Face Off

Well, here the rating is not with numbers, but with poppads. The lowest poppad isthe kachcha poppad and the highest is the pakka poppad. In between come a fistful of poppads like the chota, bada, masala, bhunela, desi8230;

Well, there is more to the show than Meet the poppad. If a song remains Number One 8212; sorry, Pakka Poppad 8212; for five weeks in a row, it gets the dubious honour of wearing the Poppodum crown. quot;We have taken the genre and turned it on its head. We are spoofing the whole premise of the countdown.quot; Including his own shows? quot;Certainly! A countdown must not take itself seriously.quot;

quot;There is no point in quibbling about credibility 8212; just play 10 great songs for the audience8230;quot;

Fahad insists that the junta gives two hoots for rankings. It buys only what is music to their ears. TV shows are for timepass. quot;The modern opium of the masses.quot;Marx must be turning in his grave! But is TV an aspirin for the masses? quot;Take two and call me tomorrow! No, I think TV will aggravate your headache.quot;

He balances his TV projects with ad and documentary work. quot;Serious work that is a little more cerebrally challenging.quot; Know what, Fahad claims he never had to look for work 8212; work came looking for him. quot;Bombay Talkies is in the privileged position to be more busy than one would like.quot;

It8217;s the brand equity. quot;We are associated with premium products. We may not produce masterpieces all the time. But we have never shortchanged anyone, and would not like to be shortchanged by anyone.quot;

quot;I won8217;t overstate the case at all! But I am proud of Superhit Muqabala and BPL Oye!quot; He believes they were the catalyst in making your driver8217;s kind of music into your kind of music. quot;These shows effected a quantum change. You now listen tomusic which previously you would not be caught dead with.quot;

It is glossy finish, an eye for details and being involved in all aspects of show-making. quot;The result of years with Merchant-Ivory and Zafar Hai. I don8217;t know any other way of working.quot; In fact, Fahad was a Merchant-Ivory apprentice for three years and three films.

Not quite. quot;You are only as good as your last show. If your last week8217;s show was a turkey then you are a turkey!quot; In that case, he better be extra careful around Christmas-time!

quot;Countdown shows! They are the bane of my existence!!quot; We know, we know!

quot;This is positively the last countdown show I8217;ll ever do! Promise!quot; Only to be broken.