Old-world charm

Let me admit at the very outset that Rendezvous With Simi Garewal remains one of my all-time favourites when it comes...

Let me admit at the very outset that Rendezvous With Simi Garewal remains one of my all-time favourites when it comes to celebrity chat-shows. Especially in the face of a rash of new celebrity talk/chat-shows that one has been subjected to,including Garewals new offering,Simi Selects-Indias Most Desirable. The show so fartwo episodes to be precise,with Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone who are among Indias most desirable-hardly makes the cut.

The shows host,who earlier had the likes of Ratan Tata and Benazir Bhutto share little-known facts about their lives,barely manages to reprise the guests worst-kept secrets circulated by filmi tabloids in this outing. The recycled info problem assails not just Garewals show but almost all others within the celebrity show spacethere is almost no exclusivity to the guest or the information being put out on these shows,making most of them a crashing bore. With Garewal,of course,the expectations are completely different. Considering her strong links with the film industry,viewers expect to be ushered immediately to the insider track.

It is among the reasons that Karan Johar scores. For one,he chose his poison wiselya chat over a cuppa with friends and members of the filmi family. Johar knows his strengths well and his weaknesses better. He chooses to stick to the tried-and-testedputting people on the mat with all the info he has on them as an insider. Watching Karan in action is like participating in a ribbing session between friends or colleaguesthe exchange of pleasantries,a quick good-natured reality-check on the gossip doing the rounds with info the host is privy to in his capacity of a confidant. It never fails. Johar has had some impressive competition from Farhan Akhtar,Farah Khan,Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla and now of course,Simi Garewals show,which comes on the heels of his recently-concluded show,but hes held his own. And has never come across as trying too hard. The research on his celeb guests is up to date; there is always some provocation for the star to step out of line without trying too hard and of course a few genuinely funny moments that keep the viewer coming back for seconds. Sonam Kapoor and Deepika Padukone being catty about Ranbir Kapoor is definitely more watchable than Padukone baking cookies. Even Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra in denial of their relationship and sparring endlessly were a voyeurs delight.

It doesnt help that news dailies now give the hapless aam aadmi a blow-by-blow account of celebrity lives,scandals,triumphs et al. Add to that the stars giving away information about themselves on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitterthere is way too much information out there on film celebrities. Any celebrity show that now comes on air has to contend with that. The bourgeoning television channels with film personalities as game- show hosts,co-anchors or guests to promote their films do not help either. And if all of the above was not enough,all channels,with no exceptions,want exactly the same set of people on all their shows whether it is about fashion,world cinema or food. In the given circumstances,sitting us down on a Sunday evening with a show that recycles celeb gossip is certainly not going to do the trick.

Miss Garewal,just go back to your charming format with Indias movers and shakers. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Retro,after all,is back in vogue.