“A Haunting”
-The Dark forest episode
Director David Haycox has directed this true story of the haunting thriller show on Discovery Channel. This story tells us about the real life incident of a family. In mid-1970, Clara Dandy and her family move into a farmhouse in rural Hinsdale, NEW YORK, eager to escape the pressures of city life. But their new home quickly begins to test their courage. The treat and frightful experiences of the dandy family begins with strange chanting sounds in the nearby woods. Soon after, family members see ghostly figures inside the house, and realize that something supernatural is trying to drive them away. The family calls on a psychic, who explains that many people have died in and around the house over the past 100 years. He fears that the spirits may be too powerful to fight.
This story indeed terrifies us and does not fail to give us goose bumps when we see the reality. The voice of the narrator Anthony makes this recreation of the terrifying true incident.
This was first aired on Thursday September 21, 2006.Then, re-aired it on frequent intervals as the show, A HAUNTING is one of the most popular shows on DISCOVERY CHANNEL.
By
Nupur Bhoraskar
JUST DANCE
Just Dance, the new Star Plus show, seems to do anything but live up to its name. There is little actual dancing on the show, but a lot more hemming and hawing about celebrity judges and the host itself.
Roshan is indeed a very fine mover of his own body, Farah Khan and Vaibhavi Merchant are the judges, and unlike other panels where they play good cop-bad cop these two believe in smiling or frowning unanimously.
The new thing about the show was that the Co-JUDGES Vaibhavi and Farah went all across UK, US & DUBAI to get the creamy dancers from all over. After preliminary selections this week was the tough fight for the contestants to perform in front of the ‘GOD of DANCE’ and secure a position amongst the top 12. After a struggle proving Darwin’s theory of 'survival of the fittest' apt, the best dancers were selected, who are:-
Abhash Mukherjee, Karan Khanna, Karan Pangali, Surjeet, Ankan, Irfaan, Rajit, Hitesh, Meher, Soumita, Kruti, Priti and Swarali. Since Karan Pangali could not perform this week due to his fractured leg, despite being a superb performer he is in the danger zone for next.
Since, it was the selection rounds of the final 13, no theme was particularly followed.
-By Vikrant
FOOTLOOSE
A couple of weeks ago Channel V introduced its new show ‘Footloose’. This new show is telecasted every Saturday at 7pm. ‘Footloose’ is a new dance reality show where the nation’s best dancers don’t only compete, but also live with each other. There are 16 dancers, four groups and three judges. Prosenjit Guy Kundu, Gaiti and Uma are the three judges on the show. The show has been hosted by VJ Manish. ‘Footloose’ includes all dance forms from hip-hop, Latin, contemporary, commercial, jazz to freestyle dancing. The winner of the show will get a chance to feature in a video album and sign a two-year contract with Channel V.
The theme of the show is that the young, passionate and talented youth come on the dance-floor to showcase pure unadulterated dance. The dancers live, eat and dance together. They will be put through tough rehearsals, made to perform on unusual locations, go through heartbreaking eliminations and face loads of surprising elements. This show focuses on today’s youth.
First episode of ‘Footloose’ on Channel V was introduced by VJ Manish. He welcomed Uma, Gaiti and Kundu and requested them to give a short performance.
VJ Manish introduced all super 16 contestants. They were selected from Mumbai, Delhi, Benguluru and Kolkata. Contestants were divided into groups by VJ Manish. The group ‘Cruisin’comprised of Apeksha, Simone, Amardeep and Danish. Giselle Shaili, Blaize and Yash were members ‘Hip Hustlers’. Jueili, Payal, Prashant and Bhargav were members of ‘Hotsteppers’. Rimpy, Chung Chung, Sagar and Sambo were members of ‘Dancin Dawgs’.
They were asked to see the Dance Adda of the Show.It consisted of a living room, practice room and music room.’Dance Adda’ is the house of all 16 contestants where they will live until the end of the show,just like Bigg Boss 4 and Big Toss.
VJ Manish asked all groups to choose a member who had to perform in the first challenge.One contestant from all groups had to compete with each other in a “Beep Off” challenge. The challenge will be aired in the second episode.Overall, the show is excellent.If we talk about the judges, all the three Prosenjit,Gaiti & Uma have excellent knowledge of dance.Gaiti & Uma have worked with many people in Indian film and music industry, like Abhay Deol, Dia Mirza, Imran Khan and more. They have also choreographed a few songs for movies like ‘Karthik Calling Karthik’, ‘Raaz 2’ and upcoming movies like Ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘Rockstar’. Prosenjit, having learnt dance abroad, has worked extensively with many international artistes like Faith Evans, Fantasia and Ashanti.
VJ Manish introduced all super 16 contestants. They were selected from Mumbai, Delhi, Benguluru and Kolkata. Contestants were divided into groups by VJ Manish. The group ‘Cruisin’comprised of Apeksha, Simone, Amardeep and Danish. Giselle Shaili, Blaize and Yash were members ‘Hip Hustlers’. Jueili, Payal, Prashant and Bhargav were members of ‘Hotsteppers’. Rimpy, Chung Chung, Sagar and Sambo were members of ‘Dancin Dawgs’.
They were asked to see the Dance Adda of the Show.It consisted of a living room, practice room and music room.’Dance Adda’ is the house of all 16 contestants where they will live until the end of the show,just like Bigg Boss 4 and Big Toss.
VJ Manish asked all groups to choose a member who had to perform in the first challenge.One contestant from all groups had to compete with each other in a “Beep Off” challenge. The challenge will be aired in the second episode.Overall, the show is excellent.If we talk about the judges, all the three Prosenjit,Gaiti & Uma have excellent knowledge of dance.Gaiti & Uma have worked with many people in Indian film and music industry, like Abhay Deol, Dia Mirza, Imran Khan and more. They have also choreographed a few songs for movies like ‘Karthik Calling Karthik’, ‘Raaz 2’ and upcoming movies like Ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘Rockstar’. Prosenjit, having learnt dance abroad, has worked extensively with many international artistes like Faith Evans, Fantasia and Ashanti.
The show with its talented dancers & mentors will definitely rock the audience, specially the youth, in the future episodes.
-Nupur Navlakhe
Review on Dance Show
JUST DANCE
Just Dance is a dance reality show that comes on Star Plus and Star One every Sat-Sun 9.p.m.
Hrithik Roshan, the superstar of dance is judging and selecting the best dance talent along with Bollywood’s famous dance gurus Farah Khan and Vaibhavi Merchant.
Dance Shows are becoming a popular concept in India. A lot of dance shows come on television every year. But only few of them are popular. For example: BOOGIE WOOGIE, DANCE INDIA DANCE. Recently DANCE INDIA DANCE had become the most popular dance reality show with its 2 season. So Just Dance has to match the level created by DID. For that they have Hrithik Roshan.
JUST DANCE has recently started and just completed the city auditions. In last week’s episode, dancers selected from across the world performed in front of Hrithik Roshan, Farah Khan and Vaibhavi Merchant and they selected 21 dancers to compete in the final dance competition. Contestants will not just get a chance to showcase their talent, but also get the opportunity to be groomed by highly acclaimed dance experts. They will get experts who will coach them to achieve their dream– to perform before Hrithik, which is by far the most exhilarating phase of the competition. The look and feel of show is promising and the level of performances are very high. From Hip-hop to Salsa, Indian classical to Bollywood this show has all the colors of dances. The participants will have to show their best. The selected Ultimate Dance Champion will then match his steps with none other than Hrithik Roshan himself!
By
Anurag ThakurGAME SHOW
The game show named “Gold Safe” is telecasted on NDTV Imagine & Zee TV. It is basically based on ‘guess the celebrity & win the prize’ in which viewers are asked to identify the celebrity whose face is partially shown. If the participant’s hits the right answer then he/she will get prize money ranging from Rs. 20,000 to 1 lac. It looks easy to play. Viewers are asked to dial the no.5664464 & answer the question but viewers have to wait to connect. The call rates are 12/min on networks like Airtel, Idea, and Vodaphone etc. It’s all about the money, means they have to pay whether they win the prize or not.
A time limit of 60 seconds exists. If no one gives the right answer within that time then the value of the question drops down. The whole problem with this show is that at times callers are kept on hold for more than 45 minutes. Out of 7 callers, 6 give wrong answers. It may be that those who give the correct answer are people of their own show because it looks like fake call. The participants should be aware before taking part in such quizzes because the question asked are very simple but only few participants’ give the right answer, in such condition participant wastes both their time & money.
By
Kirti
"HIGHWAY ON MY PLATE"
Usually when one thinks of visiting a new city for a vacation or to attend a wedding or for any other purpose, the biggest fear is whether “good food” would be available! Thank goodness there’s Rocky Singh and Mayur Sharma, not only to guide us along the highways but also to whet our appetites by helping us explore some of the yummiest food in the most entertaining way! Yes, we are talking about none other than “HIGHWAY ON MY PLATE”- a perfect blend of travel and food! The show airs at NDTV Good Times every Sunday, 8pm in which the two charming anchors stride into the local entries in the cities and hotels, restaurants and “dhabas” on the highways. They completely change our idea that good food can be found at the most sophisticated and elite places only. From “thelas in gullies” to “lassiwalas”, from “thaalis at dhabas” to “pakode-waalas”, the pair doesn’t miss a single opportunity to explore the best flavours from every corner of India and presenting them in a totally refreshing and informative manner. The liners and poetry they deliver and the way they gel with the locals can make even a non-foodie desperate to give the food at least a try!
While Rocky is a hardcore non-vegetarian and does not really find it difficult finding cuisine of his choice, Mayur being a pure veggie comes like a blessing in disguise for the veggies and vegans who have trouble selecting dishes from the menu card and keep staring at it for ages! The USP of the show being they not only tell you what to eat, but also what NOT to, i.e. one is assured to get an honest feedback about the place and its food. So 3-H’s are what look like HOMP’s philosophy – “Hunks, Hunger & Humor”. The show has enough elements of information, gigs, moments of little knick-knacks and the cool anchor-duo, all in all a great package to keep one glued to the I-box.
While Rocky is a hardcore non-vegetarian and does not really find it difficult finding cuisine of his choice, Mayur being a pure veggie comes like a blessing in disguise for the veggies and vegans who have trouble selecting dishes from the menu card and keep staring at it for ages! The USP of the show being they not only tell you what to eat, but also what NOT to, i.e. one is assured to get an honest feedback about the place and its food. So 3-H’s are what look like HOMP’s philosophy – “Hunks, Hunger & Humor”. The show has enough elements of information, gigs, moments of little knick-knacks and the cool anchor-duo, all in all a great package to keep one glued to the I-box.
By:
- Rashmit Kaur Khanuja
Travel Show: “Xp guide”
The show “Xp Guide” is aired on “TravelxpHD” in which the anchor takes you through history, destination, shopping, cuisine, night life and culture that have helped evolve a city from a national treasure to a global player. The travel show has raised its par due to its amazingly beautiful selection of locations. The various palaces, cuisine, major tourist spots and all necessary aspects are focused upon. The anchor’s narrative makes the viewers feel very close to nature and creates an urge to visit that place.
Almost everything is covered in an episode of 30 minutes like best hotels and restaurants, best shopping areas, museums, aquarium, temples, palaces etc. They don’t miss a single opportunity to explore the best places in the world. Be it in India or international destinations, the anchor makes it a point to cover the basic required information anyone would be in need of.
The best thing is that they not only introduce the place but also tell the audience about its history.
The program tells you about all possible modes of transport to arrive at the destination, like the nearest airport, railway stations, currency, weather conditions, etc. Exciting tourist packages are also offered to entire viewers to visit the place.
By:
Jaya Sachdev
Comedy Ka Maha Muqabala
In India comedy shows have become very popular. Show seems to be free for all as participants walk in and out of the circus. Viewers are now bored of watching old family drama shows, and most importantly comedy shows bring smiles and laughs on the faces of viewer’s which makes them feel light, relaxed and reduce their mental pressure. The viewership of such comedy shows is also higher than that of other shows, and therefore, to earn maximum profits, television channels are introducing new and different types of comedy shows.
Similarly, Star Plus came up with a new Comedy show called "Comedy Ka Maha Muqabala". The show had four teams featuring some of the biggest names from the film industry like Arshad Warsi, Raveena Tandon, Shekhar Suman and Shreyas Talpade.
The concept of the show was that each celebrity formed his/her own team and had to perform with the team every week in a variety of challenges. Each team had its own name like:
Arshad Ke Punters
Raveena Ke Mohre
Shreyas Chi Mandli
Shekhar Ke Movers
Based on their performances, they were awarded scores by the audience and the other captains. Each episode was a war between all the four teams through innovative rounds of comedy. The quality of jokes ranged from banal to mildly amusing. The comedy is not always first rate and the laughs, well, most of it is canned. Interestingly, no one seems to be in awe of or enamoured by their co-judges as they don't mince words or reserve comments. The performers too range from expressionless and sometimes absolutely 'dull' (Arhaan Behl , Roshni Chopra and a couple of others who we forget) to the likeable (Sunil Grover, Sudesh Lahiri) to the absolutely overdone (Raju Srivastava).
And, finally this comedy show reached its zenith on 11 th July, 2011 at the "Comedy Ka Maha Muqabla" grand finale. It was a big event and Shreyas Chi Mandali was declared as the winner of the season by calculating the judges scores and audience’s points.
By:
Priyanka Mulchandani
