Sweet and Sour

For Bollywood,Karan Johar is a Santa For All Seasons. This is precisely why his chat show,which made its debut almost a decade ago,pulls in the unlikeliest and most exclusive of the film industry. People who don’t give interview unless they have a film releasing. (Aamir Khan made no exception here; he appeared on the show a week before his annual opus Dhoom 3 was to release). People who never give interviews (Sussanne Roshan and Gauri Khan,before they turned entrepreneurs). A few scoops here and there (Kareena Kapoor declaring Shahid Kapur as “someone special” for the first-time ever,and recently,calling Katrina Kaif her sis-in-law).

You can tell I am a fan. Of the director — Student of the Year was among my favourite films of last year. Of the gentleman — Johar has impeccable manners,he says hello without waiting for yours,and stands up and greets everyone. But I can’t help but note this current season especially chafes.

For one the mise-en-scene is plain awful. Duck-egg walls are mismatched with chrome-and-glass coffee table and an eyesore that is a red rug. Moreover,the usually fashionable host wears the velvet jacket in each show,only the colours change. It appears as if these are pilot episodes,where the producers don’t have money to pay a real set designer or a stylist. Everything is curated from the producer’s home or his friends’ homes.

But mostly,it’s the content that bothers. Is it really news or controversy that the country’s biggest superstar says he’s a virgin? Or that Aamir Khan thought Salman was rude to him some 20 years ago.

Ranveer Singh talks about ‘alleged’ girlfriend Deepika Padukone. Akshay Kumar makes his ‘steaming’ debut. Alia Bhatt is asked whether she’s ever kissed Varun Dhawan. Questions like ‘If you were gay,who would you like?’ You would think there’s nothing more to film actors and directors except controversy. It makes the entertainment industry look stupid. All of this belongs in the tabloids,not a sophisticated celebrity talk show. And it’s quite obvious that the show is aimed at

feeding the tabloids it otherwise derides.

Film-goers and celebrity watchers want all the inside stories but with a touch of style. The show aims at a younger audience,hence the tagline ‘Behind the Scenes,Beneath the Sheets’. But its look-at-me gimmicks are eating away its

savoir faire.

And unless it can bring a little gloss,poise and refinement the movie business deserves,we’ll be missing Simi Garewal’s anesthetic whites.

namratanow@gmail.com