Love2HateUStar World,Sunday,9pm,HH Whats it about? The show which is said to be the first-of-its-kind on Indian television,replaces Simi Garewals Indias Most Desirable. After Garewals Kiki act and the stars talking about their perfect lives on television,Love2HateU is a tad more realistic,or so we were told. This show is positioned as the celebrities worst nightmare and their haters biggest opportunity. The celeb gets a chance to convert the hater into a fan. It is a reality check for both of them,and also a chance to understand each others point of view or have a showdown. Whos in it? It is the television debut of model-turned-actor Arjun Rampal as an anchor. After the recent spate of successes,Rampal seems to have graduated to the A-league of actors in Bollywood. On the show,Rampals role is akin to that of a sutradhar who tries to build bridges between the hater and the hatee. The first episode saw Rampal demonstrate the shows format by calling on his hater. Its latter half had Madhur Bhandarkar and his hater. Whats hot? The novel concept gets a thumbs up. It is commendable for the television industry to have tried out something as new as this. And one must make a mention of the celebrities who are willing to fight it out with their haters on national television. In an industry which fails to take criticism well,it is surprising to see quite a few known faces such as Bhandarkar,Farah Khan and Chetan Bhagat face the acid test. The host,Rampal,may have aged in number,but he still looks as hot as a firecracker and this could help the show quite a bit. Whats not? Despite the novel concept,the first episode struggles to hold the viewers attention. Fifteen minutes into the show,and you are waiting for it to gather speed. The Rampal-hater kept on complaining about the actors stock expressions. It was Bhandarkars hater who broke the monotony by analysing Madhurs films. However,it was really disappointing that nobody really wanted to have a debate. And the only way Rampal and Bhandarkar knew of defending themselves was to explain the amount of hard work that goes into the process of filmmaking. It seemed staged. With the hater acting all surprised when confronted by the celebrity,it turned annoying as well. Though Rampals acting credentials have gone up,his hosting abilities need attention. He fails to engage the hater and celebrity in any sort of dialogue. Should you be watching it? On a Sunday evening,most of the viewers will have better things to watch. But those hooked on to the slot,because of Koffee With Karan and Indias Most Desirable,could give it a try.
