Awkward conversations and constant interruptions, Kajol and Twinkle Khanna’s show has nothing much to say

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by prime video IN (@primevideoin) 

The episodes don’t have a fixed format or a set of activities that the audience would come to expect. Love it or hate it, all of us were deeply invested in Koffee with Karan’s rapid-fire round and in who would win the coffee hamper. But here, every episode has its own flow. Some guests peck at the grazing table, some fish for personality traits, some cycle, and others face random quiz questions. Apart from one game of ‘this side that side’, that stayed constant, It almost seemed as if the creators were trying to find some way to keep the conversation going because let’s face it, we have already watched Aamir Khan talk about his mental health, Salman Khan explain his bachelor status, Vicky Kaushal be a green flag, Karan Johar talk about his weight loss, Sonakshi Sinha discuss her love story, and Alia Bhatt explain why she got married in her apartment. It’s all been there, heard that.

Also Read: Too much glitz, too little truth: What Bollywood’s talk shows won’t tell you

The hosts discuss a ‘topic of the day’ with each set of guests which seems to have been chosen using an SEO keyword search. This segment begins after over half the episode is done, and usually plays out like an awkward conversation in a family gathering where some aunt or uncle changes the topic when things start to get controversial or heated. Why bring up topics like male heroes acting with women half their age while talking to men who have done it consistently? Are they really going to admit that it’s problematic? Or discuss the importance of a wife to a man’s career with Govinda, who seems to be having marital problems currently? This supposedly deep segment, like that family conversation, is then wrapped up with a cursory statement, like ‘anyway, let’s move on’ or ‘there has been lots of talking now let’s play a game’, because there is just so long you can pretend to have a serious conversation.

I also couldn’t help but notice how many times Kajol and Twinkle interrupted their guests and answered the questions themselves. As Saif Ali Khan spoke about his fears around ageing, Twinkle interrupted him and started offering her views on the subject. When Twinkle asked Manish Malhotra about what he had learnt from Rekhaji, Kajol interrupted and answered on the designer’s behalf. In the most recent episode, Kajol asked Kriti Sanon a question about her being an entrepreneur. But before Kriti responded, Twinkle interrupted, asking Vicky if he had a business too. Vicky responded quickly and managed to bring the focus back to Kriti as she waited patiently to answer. This is not poor hosting skills; it’s just bad manners.

Twinkle Khanna has found immense popularity as a columnist and author, but some of her lines on the show seemed like she was reading from a book or one of her own articles instead of having a conversation. Sample these paraphrased examples: “No is a fortress that protects you and a drawbridge that you can let down when you want to”, “Therapy helps you deal with your emotional baggage and turn it into cabin baggage that you can stash away”, “Ageing is a mathematical problem, but it’s not a problem of addition but multiplication”. I wish someone had told her that while such lines are great to read, no one speaks like that to each other in the middle of a chat show.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by prime video IN (@primevideoin) 

Also, word of caution to Mrs Devgn, don’t undermine the people who pay to watch your movies or your husband’s movies in the theatre. Especially at a time when celebrities are getting flak for their expensive entourages and high-maintenance behaviour. While the aam admi may not face the anxiety of constant scrutiny that a film celebrity does, they also don’t have a team of people looking after their every need. Nor do they get paid six, seven or eight-figure salaries to compensate them for their efforts. The comparisons are not just insensitive; they are also bad for business. Just like throwing your partner and your relationship under the bus is by voicing your views on infidelity.

Perhaps it’s not so much a problem with the show itself as it is with celebrity fatigue. Not the fatigue they feel while they work harder than regular people with 9-5 jobs, but the fatigue we feel as we read about them in newspapers, watch them on social media, promotional interviews, podcasts and paparazzi videos. There is very little we don’t know about a celebrity that their PR team has allowed them to share. What they don’t share, we probably never will, and maybe that allows for some iota of privacy. Additionally, the fear of a social media backlash has permanently changed how conversations with celebrities are conducted. So, while some episodes were better than others, and there were some genuinely funny moments, Two Much with Kajol and Twinkle can’t quite decide if it wants to be scandalous or serious. It attempts to be a lot of things, like all the food put together on the show’s grazing table, but it leaves ‘two much’ to be desired.