Opinion Same difference?
BJP leaders are not alone in jumping into the ring and wrestling each other. Three lusty lads from Haryana have traveled to South Africa for a bout or two.
BJP leaders are not alone in jumping into the ring and wrestling each other. Three lusty lads from Haryana have traveled to South Africa for a bout or two. Theyre up against Tornado and other wrestlers with equally improbable names. Welcome to WWF,eshtyle Indian 100 per cent. And when we say 100 per cent we mean 100% De Dhana Dhan the new weekend show on Colors. It has a galaxy of hitmen (no pun intended) led by: that old warrior Dara Singh and the bad man of Bollywood,actor Sharat Saxena cheering on our boys as they grapple with the best South Africa has to offer. And the best South Africa has to offer are at least a foot taller and broader than our wrestlers!
It also has Mohan Kapoor,commentator. He is bald. He wears dark glasses inside the studio ring. He knows very little about the art of wrestling with words. He throws them to the floor,flips them over,stamps on them before beating them into submission,rather like the contests he describes. Suggest he take a few more wrestling lessons. Finally,since no one wants to watch so many half-naked men fling themselves at each other,theres actress Isha Koppikar looking wholly out of place fully clothed with well-set head piece. Couldnt she have streaked it orange,purple,something? See you at the ring.
There is something so pleasant about Farah Khan,you can watch Tere Mere Beach Mein (Star Plus) simply for the pleasure of her. Plump,shes comfortable with being plump and herself. Hers is a talk show with a purpose: to extract something more valuable from her guests than a few tidbits: she got a dress out of Priyanka Chopra and signature red boxing gloves from pugilist Vijender,to auction for charity. Farah gives as good as she gets: she donates money to her guests one lakh to Iqbal and one lakh to train boxers. These noble causes do not make the show drip with the milk of human kindness although it did spring tears when young Iqbal told his heartwarming story. Enjoyable chit-chat. Watch out for the sets: a cross between a home as comfy as Farah and a beach resort where the waves painted on to the background actually wave. We kid you not.
Timing,it is said,is everything and perfect timing,well. At precisely 10 pm on Thursday night,Brajesh Mishra appeared on CNN-IBN in conversation with Karan Thapar and with Barkha Dutt on NDTV 24×7. Thapar beat Dutt to it: he asked Mishra about Jaswant Singhs revelations on L.K. Advani and Kandahar. Two seconds later,she asked Mishra about Jaswant Singhs revelations on L K Advani and Kandahar. He gave them identical answers (barring a transit verb here or there). Then Thapar asked Mishra about how Narendra Modi was meant to resign in 2000. On cue,Dutt asked Mishra about how Narendra Modi was meant to resign. Then,the sequence was reversed: Dutt,split seconds ahead of Thapar asked if Vajpayee was hurt by the goings-on in the BJP now and Thapar,split seconds later,asked how many times Vajpayee had been disgusted by the goings-on in the BJP (or the equivalent). At some stage,the two anchors discovered that imitation no longer flattered either of them and the questions diverged.
How does one explain such identical twin questions? Did Mishra reveal the questions he had been asked by one anchor to the other? Unlikely. Did the anchors ask each other what they had asked him? Even more unlikely. Did an electronic or human mole eavesdrop on the recordings? Or,is it simply that great minds will think alike? Whatever happened,it was a surreal TV experience to watch the interviews side by side.
Idea! The next time anyone has anything to reveal,he or she should hold a press conference like Mohan Bhagwat did and appear on all the news channels,that too live.
shailaja.bajpai@expressindia.com
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