Games people like to play

THIS one promises to be different for it treads upon a taboo subject with a sense of restraint and an undercurrent of humour.

Ye Sheh! Ye Maat!! On Star Plus at 9.30 p.m. December 4, is about Ketan Parikh, a brillient literature post-graduate, who acquires enormous wealth by writing sleazy books under the somewhat unusual pseudonym of ‘Begum Farukkhabadi’.

Writing one bestseller after another, a sense of megalomenia overtakes him and he starts imaging himself as the world’s most potent man. To prove it he weds a girl 22 years younger than him not realising she’s married his money and not him.

But Ketan soon finds out and feels betrayed and shattered. one evening he meets Rahul who was in love with the woman he married. Ketan works out a plan. Rahul knows it is a gamble and if he succeeds he will have both money and the woman he once loved.

Ye Sheh! Ye Maat!! soon transforms into a story of two men and their sadistic games. A gripping affair through and through.

Courting success

Kamyabi (success) has yet again come to the doorstep of Ajay Mehra with his latest serial Kamyabi. The serial which is being aired daily on DDI has firmly established itself on the second position in TRP ratings and is now vying for the numero uno spot.

Written, produced and directed by Ajay Mehra (Karambhoomi), it is a typical soap with a multi-layered plot spiced up with romance, conflict and emotions. Starring Nikki Aneja, and Rajendra Gupta, the serial is expected to wind up in about 260 episodes.

The director seems to have hit the right formula for making long-drawn soaps. Once the story and casting are in place all he has to do is to sit back and let the moolah roll in through advertising on Doordarshan.

But money breeds ambition and Mehra is now thinking of moving on to Bollywood. Does success in one medium gurantee success in another? Not necessarily. So it may be better for Mehra to rule the airwaves than serve the big screen.

Play it again, Sonu

So what’s the big idea? A show to beat another show? Star Plus which already airs the popular Is Duniya Ke Sitaare has started a similar programme. The Red Ribbon Show hosted by Sonu Nigam, 7.00 p.m. every Sunday.

The 14-part series has guests from the film industry sharing their personal anecdotes and experiences. Besides the two celebrity guests on each show, there is a special guest — an AIDS patient or a relative of the patient.

So get ready to listen to all you’ve listened to before from celebrities like Karan Johar, Manoj Bajpai, Ram Gopal Verma, Anu Malik, Govinda, Karisma Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan. And if there’s a sense of deja vu, don’t forget, a good show deserves another!

From crease to grease

God, another cricket programme! Just as we thought we’d had enough of cricketers performing more on television and megabuck ads than on the field, here comes one more on Zee by Ajay Jadeja.

The B-part Indian Cricketer of the Millennium (y-a-w-n), as the title suggests, is all about selecting the best Indian cricketer of the century. The show also features Geoff Boycott who by now must be vying with Mark Tully for the Britisher who loves India the most.

And talking of Ajay Jadeja, the man looks savvy and well turned out despite the tired and cliche-ridden show. Considering he may not have too far to go in cliche-ridden show. Considering he may not have too far to go in cricket now that he’s not in the Test side for Australia, Jadeja could well eye the small screen for a career change!

Portrait in courage

In The Terminator, Arnold Schwar-zenegger’s cyborg character warns audiences that he’ll be back. With the release of his new movie End of Days, he sure is.

In a one hour special tracing his rise to fame and beyond, Discovery Channel reveals the Arnold mystique in Arnold Schwarzen-egger: Hollywood Hero, premiering as part of portraits on Junuary 27 at 10 p.m.

The life story of Arnold Schwarzenegger is amazing but true. It is the tale of a poor Austrian youth who battled the odds, became a mega-star and married into one of the most prominent families in modern history.

Schwarzenegger amazes even the most casual observer and his superstar status solidifies the belief that dreams can come true.

The programme highlights the multifaceted individual who rose to fame as a champion bodybuilder. As a businessman he became a millionaire before the age of 30 and then went on to tackle Hollywood on his own terms.

Beginning with his first spectacular win as the world’s youngest Mr Universe to his unprecedented seven wins as Mr Olympia, this biography fuels the adrenaline as Arnold bursts onto the screen as Conan the Barbarian and rockets into stardom with The Terminator series of films.

— Mukesh Khosla

This feature was published on December 12, 1999