Oct 24, 2010 11:38 AM
7106 Views
I am sure anyone who watches television in India or even reads the news paper is aware that Akshay Kumar is going to host a reality show featuring amateur chefs. The publicity for this show was more than that of some movies. The USP of the show is obvious - Khiladi Akshay Kumar.
I was very happy that a show on the lines of Masterchef was starting in India as I follow the Australian series of the same, season two of which is being aired on Star World in India. Masterchef Australia is a great show with some amazing recipes and participants. While watching the focus is on the participants and not on the celebrity judges or chefs. You actually do learn something while watching the show.
But Masterchef India is treated like all the other reality shows that I despise. With the melodrama and the sob-stories of the participants and the cold upper handed behavior of the judges. Why such reality shows go into their seventh and eight season is a mystery.
The show is full of background stories of the participants many of whom had to struggle in life. Instead of focusing on cooking techniques the show focuses on how much the participants are scared of the judges. The judges too don't come off as being great chefs with their impassive faces and voice. If they ever show an emotion it is disgust.
The show that I caught yesterday had participants make a sizzler made by Akshay Kumar (who knew the guy could cook?). The Khiladi sizzler. The number of times Khiladi is used on this show makes me think that Akshay Kumar should go the Rajnikant way and officially make Khiladi his first name.
Akshay entered the Masterchef Kitchen after an hour of the show was over (and here I thought he was the host!) with jarring music and with reflective sunglasses (the set is in a warehouse). The moment he entered the participants all went weak in their knees and cheered for him (?). His Khiladi sizzler consisted of Phad Thai noodles and momos (dim sums) on a bed of zucchini and bell peppers.
While Akshay prepared the dish the participants cheered when he tossed the noodles in the wok and poured wine over the sizzler pan which enveloped it in red flames. And all this while you thought the show was about the participants. It looks like a huge ego massage for an actor who has been churning out the same old multi-starrer comedies for a few years, and realised that his wife's profession showed her more capable than him.
Akshay then goes around while the participants cook (like his very presence wasn't enough to distract them he goes and breathes down their neck while they cook) making funny faces and criticizing. Then comes the time to taste, he never even offers a suggestion, leaving the participants peeing in their pants till he can over-dramatize the whole thing till he can finally announce the results.
The show is full of the head-spinning camera movements that hindi soaps are famous for, maybe thats why it is aired on Star Plus not NDTV Good Times.
