PDF Here - The Indian Television Academy

| GR8 GALA |
The ITA Scroll of Honour
(Entertainment) - 2009
And what a connect it made with the people!
Easily the biggest hit of the year, it simply wowed the audience with its effervescence and its shimmer and sparkle.
They came in droves and thronged the multiplexes with an
eagerness that was electric.
(Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani)
Rajkumar Santoshi (Director) :
Ramesh Taurani (Producer)
Not only this, it was the toast of the hard-nosed critics as
well, because it really provided entertainment at its wholesome best.
And that owes in no so small measure to Raj Kumar Santoshi, who came back to ‘form’ after a string of turkeys. The
Santoshi touch returned once again, reintroducing to us the
zesty, zingy creator of a laugh-riot like Andaz Apna Apna.
Equally commendable is the producer Ramesh Taurani
(Tips), who decided to put his money where his heart was.
He could have easily followed the so-called ‘trends’ and
gone in for the staple mediocre fare all around – but the
man didn’t betray his sensibilities and gave anchorage to
Santoshi for making a sensible, level-headed film with, of
course, large dollops of fizz and fun.
And true to the ITA traditions, the Academy decided to
recognise this ‘Ajab’ achievement of these ‘Ghazab’ people.
To The ITA, the entire Entertainment spectrum has been of
paramount significance besides, of course, Television and
that’s how ‘Ajab…’ fixed in its scheme of things.
Thereby, The ITA Awards, 2009 became the first Award
ceremony to confer recognition on this labour of love from
Santoshi and Taurani.
And the twosome accepted it most heartily, as was evident
by the profuse thanks they showered on The ITA at the
ceremony. Raj Kumar Santoshi put it crisply –
‘It is a film from the heart and one feels so gratified that such
efforts are accorded this much of recognition and honour
at platforms like this. It is so heartening and so overwhelming as well. We cannot thank ITA enough for this – they have
been great!’
Rajkumar Santoshi and Ramesh Taurani
Kudos!
It came as a whiff of fresh air in the suffocating scenario of
our films this year. In the desert of pathetic action flicks and
insipid comedies, visiting ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’ was
like stumbling onto an oasis. It was mint-fresh and ubercool…
Genuine words from a genuine man who has made a
genuine film…
And it was Romance at its best!
And who wouldn’t agree with The ITA’s gesture?
Boisterous, yet tender, frivolous & frolicsome, yet earnest – it
had multiple hues to it. It took you on a roller-coaster ride
into fun and at the same time, it also warmed the cockles of
your heart with its emotional intensity.
Taaliyan…!
And above all – it was a
young film – young as
Romeo & Juliet ever were. It
starred two leads, who have
already been etched as the
youth-icons in the deepest recesses of the viewers’
hearts. Actually that, itself,
won half the battle for it.
2 | GR8! | JANUARY 2010
Anu Ranjan to Rajkumar Santoshi and Ramesh Taurani
| GR8 GALA |
Best Entertainers of the Year
(Male & Female)
(Ranbir Kapoor & Katrina Kaif)
of themselves as actors, too, in the film.
For Ranbir, it was mostly expected, but Katrina has been a real surprise. Often, there has been a tendency to dismiss her as a waxen
doll or even more unkindly – just a lucky girl who is at right places
at right times.
But all those Katrina-baiters are eating their words, today, as in
‘Ajab…’ she has delivered a punchy performance with great flourish!
This, laced with their heart-stoppers aura, made The ITA lose no
time in anointing them as the Best Entertainers of the year. They
had to do it! They had to appreciate this fresh as a daisy duo!
At the event, their buzz preceded them! The crowd was all agog
with the excitement of setting eyes on Ranbir & Katrina in person
and the battery of journos from both print and electronic media
were on prowl for their enchanting preys.
And gosh – were the two mobbed!
It was all clamour and chaos as the shutterbugs pounced on them
like hungry wolves and the ITAwaalas had a Herculean task tearing
the two from the milling, madding crowd. The two, however, braved
it all comfortably, beaming their signature smiles all the while.
Finally, they were led to their seats and then started a mast musical
tribute to them on the stage by TV-Stars. And Ranbir and Katrina
beamed still more, looking at the TVwaalas shape shaking a leg to
‘Ajab…’ numbers.
Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor
He is the Adonis that hearts flutter at and she is the Venus that the
biggest of ’em would rush to serenade! Ranbir and Katrina – the
ultimate Beau & Belle of today’s ‘it’ generation – are the Youth Icons
par supreme.
Together, they have come across as the most lethal combo and
that’s how they set silver screens aflame with their lovey-dovey act
in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani! The impact has been so electric that
the theatres all across the country were echoing with the Aah’s and
Ooh’s from swooning, sighing young ’uns.
Well, it was about time as well!
For long the world of Cinema has been waiting for such chemistry
to happen between the leads. Despite sporadic exceptions here
and there, it has been quite a while that a steaming, sizzling Jodi
scorched the screens and in turn, catapulted the film to dizzy
heights.
With them were the two leading lights behind the film, the director
Rajkumar Santoshi and the producer Ramesh Taurani. After the Act,
the four of them were called to the stage and the citations began.
Thereafter, the ITA trophies were given to them by The ITA Prez and
convenor, Anu & Shashi Ranjan.
Shashi, while waxing eloquent about them, had an anecdote to
tell. It so seems that when he and Anu launched their TV Magazine,
GR8! they hunted around for a GR8! face to be carried in the launch
issue. At that time, pal Jackie Shroff told Shashi that his film Boom
had a girl who fitted the bill for The GR8! face! One look at Katrina
and Shashi almost whooped, ‘Eureka’! So the ITA/GR8!/Katrina equation went a long back and the Academywaalas were one of the
firsts to recognise the beauty that Katsy babe was!
And today, this moment was an ode to that Ajab beauty and to the
Ghazab charisma of Ranbir.
The ITA had both the Ajab & Ghazab of Entertainment on
stage…
Wow! What a show-stopping moment!
Those prayers have been answered
by the Kapoor lad and the Kaif lass!
Actually, it’s an elusive, mysterious thing
– this chemistry! Either it just happens
or it doesn’t. And that’s what makes it
so important, because once it happens,
it bonds the twosome in a straight ‘connect’ with the audience.
Besides bonding with the audience,
they both have given a rocking account
GR8! | JANUARY 2010 |
Anu Ranjan to Katrina and Ranbir
3
| GR8 GALA |
The ITA Scroll of Honour (Television)
- 2009
And all of this ‘No tears, only smiles’ and ‘Asli Maza SAB ke
Saath’ tenor of a rejuvenated Sony-SAB was owing to one
man’s vision – Anooj Kapoor, Sr. Vice prez and Business Head
of the channel.
(SONY-SAB TV & Anooj Kapoor
– Business Head & Sr. VP)
Before going any further on this, let us flash back in time
– to 1980 to be precise – when a raw, callow youth stepped
out of New High School, Ludhiana, buzzing with dreams.
A zigzag!
That’s what
SAB TV was
enmeshed in
after Sony’s
take-over. It
was deep into
an identity
crisis and was
groping to
find its place
under the sun
amongst the
GES’s, (General
Entertainment
Channels).
Anooj Kapoor, Sr. Vice President, Sony SAB TV
Most of its programming was
misfiring and
they meandered from one
post to another
– jumping to
comedy and
then leaping to
non-comedy
and then to
drama.
But all there non-comedy shows like Detective Doll, Sirf
Stories etc. cut no favour with the viewers. The worst to
happen to them was their highly trumpeted Darma venture,
‘Twinkle Beauty Parlour’ being a non-starter from day one!
When nothing worked, they decided to shed skin again
and go into the youth mould.
But, once again, the same fate awaited their youth-oriented
shows like Love Story, Mohalla Mohabbatwala etc.
Of course, the first step of the redoubtable Pankaj Kapoor’s
prettier brother was towards higher studies that climaxed
with Masters in English from the illustrious Punjab University. After that he took a detour from academics to get MMS,
Marketing form the renowned S P Jain Institute of Management & Research.
Thereafter followed his tryst with the visual media and ad
world. From a copy-writer in Rediffusion to Creative Head,
UTV to creative head of Shop 18 (CNBC’s Tele shopping
Network) – he has really been there and done it all.
And then came the SAB assignment to him!
Never to be browbeaten by the burdens of responsibility, he
took the identity crisis of the channel head-on and took it
back to its Comedy colour. Many a cynic smirked at this but
Anooj Kapur knew what he was doing.
Instead of halting in his tracks because of the cynical barbs,
he chose not to care two hoots for them. He just did his own
thing and the results are now there to see for all and sundry,
including those prophets of doom.
Today, SAB has found its roots and is all set to soar higher
and higher on the firmament of Television under his stewardship.
And that’s how he and SAB came to be decorated by the
ITA Scroll of Honour. And this mover and shaker, the true
blue pro was a picture of genuine pride as he received his
trophy…
‘This is a great honour and this Award is the testimony to
the phenomenal growth of SAB TV in the GEC space despite
differentiated programming and limited budget!’
That’s a confident man speaking!
Bravo!
And then they took a u-turn again and went back to
Comedy as its identity card. It was then that a spate
of shows like FIR, Bhoothwala serial, Shri Adi Manav
and others were launched.
That did it!
Suddenly, they saw an upsurge for themselves
on the popularity charts.
Particularly, their piece-de-resistance ‘Taarak Mehta
Ka Oolta Chashma’ created big ripples and became
a toast of the viewers and a tent-pole for the channel.
Anil Kapoor of Western Union with Mugdha Godse to Anooj Kapoor
4 | GR8! | JANUARY 2010
| GR8 GALA |
GR8! | JANUARY 2010 |
5
The Chosen Ones...
Best Serial- Drama (Jury)
It was different!
Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijoo…
A revelation!
‘Not again!’ – you almost cried, when yet another of the
‘Bitiya’ titles came up on Prime Time. You tuned to it grudgingly and then, suddenly, you were caught napping!
For once, the ambience was correctly depicted, the
characters were not cardboard and, of course, the theme
of ‘selling a daughter’ was something for you to sit up and
take notice. And within to time, Lali, Shekhar, Loha Singh
etc. became the talk of the households all across.
But it’s not only about popularity!
It has much more to its credit! Technically, it has been
mounted with a fluidity that is refreshing from the general lot of long-shot, mid-shot, close-up drill of soaps on
the tube.
Yes – it has its share of melodramatic strains (who doesn’t
on TV?), but making-wise, it doesn’t lose its way to the
mush and that’s such a relief! Much of it is thanks to
the strength and substance of its protagonist Lali, who
doesn’t ever strike a false note!
But it’s the total effort that wowed The ITA Jury!
Shaabaash!
The entire team of Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo
The team of Agle Janam...(left) and Balika Vadhu (right)
Best Serial- Drama (Jury)
Balika Vadhu…
Just what the doctor ordered!
Television had become the sick man of entertainment, here.
The Saas-Bahu’s, the kitchen conspiracies, the cheaply sentimental slush, the frenzied flitting of cameras and the worst
of all – the regressive values bandied about in the name
Bhartiya Sanskriti… we were choking for breath!
and the characters turned nearer to life, instead of sickeningly overblown stereotypes of the era just passed by.
It re-taught the TV camera the importance of shades and
shadows, it tore editing from its frenetic, jumpy mould to
holding onto an emotion and it once again made screen-play
accountable on plausibility…
In short – a dewy drop for the sore eyes…
And the dew hasn’t dried to this day!
And then, Balika Vadhu happened to us!
It threw all of those over-the-top norms of making soaps
into the nearest nullah. Even as that would have looked like
downright foolhardy in the prevalent scenario, it opted for a
softer, saner approach to making a soap.
And with it came the turnabout – once again, a muted emotion started mattering rather than mindless melodrama,
silences took over the shrills and screams and the scenes
Rajiv Shukla to the Balika Vadhu team
| GR8 GALA |
Best Serial (Popular)
And that’s exactly what happened!
(Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai)
Rajan Shahi does a Suraj Barjatiya!
The great big fat Indian family… the Daadaji, Ammaji, Pitaji, Betaji, Bahuji and
Chaacha, Maama, Jeth, Jethaani and a hundred other Ji’s all packed in a golden
gift-box for the guiltily ‘going nuclear’ lot of today… it was sure to win the day
for him.
Within no time he had the audience eating out of his hands and
‘Yeh Rishta…’ soared up and
up on the popularity charts like
nobody’s business. It was brimming with those Teej-Tyohaar’s,
those ‘together’ lunches and
dinners, those little, little ‘family’
pranks with giggles and smuggles galore, to make it a delicious
pudding for the after-dinner
viewing.
Who cares about a story, then?
That’s the miracle of ‘Yeh Rishta…!’ It’s just a stringing of pretty
moments without the zigzag of
a heavy-duty tale and yet, it has
become the toast of TV-watchers
all across. And hence, the votes
came pouring in the ITA poll, putting it on the highest pedestal.
Ramesh Sippy and Vipul Shah to Rajan Shahi
Everybody has a rishta with
‘Yeh Rishta…’!
Best Serial – Comedy (Jury)
(Tarak Mehta Ka Oolta
Chashma)
A riot!
That’s exactly what this funny farm called,
‘Taarak Mehta…’ is. A middle class cluster of
whackos, who are more unpredictable than
Mumbai rains, ‘Taarak Mehta…’ tickles the
funny bones of its viewers as never before.
But it’s no circus!
It’s not the hee-haw comedy drawn through
zany acrobatics. Instead, it creates situations
that are so everyday that they could be happening to you. But out of that, it creates a
trap of titters for you and sends you in splits.
And what a relief is that!
Because otherwise Comedy on TV had
become such a tragic experience for us poor
viewers. The way they convulsed faces and
gyrated limbs in the name of being comic,
was pathetic indeed and worse were those
digs into the risqué and double meaning dia-
Sudhanshu Pandey and Vinay Pathak to the ‘Tarak Mehta...’ team
logues that left such a sour taste in the mouth.
But ‘Taarak…’ is another story. It gives you a tapestry of characters and situations that are fun and not funny in the ridiculous way. You feel one with
them and that’s how you are tickled to giggle at all of their idiosyncrasies.
It’s your half an hour of rip-roaring fun with this pack of crack-pots and you
look forward to it day after day.
That’s the way to do comedy, guys!
GR8! | JANUARY 2010 |
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| GR8 GALA |
Best Actor- Drama (Jury)
Ronit Roy
(Bandini)
Didn’t we know?
He is the tall guy of the small screen who gained
iconic status with his Mihir act. But he is not the
one to rest on his laurels and is continuously on
the tenterhooks to better his best. Though because of reasons best known to him, he has more
or less tied himself to a particular productionhouse, it doesn’t seem to have stunted his growth
as an actor.
The latest example is his Dharamraj Mahyavanshi
in Bandini and the kind of poise and dignity he
has brought to the role is well & truly arresting. He
is the kind of actor who can often transcend the
inanities of a role and make an impact any which
way. To cap it, the Bengali Babu has morphed
himself into a Gujju feudal lord with a flourish that
is well and truly remarkable.
Neelam, Manasi and Rohit Roy
to Ronit Roy
Needless to say, it is the performance of the
year!
And the ITA Jury thought as much!
Ronit Roy
Best Actress- Drama (Jury)
Ratan Rajput
(Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi
Kijo)
Consummate!
She reminds you of those fabulous actresses of
yesteryears, the likes of Geeta Bali, Nargis and others
of that distinguished ilk. Such is the interplay of emotions on her face, the deep
intensity in her eyes and the control
over her body language that it instantly
mesmerises you!
Ratan has raised the bar for Acting on
Television. She is so believable that
you cannot but connect with Laali
(the character is she essaying in the
serial) totally and without an iota of
reservation whatsoever.
That’s a breed apart, make no
mistake!
jput
n Ra
Rata
8 | GR8! | JANUARY 2010
The texture and complexity she
has brought to Laali is a ‘seeing is
Roshni Chopra and Yogesh Lakhani to rep
believing’ kind of thing. Now fire, now ice, now silken
soft and now solid as rock – she lays before you such
a tapestry of emotions that you are captivated hook,
line and sinker. You cannot but gush…
Agle Janam Mohe Ratan Hi Dijo!
| GR8 GALA |
Best Actor (Popular)
Karan Mehra
(Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata
Hai)
Handsome!
That’s what comes instantly to your mind
when you set your first glance at him. He is
the dishy dude that teenyboppers would
gush and gasp at. Actually, he doesn’t have
to do much on the screen – just be there with
that beaming smile of his and he scores a hit.
He is every inch Naitik, the richie-rich scion
of the Singhania family in ‘Yeh Rishta…’, who
dresses nattily and breezes past his scenes
with that goody-goody air of his. And trust
us, it’s no joke to be that on the screen. You
need to have a lot of the X-factor in you to
carry that out!
Baldev Khosa and Amrita Rao to
Karan Mehra
And that’s why he has endeared himself to
one and all. He is not only a heart-throb, he is
just the right son, the right bro and the right
pal that you could ever wish for!
win the ITA Popular Poll hands down. And
the Award would make the viewers happier than even he, himself, because you
always want your beau, bro and sonny to
come up trumps, don’t you?
It is this universal appeal that has made him
You bet!
Best Actress (Popular)
Karan Mehra
Cut-glass!
Hina Khan
That’s what you would think, once you see her
chiselled features, her champagne eyes and
svelte body. Her entire personality oozes Indian
beauty at its purest. Hina Khan is just the stuff
that would instantly light up a frame with her
glow. And she infuses this glow into Akshara, the
lead she is playing in ‘Yeh Rishta…’ with such an
impact that it floors the viewers all ends up.
(Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai)
Exactly the stuff your dreams are full of!
Starting as a darling daughter and then, turning
into a beauty of a Bahu, Akshara has gone the
whole hog with such tenderness as to make
incurable softies out of the most hard-boiled
viewers vis-à-vis her. She warms the cockles of
their hearts and they cry with her, laugh with her
and are totally, totally besotted with her.
That’s how in a year of a spate of newcomers,
Hina didn’t really feel the heat of competition
as her allure comfortably won the day for her
in the ITA Popular Poll.
Talat Aziz and Satish Kaushik to Hina Khan
Easily the best bet that way for quite some
time to come, we guess!
GR8! | JANUARY 2010 |
Hina Khan
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| GR8 GALA |
Best Director – Drama (Jury)
Siddharth Sen Gupta-Pradeep Yadav
(Balika Vadhu)
It couldn’t have been otherwise!
The ITA trophy going to Siddharth/Pradeep, that is!
They have retold us that there is something called direction
even on TV. They have has restored out faith in the medium
by giving the lie to those merchants of mush, who had
turned it into a frenzied farce.
Adnan Sami and Perizaad Zorabian
With their Balika Vadhu, once again, ‘cuts’ started having
a meaning… the camera movements got smoother and,
what is most important, sensible. Be it the lighting, editing
or the usage of sound (those heart-rending Aalaaps in the
background!) their stamp is unmistakable in their work.
And they have pushed the envelope!
The twosome has led from the front in triggering a whole
new crop of socially conscious stories on TV. The biggest
thing is their consistency. Not once they have been complacent or built an ivory tower about themselves. They retain
that fire in the belly to better their best as the serial goes by.
Way to go, guys!
Best Director – Comedy (Jury)
Dharampal Thakur,
Nikul Desai & Vipul D Shah
(Kaante Ki Takkar)
The toughest job on the planet!
Being a comedy director can turn tragic at the
snap of a finger. Making people laugh is more
punishing than whatever dear old Hercules
ever went through. But this trio has come out
with flying colours in that. They have shown
rare acumen in creating a nutty, cranky and
whacky world of ‘Laugh till you drop!’ kind in
‘Kaante Ki Takkar’!
Actually, in non-fiction it gets even tougher!
That’s because they don’t have the comfort
or cushion of a plot in that format. Each next
moment is a stranger there and you just do not
know which way it can go. ‘Stand-ups’ may look
the easiest thing to do to the outsiders, but
inside, they all know that it’s an ordeal by fire!
And in ‘Kaante…’ the trio also displays a control
over the medium in terms of technique. They
10 | GR8! | JANUARY 2010
Rakesh Bedi and Satish Shah to the trio
capture just the correct moments to exercise optimum impact.
Their pursuit of excellence in their act has made ‘Kaante…’ the
most definitive show of its genre.
Teehee!
| GR8 GALA |
Best Actor – Comedy (Jury)
Cyrus Broacha
(The Week That Wasn’t)
A walking circus!
He is mad as a March hare and he makes
a cult out of his crazy capers. You cannot but fall a willing prey to his wickedly
wacko barbs and bites – er, bytes! If there
is one example of ‘Fun at all costs’ – it is
Cyrus, the virus that gives you Funaria!.
This is particularly so when he dons the
garb of a news anchor in ‘The week…’ and
creates the spate of spoofs, turning, twisting reality to make a dough of delirious
fun. It’s is an actor there in the skin of an
anchor who creates a make-believe world
of a typical News show and has a blast
doing it!
Javed Jafferi and Shama Sikander to Cyrus Broacha
So do we!
We, too, romp onto the Cyrus rollercoaster and have a whale of a time doing
that. Nobody throws ‘asides’ like Cyrus and
nobody mouths the ‘one-lines’ like him. In
‘The Week…’ he has set new standards of comic expertise. Cyrus
doesn’t act – Cyrus happens! And he happens to you, just like
the storm happens to sand!
Without a peer, we swear!
Best Actress – Comedy (Jury)
Disha Vakani
(Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma)
Heyyy Maaa Maataji!
That’s the scream that has them rolling with laughter. Disha
Vakhani’s Daya Bhabhi has become the
biggest laughter challenge for the viewers
that they love to lose and break into titters at all her antics along with the ‘Heyyy
Maaa…’!
This was a role that could have easily gone
wrong in lesser hands. When you acquire
an affected accent, a shrill diction, dilated
eyes and a gurgling laughter – 9 out of 10
is the inevitability that you would end up
looking ridiculous.
But Disha is another story!
She has infused such spontaneity in all
that tomfoolery that it they comes across
as perfectly natural and sits pat on the
character. I a jiffy, we start believing that’s
how quirky Daya Bhabhi is and then start
laughing with her and not at her.
That’s what the art and craft of an actor
is all about. Making the implausible
look plausible, the silly, sensible and the
outrageous, spontaneous is the biggest
challenge for those who are all the time
slipping into someone that they are not.
Divya Dutta and Shveta Salve to Disha Vakani
Watch Disha’s Daya Bhabhi…
And you would know what we mean!
GR8! | JANUARY 2010 |
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| GR8 GALA |
Best Actor in a Negative Role
Sudesh Berry
(Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi
Kijo)
Some dawns come late!
Ask Sudesh Berry – he would know! An artiste of
his talent, tenor and texture has been groping in
the dark for an inordinately long while. They just
didn’t recognise the volcano seething inside him.
But you can’t pin a cloud down for ever!
Roshan Taneja and Gulshan Grover to
Sudeesh Berry
It has to soar! It’s just a matter of time – long or
short! And time came for Sudesh Berry in the
garb of Loha Singh, the feudalistic lord of ‘Agle
Janam…!’
And he has grabbed it with both hands! We are
sure, he has even surprised himself in such an
expressively nuanced interpretation of the role.
Most often, he has chosen to underplay and that
ends up making the character all the more sinister!
Add this to his deep baritone and the menace in
his eyes – he sculpts towering character is there.
That’s what we call…
Sudeesh Berry
A hands down winner!
Best Actress in Negative Role
Surekha Sikri
(Balika Vadhu)
We protest!
She should have been entered in the ‘Best
Actress’ category, because, A – she is the pivot
of the story and B – despite the character of
Daadisa often reacting to things negatively,
she does it because of her own (misguided)
feudalistic beliefs. It’s not the usual, pointless
negativity.
Just not your everyday vamp!
The way Surekha has interpreted Daadisa, she
comes out as ‘more sinned against than sinning’! The depth and intensity of her interpretation makes viewers fall for Daadisa lock, stock
and barrel.
N.P. Singh and Kiran Shantaram to rep.
A magician at her art!
She has single-handedly widened the horizons
of acting on Television by the gamut of emotions, she is capable of instilling in the role. The
moment she enters the frame, it seethes with
12 | GR8! | JANUARY 2010
the her presence and each word she
enunciates echoes for long in the ears
of the viewers.
One of a kind!
Surekha Sikri
| GR8 GALA |
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
(Jury)
Aditya Lakhia
(Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi
Kijo)
Kachra bowls you over, once again!
Remember Lagaan’s severely handicapped
‘Kachra’, who, finally, is instrumental in winning the match for Bhuvan (Amir Khan)? Well,
he is back and this time on the small screen.
Playing the destitute father of Laali, who lives
in abject and abysmal poverty, Adithya creates
another utterly authentic interpretation of the
underdog!
Ashvini Kalsekar and Murli Sharma to
Aditya Lakhia
The one your heart will go out for!
So much is his empathy with the viewers that
despite doing a heinous act like, ‘selling his
daughter’, he doesn’t come across to them as
a villain. They can just feel and touch his compulsion and instead of hatred, compassion
wells up in their hearts for him!
Even if his track doesn’t run through the entire
fibre of the werial, he makes his presence felt.
A lesser actor in his place would
have put paid to the character’s
promise and prospects. It was a case
of truly inspired casting when they
chose him.
A Godsend, indeed!
Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Jury)
Aditya Lakhia
Smita Mohla Bansal
(Balika Vadhu)
effortlessly, too, at that. That’s unique
to her! There is not one moment
where you will find her stilted or
forced.
Ooh, that smile!
A natural as natural can ever be!
When Smita gets toothy, you go into raptures. Endowed with an expressive, mobile face, she expresses every emotion to the last nuance and so
There can be no gainsaying the fact
that she is – has always been – an
asset to which-ever serial she has
worked in, but in ‘Balika Vadhu’, the
challenge has been far greater for
her. Here, she is pitted against the
redoubtable Surekha Sikri, playing an
author-backed Daadisa. But did Smita
ever eclipse before her?
Perish the thought!
She has held her fort – and how!
However awestruck you might be at
Daadisa always in her elements in
scene after scene – you cannot ignore
Smita. Her quiet glances are brimming with such intensity that again
and again your eyes rivet towards her.
What more could the makers want
from an artiste?
Alka Yagnik and Zarina Wahab to Smita Bansal
A director’s delight, really!
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Matchless!
Best Child Artiste (Jury)
No one can hold a candle to what this little slip of
a girl has accomplished on the small screen and
she has done it with such polish and panache
that you almost forget that she is a child and start
looking at her as a seasoned pro!
Avika Gor
(Balika Vadhu)
But a child she is!
The scintillating spontaneity of her performance
would vouch for that. Such natural effervescence
can come only from a child but, of course, she
does not stop at that. She shows an equally
intense acumen in handling heavy-duty dramatics, too.
Surrounded by veterans of formidable repute like
Surekha Sikri and others, she isn’t found one bit
wanting in talent or confidence at any given time.
She is a natural and none and nothing can leave
her cornered in a scene.
And her winsome ways have made her the apple
of millions’ eyes, including the connoisseurs as is
proven by the ITA Jury getting floored by her.
That’s the stuff winners are made of!
Dhairya and Afsha to Avika Gor
The GR8! Ensemble Cast (2009)
(Uttaran)
GR8! team and the GR8! readers were hand in
glove to zero in on something that is unique to
Television – The Ensemble Cast!
Yes, many-a-times, TV shows do away with
towering protagonists and instead, present
an assemblage of actors in characters that are
equally distributed in power and impact. So
often, it’s not the individual but the ensemble
that is most important on tube.
Actually, GR8! had accorded recognition to this
typically TV phenomenon in its very first year.
However, due to certain circumstances, it was
held off in the years that have followed.
But the trumpets are out once again!
The Award has been resumed! And in the first
year of its resumption, it could have crowned
none else than the ‘Uttaran’ ensemble. This
is one serial that has, from its very inception,
banked on the flair and flourish of its entire cast
rather than building towers around one or two
individuals. It’s a truly, truly ensemble impact
14 | GR8! | JANUARY 2010
Team Uttaran
that they create on the viewers complementing one another
immaculately.
And GR8! gushed, ‘Wow’ to that!
| GR8 GALA |
Best Thriller / Horror Serial (Jury)
(CID)
Unbelievable!
A serial in its 12th year of existence and still towering
above one and all, still connecting famously with
the viewers and still being the toast of discerning
critics as well! It’s a feat beyond the best of ’em and
in achieving it, B P Singh, the life-force behind the
series, has moved into the hall of fame in Television.
What a creation and what a creator!
This team of ACP Parduman Singh looks so authentic that they have accomplished the absolute and
total ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ amongst the
audience. In this, they have achieved what Sherlock
Holmes, Hercules Poirot, Miss Marple etc. are crowned
for – i.e. being totally fictional characters and yet
believed by millions to be real. There are any number of incidents when men, women, children on the
street have accosted Shivaji Satam, Aditya, Daya and
others of the team and hailed them as true policemen.
Saying CID has acquired cult status would be stressing the obvious, but what is not quite known is the untold toil and trouble
that has gone and continues to go behind it. Not once, they have
let complacence seep into them and that’s why even the 1000th
episode of CID has the same vim and verve as the first one!
And despite all of its 12 years, this has not waned
a bit!
These guys are impossible!
We salute!
Govind Namdeo and Sanjeev Kapoor to B.P.Singh
Best Historical/Mythological Serial (Jury)
(Meera)
Yet another!
Yes – yet another horse (or shall we say mare) from the trusted
stable of Sagars (albeit a divided one, today!).
Whatever the inside situation, the shadow of
the late patriarch Ramanand Sagar continues
to loom benignly over the Sagar shows. He
is still the muse behind everything they do
– together or separately!
And Meera is proof of that!
It has the same eye for detail, flair for period
and conviction in mythology that the old
doyen once had. That’s how it comes out so
strongly in its impact. For once, you are just
transported to a bygone era and get hooked
to the protagonist without an iota of reservation, whatsoever.
Particularly engaging have been the earlier
portions, where we saw an oh-so-girlie Meera
getting slowly caught in mesh of Krishna’s
love. And despite its being a rather weatherbeaten tale that has been told ‘n’ numbers of
times on stage and screen – the way Sagars
have mounted it, it holds you! Well, as for
mythologicals…
Mere toh Sagars’
Doosro na koi…!
Shaad Randhawa and Mohan Bhandari to Mr. Sagar
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Best Anchor Game/Quiz Show (Jury)
Salman Khan
(Dus Ka Dam)
The heartthrob!
What do you say to a superstar that someone, some
place hasn’t already said? He is the dreamboat
darling of a zillion hearts and they are all the time
wrestling with one another for coining a phrase for
this modern day Adonis!
But halt!
Ok, you can’t say much about Sallu of the big screen,
but there is a lot to say about Sallu on the small
screen. His stint with TV is only 2 seasons old (of Dus
Ka Dum, that is), you discover a Salman Khan here
that you didn’t ever know.
He is different!
Gone are the starry tantrums, gone is that aloof
air and instead, we see a transformed person, who
genuinely opens his heart out to people and hops,
skips, romps and jigs with them as if he were their
next door neighbour.
And that becomes the core USP of the show!
Kunika Lall and Shonali Nagrani to Rohit Roy
Salman Khan
Salman’s ultra connect with people gives Dus Ka
Dum its ‘dum’. He has actually turned the concept of
an anchor on its head and comes across not as one
who manoeuvres them, but as one of them.
What a make-over!
Best Anchor News/Current Affair
Show (Jury)
Prabhu Chawla
(Seedhi Baat)
Tedha Aadmi!
That’s how many define this Seedhi Baatwaala.
They grouse and grumble about his abrasive
tone and tenor in his Baat sessions. They feel
he is just a megalomaniac let loose on people
and one who is too full of himself and himself
alone. That’s why, they say, in Seedhi Baat, only
he does the Baat – all the time butting and cutting into his hapless guests. That’s snooty, they
allege. They think he is a snooty snob!
They are wrong!
Shashi Ranjan and David Dhawan to Prabhu Chawla
Contrary to all their loaded opinions, Prabhu
Chawla is a gutsy, gritty man who doesn’t hiccup for a nano second before calling a spade,
a bloody shovel. He is the ultimate rip-off man the viewers and strange as it may seem, even to the guests at his show he
who hates masks and tears them off the faces scores high on credibility and they do not hold his brutal honesty against
the high & mighty with the indomitable cour- him even after being at the receiving end all the time.
age of conviction!
May his tribe increase!
That’s how he has won the implicit trust of
16 | GR8! | JANUARY 2010
| GR8 GALA |
Best Anchor – Talk/Chat Show (Jury)
Dr. Kiran Bedi
(Aap Ki Kachehri)
She is a dream!
In these times of hypocrisy, duplicity and corruption, Dr. Kiran Bedi stands as a dream exception
to the rot that has set in. Her conduct in public
life has been so above board that an implicit trust
in her has evolved in the hearts of the people at
large.
For a show like ‘Aap Ki Kachehri’, there couldn’t
have been a better person to anchor it. Acrually,
if not for her, the show would have fallen flat,
because when she speaks, she commands an
authority and authenticity in the minds of the
viewers and that’s what the show needed most.
When she speaks – you nod!
That’s how the biggest thing she brings to ‘Aapki
Kachehri’ is authority. You know it’s a fake Adaalat
out there, you know the judge has no legal
authority to decree a judgement… and yet you
believe the goings-on therein as if it were a real
court-hearing.
Mohit Chauhan and Suchitra Krishnamurthy to rep
That’s owing to one thing and one thing
alone – Dr. Bedi being in the chair! When
she snubs a miscreant or orders the accused or the accuser to follow a particular
conduct in future – you do not find it
implausible…
Making the right point: Kiran Bedi
You bow to that!
Best Anchor – Talk/Chat Show (Jury)
carved out a high niche for himself in the
medium due to his relentless pursuits towards
objectivity and unbiased reporting.
Rajeep Sardesai
(Battle For India)
He is the blue-eyed boy of Indian TV news, today. Over the years, he has
A paragon in his field, actually!
Also, what makes him a breed apart is his
powers of perception and analysis. He has
great insights into things and can sift the grain
from the chaff most convincingly. He can always read between the lines and that fine text
behind hypocritical bytes.
And he rips masks!
Obviously, he abhors duplicity and doesn’t
bat an eyelid before exposing the real faces of
people. To cap it, he is highly innovative and
can use the tools of his medium most imaginatively. Few know better than him as to how
to structure and texture a Talk-show.
Remember Big fight? But, of course, you do!
It has never left our TV screens since it first
coming with Rajdeep. The way he gathered
the rats and cats in a huddle to claw at one
another was a terrific viewing experience. And
he continues to do all that and more to make
public life accountable.
Mohit Chauhan and Suchitra Krishnamurthy
to rep.
A crusader!
Rajdeep Sardesai
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Best Anchor – Music/Film-based Show (Jury)
Meiyang Chang
That’s a coup!
He was the unlikeliest person to accomplish the feat. Okay, he had won an
Indian Idol – but that’s about singing no?
It didn’t mean you could carry the show
on your shoulders as an anchor as well.
(Indian Idol-4)
The success of an anchor depends in
a big way on his/her presentability
quotient with the viewers and Meiyang’s
Mangolian features would be a deterrent
in that respect. Trust us, even as it’s an
unkind thought, it’s true as well – Danny
Denzongpa notwithstanding. And in any
case, singing is one thing and anchoring
totally another!
‘And never the twain shall meet!’
– right?
Wrong! You can’t sweep a Chang aside
like that. Here is a guy with tremendous
trust in himself and he is endowed with
the gift of the gab and he has a sense of
humour that, in fact, is the most lethal
arrow in the quiver of an anchor. And cap
it with his knowledge of music is a complete Music Show Anchor for you.
Karan Oberoi and Jasvir Kaur to rep
Ask The ITA Jury – they know!
Meiyang Chang
Best Music/Film-based Show (Jury)
(Indian Idol-4)
A catalyst!
It was the show that triggered the phenomenon called Reality Music Shows that have
become such a huge revenue-models for
Television, today. Before it, the sedate Sa Re Ga
Ma, despite being a note-worthy talent hunt
show, didn’t pursue its marketing as belligerently as it did.
Actually, Indian Idol gave the open-sesame to
channels for heaps and loads of Moolah in the
shape of the SMS’s. Getting its moorings from
the ‘American Idol’, it triggered the spate of
‘Music-reality’ phenomenon in India.
But it had more to it!
Apart from being smart business, it also assiduously pursued its hunt for musical talent in the
country. It set the definitive norms of mounting
a Music Show of its kind.
18 | GR8! | JANUARY 2010
Shaad Randhawa and Anil Khera doing the honors
Music ran through its frames and fibre. And it was not late before the
viewers took to it in a big way! When SMS’s rain in millions, making
overnight starts out of total non-entities – it reflects only one fact…
Indian Idol has created history!
| GR8 GALA |
Best Reality Show (Jury)
(Aap Ki Kachehri)
Path-breaking!
This one show is the kind that compels us
to think that at last our Television is coming of age. Aap Ki Kachehri, as a concept,
is the one to lift the medium to another
level. In a country where courts mean an
eternal wait, you need such platforms
where a suffering can find a quick ear and
some short-cut towards redressal.
That’s radical, indeed!
It’s okay if the legality of such a platform
is untenable. If the participants go back
to redress the wrongs done, then who
would lose sleep over legalities.
What is most important here is that the
participants have to believe in it and for
all appearances, if surely seems to be the
case. And this is thanks in no small measure to there being just the right judge in
the chair (mock? Never mind!), i.e. Kiran
Bedi, whose moral authority is unques-
Kanwaljeet Singh and Munisha Khatwani to Anupama Mandloi
tionable and who also knows the nuances of law, being a lawyer herself.
This also makes compelling viewing what with the range of cases it unfolds
on the screen.
A wake-up call, really!
Best Game/Quiz Show (Jury)
(Sach Ka Saamna)
Raining punches!
That’s what the impact was! When ‘Sach
Ka Saamna’ came on the air, it ruffled
many a feather. Many felt queasy in
the stomach at the brutality of truth it
mirrored as participant after participant
went on owning up their emotional
dishonesty to their family and friends,
their pretensions and hypocrisies and
even their sexual escapades.
And all hell broke loose!
The self-appointed custodians of Bhartiya Sanskriti were up in arms against the
show. The producers and the channel
had a barrage of hate-mails. Even the
country’s Parliament set aside National
issues to discuss a TV show and its socalled violation of public propriety.
That’s how stirring and disturbing ‘Sach
Ka Saamna’ came to be. Indeed, despite
being a clone of ‘Moment of Truth’, it acquired an identity of its own in its Indian
Avatar and you could love it or hate it,
but you couldn’t ignore it – no way!
Ashok Pandit and Mr. Joseph of AMAP doing the honors
And we had moments on the screen that left us agape. Perfectly regular
people threw their middle class moralistic reservations and inhibitions into the
dustbin and confessed their indiscreet sexual slip-ups and that too in the presence of their spouses, mothers and fathers.
We need more of that!
GR8! | JANUARY 2010 |
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Winsome!
Best Talk/Chat Show (Jury)
Even though you’ve seen them all – the star-chat shows,
that is. You know, the ones where the la-di-da folks of tinsel
town come and break into starry stances and silly coquetry
before the celebrity host. So when Farah Khan’s show was
announced, you sighed in desperation – ‘Another?’… but
tuning into it was a surprise!
(Tere Mere Beach Mein)
It was different!
Yes – there were star-guests and most predictably, the
host Farah was a celebrity as well, but it had nothing of the
claptrap of the former shows of its kind. Actually, it was an
attempt to see the person behind the image, i.e. a deep
peep into the halos around them.
That’s the difference!
Shirish Kunder to Farah Khan
Bereft of the Naaz-Nakhra, the star-celebs came across as
just the routine, regular persons, who had their share of
failings, faux-pas and frivolity of nature. The best part was
when humdrum, ordinary folks were called in and parallels
were drawn between them and the stars’ lives.
There really were tender, touching moments on the show
that made you gush – ‘That’s what a Talk-show should be all
about!’
Farah Khan
You know – the Tera Mera Show!
Best News/Current Affairs
Show (Jury)
(The CJ Show)
Trailblazing!
It’s a revolutionary concept. For eons,
you have seen journalists strutting
around, championing the underdog
and his trials and tribulations. Armed
with the powers of a pen, mike or
camera, they become the voice of the
hapless have-nots.
CJ show turns all of that topsyturvy.
In eliminates this proxy fighting and
instead, gives that pen, mike and the
camera to the sufferers. That gives
them the muscle to fight their own
battles all by themselves.
So they take the apathy, corruption
and wheeling-dealing in the corridors
of power head-on. Take the case of
this father of a daughter burnt for
dowry. She was even being refused
20 | GR8! | JANUARY 2010
Deepti Bhatnagar and Rajesh Mehta of Western Union to
Shrishti Shanker
treatment. The CJ Show gave him the powers of the Electronic-media and in a
jiffy, his daughter was admitted to a proper hospital and the perpetrators of the
crimes on her were booked by a hitherto apathetic police.
That’s the true glory of the Media!
| GR8 GALA |
Best Entertainment
Channel (Popular)
Colors
Sonali and Roopkumar Rathod to Ashvini Yardi
Best Hindi News Channel
(Popular)
Aaj Tak
Anu Ranjan and Madhur Bhandarkar to G. Krishnan
Best English News Channel
(Popular)
NDTV 24x7
Shashi Ranjan and David Dhawan to Srinivasan Jain
GR8! | JANUARY 2010 |
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Best Fashion & Lifestyle
Channel (Popular)
NDTV Goodtimes
Parvathy Omanakuttan with Arun Thapar
Best Singer (Jury)
Sonu Niigam
(Dil Mill Gayye)
Sonu Niigaam with Rageshwari Loomba
22 | GR8! | JANUARY 2010
Sunil Grover and Gaurav Gera