Bollywood stars made small screen glitter in 2013

The craving for visibility and reach, made several Bollywood stars flock to the small screen, and try their hands in not just hosting or judging shows but also starring in TV series this year.

On one hand Salman Khan returned as the host of controversial reality show 'Bigg Boss' and megastar Amitabh Bachchan made a comeback to the hot seat with the seventh season of 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', actor Anil Kapoor also made a successful television debut with fiction thriller series '24'.

The seventh edition of 'Bigg Boss' was arguably one of the most popular shows on the small screen. The show about contestants from different walks of life holed up in a house was a hit with the audience. 'Bigg Boss' also made history of sorts when a contestant, Armaan Kohli, was arrested from the house.

Anil Kapoor's '24', an Indian television drama series based on the American series of the same name, grabbed eyeballs right from its first episode. The successful run of the first season of the series has prompted Anil to come up with the second part.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan's gaming show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', for the first time saw a female crorepati in the young Firoz Fatma from Uttar Pradesh.

Veteran actress Poonam Dhillon made her comeback to the small screen with 'Ek Nayi Pehchaan'. Known for her elegance, she is portraying the role of a Gujarati mother-in-law in the daily soap. The story is about how she builds up her self-respect through the daily household chores.

Stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma's debut show 'Comedy Nights with Kapil' witnessed the participation of almost whole of Bollywood. Besides the celebrity angle, the show hit headlines when a massive fire broke out on its set and popular character Gutthi, played by Sunil Grover, quit the show out of the blue. 

Dancing reality shows also saw the descent of big screen stars to the small screen. Bollywood diva Madhuri Dixit, filmmaker Karan Johar and choreographer-turned-director Remo D'Souza returned as the judges of celebrity dance reality show' Jhalak Dikhla Ja'.

Johar also made a comeback as the host of the fourth season of popular chat show 'Koffee with Karan'. The latest season also marked the debut of Salman Khan and Aamir Khan on the show.

Couple dance competitive show 'Nach Baliye' saw the return of Shilpa Shetty and Sajid Khan on the judging panel.

Veteran actress Jaya Bachchan is also likely to make her small screen debut with a fiction show on a leading channel. Interestingly, Jaya's husband, Amitabh too is making his fiction debut. However, the format of the shows have not been disclosed yet.

Fictional soap operas also underwent a metamorphosis. Serials like 'Diya Aur Baati Hum', 'Kehta Hai Dil...Jee Le Zara', 'Khelti Hai Zindagi Aankh Micholi', 'Uttaran' among others presented the women in better light.

'Diya Aur Baati Hum' chronicles the story of the female lead Sandhya, who overcomes marital problems and tries to fulfill her dream of becoming an IPS officer.

Similarly, 'Kehta Hai Dil...Jee Le Zara', which marked the comeback of actress Sangeeta Ghosh on TV after a long gap, is a story of an independent woman, who does everything which a man would to support her family.

The USP of the serial is the progressive plot which highlights the independent side of the female protagonist, who is well past her marriageable age, which is still considered a grave issue in India.

Similarly, 'Qubool Hai' focuses on the Muslim community, with an aim to dispel stereotypes regarding Islam. The female lead Zoya is the hero of the show, who runs away from her marriage and beats off the goons.

Another show 'Ek Boond Ishq', has a unique storyline, in which the female protagonist marries a murderer in order to save her family from the financial crisis.