Top 10 happenings on Indian television 2009

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As the year comes to a close we bring to you the 10 most talked about happenings in the Indian Television industry. While some were breaking news, some others were shocking and scandalous to say the least. Take a look…

1.Big B in Bigg Boss 3 – When the glam Shilpa Shetty host of Bigg Boss 2 got caught up with her wedding, Big B was roped in to play the role of Pop Philospher. It was a return to Television for Amitabh Bachchan who was to be the link between the show’s participants and its viewers, analysing developments that happen within the ‘Bigg Boss’ house. Well as claimed by the makers, it really couldn’t get any bigger than this.

2.Truth was hard to digest - Sex, Lies and Polygraphy test were on everybody’s mind as ‘Sach ka Saamna’ anchored by Rajeev Khandelwal got the participants to answer up, close and personal questions. Many a skeletons tumbled out of the closet and not only celebs but the common man too became a topic of hot discussion in homes, offices as well as the Parliament. The show got free publicity and everyone is eagerly waiting for season 2 which is to start in the New Year.

3.Laughter therapy from SAB TV – While many other channels struggled to survive this year, SAB TV stayed strong and loyal to its concept of dishing out fresh new comedy one after the other and at a successful rate too. SAB’s fresh, clean programming and healthy, light hearted content which could be enjoyed by all in the family turned out to be its USP ensuring it had a 200 percentGRP growth for the year 2009. Their current shows that rule the roost are Lapataganj, Sajan Re Jhoot Mat Bolo, Shree Adi Manav, Sonu Sweety, Maniben.com, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, Jugni Chali Jalandhar, FIR and Laughter Yoga each with a distinct flavor of its own!

4.Rani Mukherjee on DPL – After the Box Office witnessed the super miserable failure of ‘Dil Bole Haddipa’ Rani Muherjee had no other option than to come in as the judge on DPL (Dance Premiere League), a dance talent hunt show on Sony. A slot earlier supposed to be filled in by Madhuri Dixit who could not make it, was taken up by Rani who made a vain attempt to stay in the limelight.

5.Shraddha Nigam – Karan Singh Grover break up- While reality shows were here to stay no one ever thought that they would bring along with them controversies galore not all created by the PR machinery, mind you! Sony’s ‘Jhalak Dikhlaja 3’ saw some groovy moves from contestant Karan Singh Grover thanks to his choreographer Nicole who taught him more than just some mean dance moves. It is rumoured that she was also the reason for the couple’s break up. Shraddha who would be seen cheering the duo during the show almost went underground when she found out that her hubby was two timing on her. Karan did not comment on the rumors doing the rounds and the newly married couple’s split sent some shocking waves through their Television industry.

6.Vindu wins Bigg Boss 3 – Whoever had thought that Dara Singh’s son who had never seen any kind of success in the entertainment industry and who was seen as a rash participant in Bigg Boss 3 would finally end up winning the show. He rubbed many other participants the wrong way while at the same time was seen crying and talking to the camera while in the Bigg Boss house. While the others loved to hate him Vindu carried on with his risqué behaviour nonetheless. What did it get him? Well, a booty of one crore, a swish car and a big smile to match.

7.Swayamvars on Television – The show ‘Rakhi ka Swayamvar’ was to end with the controversial oomph girl’s shaadi on Indian television. The channel NDTV Imagine benefited with the show getting it never before seen TRPs but the shaadi never happened with Rakhi Sawant backtracking at the last minute. Next in line is Rahul Mahajan, another controversial candidate who is all set to choose a girl in a show called ‘Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jaayega’! This seems to be possible as of now when one sees the enthusiasm with which Rahul is scanning all the entries right from the audition.

8.Scandals galore on MTV Splitsvilla 2 – The show turned as scandalous as it could get with the ousted contestants labouring charges of unusual favours being exchanged on the show. There were many reports in the press about what transpired behind the scenes when the cameras stopped rolling. Amongst others VJ Nikhil Chinappa too was caught in the mud slinging but ultimately got out of it.

9.FB helps casting - Twitter and Facebook was like a much awaited outlet for the entertainment industry with actors putting in their comments and candid pictures up for public view. One guy who really benefited from this all was Karan Kundra who uploaded his pix on FB and sent them to Queen K – Ekta Kapoor who was co-incidentally looking for a new guy to play the main lead. Karan got the chance of his lifetime when she liked his pix and he bagged the main lead in Balaji’s ‘Kitni Mohabbar Hai’. He is now seen in ‘Bayttab Dil Ki Tamanna Hai’.

10.YRF on TV- Yash Chopra after ruling the Hindi film industry for so many years announced YRF’s grand plans to make a mark on Television. With an exclusive tie-up with Sony Entertainment Television, the badshahs of Bollywood have an interesting line-up of television programming to be launched on 1st January. The year end saw the grand announcement of five programmes from the YRF stable with a promise of Indian television turning red from 1st January. Well, let’s wait and watch!

-Seema S. Mattoo/ Sampurn Media