big time quitters. The stunt doesnot even start when they decide to give up. And to see that happening 13 times over and over again (they will walk to the stunt all dressed up as dare devils only to just quit) is really frustrating.
Enough about the participants, what about the host? Honestly I didnot expect Akshay Kumar to be this bad. I think even his first movie was better than what he is doing now. He is at a complete loss, not knowing what to say or do. His dialogues! “Oh My God”(remember Janice in friends??? to the same effect); its sounds like a fifth class student reading a passage from a social studies book. I would have preferred if the language was not so forcibly Hindi. A little English here and there, a few slang, some swearing would go a long way to make this show watch able. Akshay asks one contestant “Aap in deviyon me se kis ko chunti hain”? For me the entire show reached its nadir just then! Come on man! This is a freaking “khatron” ka show. “Deviyans/Mahtaurmas” have no place here! Perhaps the makers should have stuck to the original concept. Limited the number of participants to a bearable number, put the “aam admi” on the show, who would definitely give his best in all the stunts. Lastly if a Non Indian watches the show he would definitely think “shucks! what a bunch of quitters”!
Rating:2.5/5
Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain
The Indian version of “Are you smarter than a fifth grader” with host none other than the King Khan himself. This show first dared to ask Indians if they are smarter than a 5th standard student and then dared to become a mundane, bovine show, riding on the brand image of Shah Rukh Khan alone. The show did not do well initially and that was artfully attributed to the first IPL season clashing with the show’s timings. Once IPL ended the show’s TRP did go up a few notch, which was definitely been a big relief for StarTelevision. But lets face it, the show as a whole, simply putting, sucks! I watched only a few episodes, that too just because Shah Rukh was the host. The first time I admired his eyes, the second time his biceps the third time his watch, but pretty soon I ran out of King Khan’s parts and accessories to admire and stopped tuning into the show altogether. The questions are not exciting, the emotions repetitive, the humor pretentious. Shah Rukh too fails to strike a cord with the participants or viewers- his dialogues lack the punch, his actions monotonous. It was no wonder that the entire Shah Rukh brigade (Karan Johar, Rani Mukherjee) had to be roped in one day to give a tug to the low TRPs. Watching Kya Aap Panchvi Pass Se Tej Hain is like watching “phir bhi dil hain hindustani” over and over and then over again and the best part of the show are undoubtedly the little kids who help the participants.
Rating:2/5
Dus ka Dum
Money is power this offspring of “The Power of 10″ screams and Yes it is! Surprisingly, I liked this show, not for the money(although this was the initial lure) but in its entirety. I have never really been a fan of Salman Khan. But after watching this show, I am left in no doubts as to why Katrina Kaif and some of the hottest damsels of Bollywood have dated this man! The man is a natural. His jokes are laughable, his mannerism unaffected, his concerns towards each participant, almost believeable. Somehow Salman manages to stay fresh everytime, bringing in some thing new to each episode. Of course besides Salman, credit has to be given to the people who draft the questions. They are really interesting and most often than not, you would find yourself being a part of that question. The show succeeds where the others have failed, in striking empathy with the viewer. The participants too seem to be having a good time on the show and Salman does not shy away from the personal questions that are thrown at him sometime. Even with out the kids, without the stunts, Salman and Co has done a very good job here.
Rating:3.5/5
This is my take on these reality shows. So what do you think?
What you have said about Dus Ka Dum is very true. You have given it a rating of 3/5. That was your personal opinion. I guess t should be more. If we say 4/5, it won’t be wrong I guess. The show is highly popular with the masses.
Yes! The best part about the show is that it connects with the viewers.
yeah well explained about khatron ki khiladi.
i’d give a 2/5 for them all!
the first one i agree with you whole heartedly. there’s nothing exciting there. akshay is wasted. the babes are truly dumb, bring on some real college going people. heck roadies had a better fan following. that was real.
shah ‘rukh’ jha. the kids are delightful, …and thats about it.
salman, some smart quips, boring muscle flexing. idiotic slapstick yet again , here too! sheesh. what a waste.
Dude i thnk ur mind may b struck by watchn saas bahu serials nd da music reality show
so u cant able to digest a gud show
Fear factor izz a gud show nd it izz rocin in da streets
may b uneed to cme outside ur house nd see da craze!!!
u have given wrong marks to kia ap panchvi pass sai taiz hain u have to give it 0/5.and u have also given wrong marks to dus ka dum u have to give it 5/5.thank u
ahhhhh…..DUS KA DUM reallly rocks yar…..everytime i try to avoid the show, question asked by salman makes me think all the way about it…..nice concept….and salman……..wht a performer……someone said it right….the only reason the hottest damsels dated this guy./……SALMAN ROCKs
Best snaps pf katrina kaif and more info about Katrina.
salman is awesm …he is in his own self ….he doesnt fake his nature like other hosts …and yewsh yewsh he is accepted from 9 yr old to 90 yr old ppl ….!!
DKD rocks and so deos sallu !!
Dus Ka Dum is really a good show. Even non – Salman fans have liked it.
And speaking about Fear Factor or 5 vi paas, most of the non akshay or non srk fans hv not even seen 1 episode of it. Even some of their die hard fans have disliked it.
About the ratings, I wud give 2/5 for fear factor.
1/5 for paanchvi paas
And a 4/5 for Dus Ka Dum
Well said about panchvi pass. Dus ka dum is superb. Salman is a perfect gentleman unlike Shah rukh khan who himself proclaims as the king of bollywood. Sha rukh is no actor
nicely written about the 3 shows, the verdict and the reviews u have given is very true and believable…
khatron ke khiladi ——-simply boring no thrills.
kya app panchwi paas ..— simply boring and depressing, and sad to watch.
dus ka dum—————- explosive , fresh,
the macho carefree kool dudes makes the show cooler..
[though all credits to salman khan he is very true to himself and not faking the person he is,]
though all questions are very silly and slapstick but u cant help to watch the fun in the show.
i totally agree with ur opinions
as for paanchvi pass is concerned it starts before dus ka dum and i was too much excited about this show.
but after watching two or three episode which is just like other Quiz show based on Study quiz and one thing more is that the Questions are from The books of Low classes which is Shameful is Quiz show so i felt that this is boring and after this i start watching Dus ka dum i was too much excited it looks like real behavior of Salman Khan.He is not doing too much acting and give reply to questions also which are about of his life also.
And one thing more is that its format is new and wonderful.
i have not seen Khatron ka Khiladi.
Nice rating.
salman sucks…shiiiiiiiiiii kitni bekar comparing hai…paanchvi paas ko 5/5..same khatro ke khiladi..4.5/5 n dus ka dumm..0/5..
haan achi education n gnrl knowledge ka logo ko kyu pasand aayega….net par tym paas hi to karte hai aise log…
jo khatro ke khiladi mein grls kar rahi hai..challenge hai boys karke dikhaye….huh….bolna aasan hai…
dus ke dumm mein hai ki kya tukka lagana…
issliye edu ko chorkar tukkebaazi mein laga ho india to ho hi kya sakta hai yaha..
originality hai hi nahi…….i hate thts so cheap mentality…
prefect rating. U are absolutly correct.
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Dear vaishali it seems like u r hardcore shahrukh fan and u do like akshaye but i cant understand ur hatred regarding king khan urf shenshah of zindadili in bollywood mr superior khan Salman bhai. I know he is not a better actor than Amir Khan or Amitabh Bachchan neither he is great presenter as the later one but he has natural charm and has ability to hit the chord of masses. His show dus ka dum deserve of rating of 4.5/5. He is amazing and apart concept is also awesome. His sponteneous act and carefree attitude makes him believable and also his questions are one we all relate with. Their is nothing wrong about Shahrukh and Akshaye kumar show, I accept we should be open to new ideas but than if television shows are not entertaining I don’t care what the concepts are. Truely Akshaye is no actor it is proved, about shahrukh don’t u ever dare to compare with Amitabh or Amir. You r not even close to Salman. Yes you are simply made for kya aap panchvi pass se tez hain kind of show coz u belong to the genre of Karan Johar and YRF movies. you may have worked with greats like Maniratnam SLB and Asutosh Gowarikar but I know they won’t prefer you anymore coz u never fall in the same class where mediocrity is disliked thats why probably directors like RGV Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra or Niraj Pandey sigh away from you.Thanks this is my opinion which may be different from others but I am not expecting anything new from even MNIK.
Joe…
Check out my domain sometime….
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