Feb 25, 2005 10:16 AM
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(Updated Feb 25, 2005 10:16 AM)
Koffee, Saas-bahu or Songs?
Amongst the recent crop of chat shows, I like watching ''Koffee with Karan''. The show is telecasted on Star World on Fridays at 10.00(IST).
What I like about the show is the way the various guests are interviewed (or rather grilled albeit in a saccharine sweet manner). In his inimitable, disarming way Karan makes his guests answer most of the questions put to them. Although the series is relatively new, it has drawn its fair share of bouquets and brickbats.
The Kast: a director?s dream
The episodes that were really enjoyable were the ones in which Rani Mukherjee, Kajol, Shah Rukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor were his guests. A host of tinsel town personalities have appeared on the chat show ranging from the reticent Sunny Deol to the non-stop talking express Preity Zinta. I have to mention that the Deols interview was a drag, what with Sunny refusing to answer most of the qs. Ash and Sanjay Leela Bhansali also featured on one of the episodes. But in that episode, no matter what Karan did, it was not enough to shake up Ash who remained unflappable throughout.
Guests, is it easy to get them?
One factor that really works in Karan's favor is the fact that most of the industry people are on a first name basis with him. Procuring the guests for the show is not too much an issue for him because the ?Page 3? people know Karan for his movies, which have been hugely successful.
The Kauntest gift:
Coming back to the show, the set is designed well with a comfortable seating area, appropriate mood lighting and the ''coffee mugs'' display wall in the background.
As most people who watch the show know, every guest is made to sign the coffee mug, which is placed on the wall for a temporary period of time till some lucky (??) winner takes it away.
Minor irritants:
I have seen most of the episodes and was under the impression that the host could manage the flow of conversation he had with his guests very well. But the episode featuring Shabana Azmi and Shobha De was an eye-opener. That episode clearly showed the host struggling to put in a statement, once the women started talking.
What gets really irritating is how Karan uses the platform to make his guests apologize tremendously for refusing roles that were offered to them initially by Dharma productions. Sometimes the bonhomie between the host and the guests becomes a tad over the top, giving us viewers the distinct feeling of prying on some family reunion. The guests (Kareena, Saif, Rani to cite a few examples) had to go though the whole I-will-never-refuse-your-role-ever-again-act. The host also has to avoid the hazard of being narcissistic as that is how he comes across at times.
Controversies: do we need ?em?
I also feel that the segment in the show where the guests are made answerable for old controversies is unwarranted. The gossip mills and magazines have already had had a field day with them, so why waste the tube time. Instead what Karan could try and do is talk about little unknown stuff about the celebs that no one is aware of.
Quick qs: Are we honest?
There is also a quintessential ''quick questions'' round that has become a regular feature of the talk shows. The difference in this show being that the winner or rather the person who Karan thinks has answered most of the questions as honestly as possible wins his so called ''Coffee Hamper''. Looking at the kind of people who come to the show, a coffee hamper as a gift looks cheap. If I was called on the show (how I wish) I would have preferred to keep mum and let the other person win the stupid hamper, rather than spoil my relations in the industry. Looking at the class of people who come to the show, the producers should think of some better prize or else scrap the prize section totally. They can simply declare the winner and leave it at that.
Let the coffee talk begin!
The show is packaged well by Star World and the initial episodes have been pretty interesting. In conclusion, the celeb talkshow should hopefully have a good run on the channel.
