'Give us a break'

As if scorching the big screen wasn’t enough, these days, celebrities are all over the small screen as well. The TV screens are turning too starry by the day with Amitabh Bachchan hosting Kaun Banega Crorepati   (KBC), or Salman Khan in Bigg Boss and more recently, Akshay Kumar in MasterChef India. With three stars vying for TRPs, there are a bunch of other stars as well trying to make the most of the audience’s attention. Well, we are referring to the Bollywood stars, who keep making appearances on these shows to promote their upcoming films.

While on one channel you see Mallika Sherawat breaking into a snake dance, on the other, you see John Abraham portraying his geeky self (read KBC), the team of Golmaal 3 making everyone laugh on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar and Chotte Ustaad and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan exploring the culinary delights on MasterChef India. As much as it helps the stars reach out to the audiences in their aim to promote their upcoming films, it can certainly prove to be a distraction for the viewers. Metrolife speaks to a few television buffs to find out whether they like these promotional activities while watching their favourite shows on the small screen.

Sheenu Joseph, an artist, loves watching MasterChef India, Bigg Boss and KBC. She surely doesn’t find celebrity appearances on these shows annoying. “It’s human nature to be inquisitive about others and who better than celebrities,” she asks. “Besides, celebrities also bring out a better response to a show compared to a common man,” she notes. “Reality shows like Bigg Boss and  KBC have a lot of spice, glamour and gossip which is always entertaining and when these celebrities come to promote their films, these shows turn all the more interesting.”

Mitali Rabha, an operations associate at Oracle Education Initiatives, watches KBC and Bigg Boss. She used to watch Dance India Dance too. “I find it really annoying when a celebrity, who does not know anything about music or dance, comes and comments on a budding singer or dancer’s performance. And they do all this just for the sake of promoting their films,” she exclaims. “Though I loved Ranbir Kapoor on Sa Re Ga Ma as he was just himself, Mallika was really annoying. Her snake act didn’t match the programme at all!” For some people, it’s more about who is making an appearance on the show. For instance, Nell Namitha, a biotechnology student of New Horizon College of Engineering, is a big fan of Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan. So she wouldn’t mind watching them on any of the shows. “They are great actors and it’s never annoying to see them. Plus, it’s a great way for them to reach out to the masses,” says the girl, who is a big fan of KBC.

“But some actors are unable to promote their films well and seem fake when they are a part of reality shows. Most of these fake actors are flop ones and watching them can get really annoying,” she sums up. So the next time you tune into a show and get confused about who is the host, judge or a guest, remember… we are with you too!