<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/31999114.cms" />From Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan, India’s first television <keyword id="9363" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Talk-show">talk show</keyword> hosted by Tabassum, to the latest Satyamev Jayate, this genre of TV programme has come a long way and spanned a variety of topics. As the second season of Satyamev Jayate, hosted by <keyword id="6355923" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Aamir-Khan">Aamir Khan</keyword>, gains momentum, let us take a look at some of the most popular Indian chat shows that simply wowed the audience. 
 
1. Rendezvous with Simi Garewal When the showbiz woman in sparkling white invited the <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> aces, it was an offer too tempting to resist. On the show, Simi dared to delve deep into their personal space and explore the secret nooks. While hearty talks and happy smiles largely ruled the show, the vulnerable side of the guests melted our hearts. 
 
2. Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai 
Hosted by late actor Farooq Sheikh, this was yet another much-loved talk show where the audience got the chance to take a sneak peek into the real life of popular Bollywood stars as the host interviewed them, their families and friends. The first season was aired on TV in 2002 but due to its immense popularity, the second season came up in 2006. 
 
3. We the People 
Hosted by ace journalist Barkha Dutt, We the People is a debate show on current affairs. Not only politics but anything that needs public attention gets addressed on this show. Depending on the topic of discussion, 6-8 panellists are invited – ranging from politicians and academicians to celebrities and social workers. Anyone who can add value to the chosen topic can be a part of the panel. The show has won quite a few awards including The Best Talk Show and Barkha has won the title of Most Intelligent TV Host. 
 
4. Comedy Nights with Kapil (CNWK) When the likes of <keyword id="6354583" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Salman-Khan">Salman Khan</keyword> and Shah Rukh Khan want to promote their films on a show, it is obvious that the show is soaring high on popularity charts. CNWK has become one of the highest rated shows in non-fiction category in just six months since it has been aired on TV. Kapil Sharma opens the show with a comic skit, following which he interviews the stars who have come to promote their movies. Even the audience gets to interact with their fav stars here and that’s another plus. 
 
5. Koffee with Karan Here is India’s most watched celebrity chat show, currently running its fourth season. Hosted by producer-director <keyword id="3778" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Karan-Johar">Karan Johar</keyword>, the show started in 2004 and became an instant hit, thanks to the juiciest gossip that the stars doled out on the show. While the audience eagerly waits for the show, celebrities feel they have ‘arrived in Bollywood’ after gracing the coveted couch. The show has churned out many a controversy due to its no-holds-barred format where stars talk their hearts out. 
 
6. Movers &amp; Shakers Long before the Kapil Sharmas and Krushna Abhisheks took over stand-up comedy in India, <keyword id="17186" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Shekhar-Suman">Shekhar Suman</keyword> was busy tickling our funny <keyword id="62532" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="40" keywordseo="bones">bones</keyword> in his path-breaking talk show, Movers &amp; Shakers. During the show, he made fun of almost anyone – right from the top politicians of India to the biggest Bollywood stars. The comedy session was followed by a quick chat with a celebrity. The first season was aired in 1997. 
 
7. Seedhi Baat 
Another highly watched chat show on the Indian Telly, Seedhi Baat was initially hosted by Prabhu Chawla. The man was famous for inviting guests on his show and grilling them with his straight-to-the-point questions, hence the title Seedhi Baat. Chawla won many awards for hosting the show but post his resignation, M.J. Akbar took over. 
 
8. On the Couch with Koel 
If Karan invites the aces of Bollywood to his couch, Koel Purie extended the privilege to anyone who is making headlines and appeals to her and her generation of viewers. An interview-based show, On the Couch with Koel has had celebrities, young politicians, cricketers, socialites, business heads and even spiritual gurus on the guest list. 
 
9. The First Ladies It was not as popular as the other shows mentioned here, but we totally loved it. This one was a different kind of chat show where the designer duo of <keyword id="16394" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="abu-jani">Abu Jani</keyword> and <keyword id="16391" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Sandeep-Khosla">Sandeep Khosla</keyword> indulged in a hearty tête-à-tête with celebrity wives. From <keyword id="6354745" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="jaya-bachchan">Jaya Bachchan</keyword> to Nita Ambani and Tanya Deol to Adhuna Akhtar, the sophisticated show had quite an impressive guest list! 
 
10. Satyamev Jayate 
Hosted by Aamir Khan, this chat show throws light on sensitive social issues such as child molestation, female foeticide, dowry, rape, medical malpractice and more. The first season premiered on May 6, 2012, and Season 2 is being aired now. Satyamev Jayate has hooked the masses by addressing critical issues that directly impact their lives. 
 
Image: Indiatimes

10
Indian Talk Shows That Hooked The Audience

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/30228376.cms" /> When love is in the air and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> is bound to come up with a <keyword id="24069" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="romantic-comedy">romantic comedy</keyword>. But when ad film-maker <keyword id="1612592" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vinil-Mathew">Vinil Mathew</keyword>’s directorial debut <keyword id="1520199" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hasee-Toh-Phasee">Hasee Toh Phasee</keyword> hit the screen a week before <keyword id="4167782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="V-day">V-Day</keyword> (February 7), it turned out to be a better love feast than the run-of-the-mill romances. Much of the credit goes to the lead duo – <keyword id="562349" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Parineeti-Chopra">Parineeti Chopra</keyword> and <keyword id="1320874" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sidharth-Malhotra">Sidharth Malhotra</keyword> – and the <keyword id="303" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Director">director</keyword>, of course, who tweaked all the usual Bollywood masala into an earthy and sharp reality without stripping the flick of its dream elements. And going by the <keyword id="2034852" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Box-office-numbers">box office numbers</keyword>, we dare say that the audience loves those experiments garbed in the feel-good raiment. In other words, this Parineeti-Sidharth starrer has different offerings at different levels – whether you take it as an arty-commercial experiment or just another love story, with some nuances that can push you out of your comfort zone. 
 So how has the film fared at the box office so far? The Rs 25 crore <keyword id="1636016" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="rom-com">rom-com</keyword>, jointly produced by <keyword id="3778" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karan-Johar">Karan Johar</keyword>’s <keyword id="62161" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dharma-Productions">Dharma Productions</keyword> and <keyword id="7929" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anurag-Kashyap">Anurag Kashyap</keyword>’s <keyword id="1352720" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Phantom-Productions">Phantom Productions</keyword>, hit about 2,000 screens across the country and grossed around Rs 17-18 crore at home during the first weekend, according to industry estimates. <keyword id="1861689" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="overseas-collection">Overseas collection</keyword>s stood at a little over $1 million. The <keyword id="2014761" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Occupancy-rate">occupancy rate</keyword> was 50-80% during the opening weekend and stayed at 50% on the crucial Day 4 (February 10) in the domestic market, bringing in around Rs 6 crore. Overseas collection on the 4th day was around Rs 1.5 crore. However, the movie is expected to do much better at the box office during the <keyword id="2054858" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="V-Day-week">V-Day week</keyword>. 
 
Karan Johar is also happy with the way things are going. “Thank you for the immense love and appreciation for Hasee Toh Phasee, a film I am extremely proud of,” he tweeted on Sunday. 
 
The rom-com is expected to ride on critical acclaim and we feel that is justified to some extent. For one, director Vinil Mathew (best known for his Cadbury: Kuch meetha ho jaye commercials) knows how to tell a good story, blending reality with cinematic magic. And writer <keyword id="1989065" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Harshvardhan-Kulkarni">Harshvardhan Kulkarni</keyword> has aptly supported him. The film is essentially a quirky love story between <keyword id="19563" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="meeta">Meeta</keyword> (Parineeti) and Nikhil (Sidharth) – a modern-day take about life, love and relationships. Consequently, you see a runaway professional and a turbulent soul in Meeta, who has brains but takes drugs, steals money from her family and tries to whisk off her sister <keyword id="5405" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karishma">Karishma</keyword>’s (<keyword id="16234" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Adah-Sharma">Adah Sharma</keyword>) fiancé who is also a long-time friend of Meeta. Sidharth, on the other hand, is a more staid character with his commitments firmly in place. The resulting story weaves the chemistry between the odd pair while <keyword id="6362839" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Manoj-Joshi">Manoj Joshi</keyword> does some good work as Meeta and Karishma’s father. 
 
But one still wonders why all the soul-searching and putting life into order need to happen immediately before a crucial marriage, à la Mere Brother Ki Dulhan? Only this time, we have a runaway bridegroom, instead of the bride walking away from the mandap as is the Bollywood wont. But Parineeti is the real star cast here – bright, gorgeous, self-willed and passionate – and wins hearts in spite of her over-the-top acting. Sidharth, too, is out on a self-quest and looks laudable. But it’s the cliché plot that mars the good efforts. There are nice elements, but they come in bits and pieces, and finally, Hasee Toh Phasee remains a commercial candyfloss. 
 
One just wonders what would have happened if Parineeti and Sidharth went through the same experiences post the marriage between Adah and Sidharth. But that might have been too much off the track for Bollywood and the Indian audience who did not receive the offbeat theme of Nishabd well. Let us see if Hasee Toh Phasee can join the 100 crore club. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/30228389.cms" /> 
 
<keyword id="805778" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Heartless">Heartless</keyword>: Commendable efforts lose steam, again Medical thrillers are pretty rare in Bollywood and we pinned our hopes on <keyword id="17186" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shekhar-Suman">Shekhar Suman</keyword>’s directorial debut Heartless, starring his son <keyword id="20393" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Adhyayan">Adhyayan</keyword>, along with <keyword id="20398" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="deepti-naval">Deepti Naval</keyword>, <keyword id="6381489" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Om-puri">Om Puri</keyword> and newcomer <keyword id="1935232" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ariana-Ayam">Ariana Ayam</keyword> (she hails from New York). The movie also released on February 7 and hit about 800 screens all over the country. But unlike Hasee Toh Phasee, this one had a poor start in spite of a great storyline – essentially borrowed from the American crime/supernatural/conspiracy thriller <keyword id="106100" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Awake">Awake</keyword>. Surprisingly, the box office numbers are not officially available yet but according to one estimate, Heartless has grossed a little over Rs 1 crore in the opening weekend. That is, indeed, shocking. 
 A close look at the movie, however, confirms our fear that it could be a box office flop. Rich boy <keyword id="138003" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aditya-Singh">Aditya Singh</keyword> (<keyword id="6354939" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Adhyayan-Suman">Adhyayan Suman</keyword>), who needs a <keyword id="6397601" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="heart-transplant">heart transplant</keyword>, falls in love with fortune-hunter <keyword id="80068" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ria">Ria</keyword> (Ariana Ayam) and secretly marries her before the surgery. But once he is under the knife, all hell breaks loose. There is conspiracy going on to kill him with a <keyword id="2054863" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Poisoned-transplant">poisoned transplant</keyword>, so that the wife can pocket the insurance money. Adhyayan’s friend and <keyword id="6382875" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="surgeon">surgeon</keyword> <keyword id="2054864" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dr-Sameer-Saxena">Dr Sameer Saxena</keyword> (Shekhar Suman) is also in cahoots. 
 During the surgery, the truth dawns upon the hero as he goes into <keyword id="2054865" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anaesthesia-awareness">anaesthesia awareness</keyword>, a medical condition where the patient is conscious enough to understand everything, but cannot move. Finally, his mother <keyword id="489622" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gayatri-Singh">Gayatri Singh</keyword> (Deepti Naval) commits suicide to make the transplant happen; Om Puri, as <keyword id="2054866" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dr-Sanjay-Trehan">Dr Sanjay Trehan</keyword>, manages to save him and all the baddies are arrested at the end. There’s nothing wrong with the story except for the fact that medical thrill becomes hilarious comedy during the second half and Adhyayan still looks pretty stiff although the mother-son relation has been played out well. Maybe the BO numbers will pick up as soon as the audience gets used to the comical activities that take place in the OT. But can it still be touted as Adhyayan’s comeback movie? 
 
<keyword id="1977299" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Babloo-Happy-Hai">Babloo Happy Hai</keyword>, <keyword id="828628" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ya-Rab">Ya Rab</keyword> fail to make the cut The other two releases of the week also failed to make the cut at the box office in spite of some serious themes. Directed by <keyword id="475774" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nila-Madhab-Panda">Nila Madhab Panda</keyword> (of Jalpari and I am Kalam fame), Babloo Happy Hai has a meaningful message about <keyword id="19472" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="aids">AIDS</keyword> and how people can still live a full life. But the movie has a <keyword id="110559" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Limited-release">limited release</keyword> and hit only about 350-plus screens. It has grossed a little over Rs 15 lakh on the opening day, according to TalkingMoviez.com. 
 
Hasnain Hyderabadwala-directed Ya Rab depicts the eternal conflict between <keyword id="70629" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Humanity">humanity</keyword> and <keyword id="2054867" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Parochial-attitude">parochial attitude</keyword>, and how <keyword id="1013184" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="religious-fundamentalism">religious fundamentalism</keyword> can lead to <keyword id="6358165" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="terrorism">terrorism</keyword>. But once again, lack of promotion has failed to create buzz for this movie, co-produced by <keyword id="6370367" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mahesh-Bhatt">Mahesh Bhatt</keyword>. Made on a budget of Rs 2.5 crore, the movie has been released in 300-plus theatres and the Friday collections stood in the range of Rs 20 lakh-plus. Overall, <keyword id="434916" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood-box-office">Bollywood box office</keyword> hasn’t witnessed too many ripples even now but movie-goers are having a gala time, sampling different genres. That’s definitely a big plus and we are waiting for more. 
 
Images: Indiatimes

Box Office: Hasee Toh
Phasee Wins Hearts; Heartless Fails To Retain The Thrill

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/48746560.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
If you’re one of those spending more than half your day on the internet logged into the numerous social networking sites while at the same time ensuring you’ve watched every video that Youtube has to offer, the name <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=John+Oliver">John Oliver</a> shouldn’t be too unfamiliar. Neither would the show <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=last+week+tonight">‘Last Week Tonight</a>.’ 
 An American late-night talk and news <keyword id="1462374" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Satire">satire</keyword> television progamme, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Watch-John-Oliver-make-fun-of-patent-trolls-on-Last-Week-Tonight/articleshow/46991299.cms">Last Week Tonight with John Oliver</a> burst into our lives a little over a year ago. Modeled slightly similar to Comedy Central’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Jon-Stewart-And-The-Daily-Show-Brilliantly-Point-Out-The-Absurdity-Of-The-Veterans-Affairs-Backlog/articleshow/21136562.cms">‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’</a> where Oliver himself was a correspondent, <keyword id="2285556" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="last-week-tonight">Last Week Tonight</keyword> quickly became popular due to <keyword id="1490518" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="John-Oliver">John Oliver</keyword>’s impeccable wit relentlessly pushing the boundaries of comedy and him not shying away from taking on massive topics. 
 
From wastage of food, FIFA to playfully taking down the National Security Agency and exposing the sham in Miss America Organisation’s claims that it makes $45 million available in scholarships to contestants every year, John Oliver is hardly afraid of making hot-button issues the subject of his half an hour show. 
 His show’s reputation of giving a riotous bend to daily news isn’t lost on <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>ns either. It’s safe to say his fan base in India is increasing at the rate of the number of twists in the Indrani Mukerjea-Sheena Bora case. 
 
Oliver has returned the love for the country too. His take on the madness of the general elections and the recent <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=porn+ban">porn ban</a>, featuring a cameo by our beloved Subramanian Swamy have been watched on repeat and lapped up veraciously by lovers of intelligent comedy. 
 
The show’s high esteem in the country can be attested by the recent Reddit thread which asked the question that all of us secretly asked in our heads, ‘Why don’t we have a show like Last Week Tonight in India?’ 
 
I get why we’re endorsing the thought of wanting our version of Last Week Tonight. To start with, Indian television news is a joke, we’re perennially deprived of good humourous content, and we’re a country where absurd policies and government laws gets passed faster than a court judgement, so undoubtedly we’re brimming with content for a satire show. 
 
However, this doesn’t erase the one tiny detail we desperately need to come to terms with- Indians aren’t worthy of their own version of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/48746564.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
 
I’ll tell you why. 
 
To start off with, we’re horrible at imitating or reproducing/stealing. The countless Pritam/Anu Malik compositions and endless Hollywood remakes being churned out as fodder for Indians to lap up in the name of Hindi cinema is enough proof. We’re capable of degrading something as splendid as Last Week Tonight into a mess of a show with no vision, script or humour. That’s an insult the show really doesn’t warrant. 
 
Suppose, we do replicate the show- the ‘burning question’ then, is who will be India’s answer to John Oliver? Shekhar Suman? Kapil Sharma? Karan Thapar? Let’s face it. We don’t have anyone who is worthy enough of taking on the responsibility of filling in John Oliver’s Shoes. And, no, the AIB guys do not count. 
 
Thirdly, even if we DO find someone to take the burden of replicating the best satire show in the history of TV, are we forgetting that we live in India? The very country where there are restrictions imposed on humour itself. One segment of mocking the ridiculous ideologies of our beloved politicians and the host would not only require Z+ security while his house and offices are vandalized but he would also face the wrath of never-ending threats and will have to leave the country if he ever wants to breathe again. 
 
Despite the fact that we’re hungry for good content which does not border on informing us that an accused has eaten a sandwich, we have to admit that Indians are a bunch of sensitive people who get offended faster than Miley Cyrus sheds clothes. We don’t know how to joke or to take a joke. All we know is ‘that hurt our sentiments’. What unfolded after the AIB Roast is evidence to this fact. It goes without saying that due to a horde of fringe outfits taking advantage of the secular nature of our country, offense is taken with regards to anything and everything and the existence of a sense of humour is long forgotten. 
 
We will never have a show as awe-inspiring as Last Week Tonight with John Oliver but what we will have is the mental image of seeing the insides of Archana Puran Singh’s mouth everytime she went on a laughing vacation in Comedy Circus. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

You Searched For "Shekhar Suman" and got 3 results

10 Indian Talk Shows That Hooked The Audience

Charu

Box Office: Hasee Toh Phasee Wins Hearts; Heartless Fails To Retain The Thrill

Sanghamitra Mandal

India doesn't deserve its own version of 'Last Week Tonight' and here's why

Poulomi Das