Bonjour....
I know, I know, its been a while... My adopted parents gave me a good sounding tonite so I know its been more than a while. Well, since I never want to disappoint them, I'm dashing off something I wrote recently. Its about Shah Rukh Khan in his new avatar as the host of KBC. Wrote it for my newspaper but not everyone I know and love reads my paper (come on, guys subscribe now!!!!) so am rehashing it here....
Hope this will make M& S happy!!!
Enjoy....
King and I
'Confident' is now 'pakka', 'lock' turns into 'freeze' while 'I want to hug you' is the new way of saying 'I want to quit'.In case you missed last month's blockbuster television splash, thisrefresher course of the new Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) lingo willcome in handy. After much ado about almost everything, Star Plus served the thirdinstallment of its mega show. And like the earlier versions, this one was also only about the host with the prize money and the contestants serving as mere background noise.
Ah, the host! Since the big announcement of the big change, the big question on everybody's mind was could HE fill the Big B's big shoes?After Monday night's debut, we can safely say that Shah Rukh Khan knows what he's doing out there on the psychedelic sets of Crorepati. Yes, he was slightly nervous (he fiddled way too much with his tie),over eager (massaging the neck muscles of the contestant was not really required) and really excited (after a while, the high fives became a little too much).
And yeah, in the beginning, he was trying too hard: not to be like Bachchan, that is. You could see that he wanted to wring his hands the way Big B did during the opening lap but he restrained himself not to do that. He also refrained from saying the famous, Deviyon aur Sajano instead opting for his own version of Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls. But five minutes into the show, SRK settled down quite well and managed to erase the shadow of his predecessor with his unique brand of nonchalance, humour and spontaneity.
If Bachchan made KBC momentous, then SRK has made it more entertaining. If Bachchan's KBC was one hour of good television viewing then SRK's KBC is a big television event, the kind that you can enjoy over a pizza and coke.Amitabh Bachchan is awe-inspiring. His powerful personality and that deep baritone can be quite intimidating if the person in the 'Hot Seat' doesn't know his business. With SRK, there is a comfort zone. He's like the friendly stranger at your neighbourhood Barista with whom you can share a smile. So, the new KBC is much more relaxed.
What works in SRK's favour are his special 'people skills' and his cheekiness. Only SRK can call Gugilla as Gugs. Only he can do an unrehearsed Bengali rap, uncaring whether or not he gets the diction right.In his true blue entertainer avatar, he goes all out to please the gallery. He even makes his sponsors happy. The Computer ji has nowbecome Compaq da (Its not merely a coincidence that SRK endorses Compaq). By giving personal details like, "Sometimes I end up writing Love Shah Rukh on the cheques thinking I'm giving an autograph," he 'smade the show and himself more special and accessible.
However what he needs to do pronto is to cut out the Bluffmaster inspired promo video and do away with the tie or go for one that is better knotted.
Sure, we miss Big B but the King has his own charm. Give him a couple of nights, a couple of weeks and he'll stamp the 9-10 slot as his own.Who knows maybe he'll dance to Chaiya Chaiya on the next show? And won't we like that.
