The great leveller

You are tempted to reply with no reference to context, Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Poor second runner-up cannot be irreverent, he has to play the happy sporting loser: bahut achcha lag raha hai, he replies and you forgive him his mendacity because talent shows don8217;t allow you to display your true feelings ergo, I am feeling lousy because I am a far superior singer to Onkit and Raja 8212; this game, like all India-Pakistan matches, has been fixed!, and I want to thank everyone who helped me lose, sorry win 8212; why ask such a question? Why not, is there anything you would like to say on this occasion which allows Amanat to have his say without making him tell lies? We know finalists memorise, rehearse and deliver a prepared loser8217;s speech but let8217;s allow them to do it with grace.

Roughly the same question is addressed to the survivors of the blasts in Ajmer and Ludhiana or the relatives of the dead. Aapko kaisa lag raha hai, aapko kya mahsoos ho raha hai8230; Often, there is no reply because there is no reply to give. But it doesn8217;t end there: the camera provides an answer by probing the crevices of the devastated faces to discover the grief of the mother who has just learnt of her child8217;s death, just as the camera switched from Amanat to his mother for her reaction to his 8216;winning8217; the second runner-up position.

When Onkit was declared the winner, Raja Hassan, the first runner-up, had to jump with joy, a task he performed with great distinction. We saw Onkit8217;s unabashed delight and Himesh Reshimmaya8217;s less delightful, clean shaven cleavage and hairy face. What is it with men, these days 8212; why do they get everything the wrong way around? Onkit8217;s victory was predictable 8212; on talent shows, the most likely winner is always the loser. Thus Amit Paul lost to Prashant Tamang on Indian Idol and Raja to Onkit.

The finals of these shows are not at all the grand events they are touted to be. The best singing takes place during the competitive rounds. If there is anything on a grand scale in the grand finale, it is the quantum of advertising that famously lives up to the saying that television is all about ads with breaks for programmes. Viewers have to wait till midnight to learn the name of the winner and hail the judges who are so full of self-congratulation, you8217;d think each one was his pupil8217;s voice and had won the show.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is the best of the song contests and it is good enough to take the numbers away from K soaps. The rate of boredom in Kasauti has increased recently; instead of flying forward, the time machine has reversed into the past. And what do we have there? What we always had. Just as Prerna finally in all her wedding finery is about to wed Onurag, who should make a reappearance but Mr Bajaj, his brown hair an indication that as the serial grows older its characters grow younger. In Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, Om has returned to Parvati 8212; and not just in her dreams. It only needs Smriti Irani to reprise the role of Tulsi for all the soaps to be exactly where they were five years ago.