Degrading the Dudes!. Review on He-Man

What is the talented Mr. Shekhar Suman reduced to? After establishing his witty credentials with popular shows like “Movers & Shakers” and “Pol Khol”, he is anchoring a Beauty Contest for college boys. Yikes!

The set

Extremely tacky with a group of round tables with chairs around each. A motley group of college girls herded into the studio are made to occupy the chairs. An elevated platform is the centre-stage, behind which is a mini pool – which appears like a made-over water tank.

The show

A group of around 6 or 7 lads of all shapes, sizes and colours are introduced as they file in and stand in a row. Each of the lads has to do a few monkey tricks to impress the bevy of damsels seated around the roundtables. There are several rounds – at the end of each there are eliminations.

The Rounds

The aspiring dudes are then tested in a range of skills like humour, dancing, singing and physical ability.

As each round is over, the crowd of girls have to vote for their preferred boy using some contraption which looks like one of those old heavy mobile phones. After the votes are registered, the anchor sends forth two scantily clad vixens one by one to eliminate two of the contenders who have gotten the least votes. The most objectionable aspect of this elimination is not the suspense that is sought to be created by the damsels – but the manner in which the unlucky ones are pushed rudely into the pond behind them. You can sense the tension on the brow of each contender as the vixen approaches them.

In round one, the boys are tested on their humour quotient. In round two, they are made to dance to a pre-decided tune. In round three, they are made to sing (be prepared for some cacophony here). In round four, they are tested on their mush quotient (basically by having to reply queries on how they would celebrate valentines day etc).

The final round where only three shortlisted contenders remain is quite gross. The boys who till now were attired decently are made to strip and don some purple coloured shorts (obviously to give the gals an eyeful). The hapless trio is then subjected to acrobatic stunts which are demonstrated by a very foreign looking female Rambo. Most of the contenders give up at this stage. Once again the bottom two are dunked into the pool and what remains is your much awaited – HE MAN!

The HE-MAN gets a bike among other gifts and the celebrity female (oh! Did I forget to mention) rides pillion with him till the door of the studio!

The Ramblings

The show could have been dismissed as a harmless college crowd time-pass or even a male version of the beauty pageant had it been handled with finesse or class. But due to its underlying attempt to humiliate and degrade the participants, the programme resembles the ragging sessions that freshers are subjected to when they enter the college/ hostel premises.

All for a @#$* bike!!!

Airs on : Star One on Sundays, 12.30 p.m.