Primetime betrayals

Rating: ****

What’s it about? As in its explosive first season,Emotional Atyachaar 2 once again brings to the small screen,all of life’s break-ups and make-ups,heartbreaks and tears,kicking and screaming. The concept is still the same – if you suspect your partner of cheating on you,or if you want to make sure they feel about you the same way that you do about them,then call in the Emotional Atyachaar team to spy on them. Sounds a little twisted? It’s more than a little twisted,but since these are real life boys and girls baring their emotional vulnerabilities on screen,it might be safe to assume that perhaps all real-life relationships are dysfunctional enough to not resemble a Yash Raj romance,where all is roses and rainbows.

There are some minor changes here – the host is now Pravesh Rana,the snopping technology has become smaller and thus easier to hide,and the show has now also gone to Delhi,to help the Capital’s boys and girls spy on each other and,we’re hoping,sort out their issues,whatever they may be.

Who’s in it? Pravesh Rana makes for a nice host. He’s got a soft,unassuming style,which actually makes him more of an asset to the show,than the previous two hosts,Angad Bedi and Vivan Bhatena,who were both rather distracting. Mercifully,Rana also doesn’t talk down to the viewers or the leads,something that Bedi,especially,was guilty of on many occasions. He seems to take his role of sounding board quite seriously.

What’s hot? As usual,what makes this show hot is the emotional drama. You may be repelled by the doings of the people on screen (or even the whole idea of spying on some stranger’s courtship/mating rituals),but it’s hard not to be riveted. You find yourself taking sides and getting emotionally invested in one or the other party and that,folks,is the sign of a TV show that has arrived. No matter how tasteless the content or even the concept might seem,one has to admit that this is India commenting on itself.

What’s not? If you watched the first season only for the juicy bits – the blurred-out kisses and gropes – you’re in for a rude shock. Possibly moved by their better selves,or the looming threats of India’s overactive censors,the makers of the show have decided to keep out the sleaze as much as possible. And in that,Emotional Atyachaar loses a little of its visual punch.

We also wish that the show would keep its ‘celebrity guests’ to a minimum. The second season had Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi on the opening episode,and throughout,it had a staged feel. That can’t be good for a show that has already had to endure sneers about being scripted.

Should you be watching it? If you’re looking for intellectual stimulation,then stay away. But if you’re looking for pure drama,nothing on television,gets better than this.