TELEVISION
Tiger in a werewolf’s clothing

INSPIRATION comes easy to TV serial makers. Josh on Star Plus was ‘inspired’ by Matrix, then Aawaz Dil Se Dil Tak on Zee TV was an ‘adaptation’ of Castaway. Now Balaji Telefilms too seems to be getting into the act.

In a bid to pump adrenaline into the 150-episode old Kya Hadsaa Kya Haqeeqat, Balaji has leaned over to Hollywood for ideas. The ninth series, Khaall looks like a reworked copy of Hollywood’s popular movie Werewolf.

Aired on weekends, from Friday to Sunday at 8 p.m. on Sony Entertainment Television, Khaall is the story of a film star who is attacked by a tiger while camping with his friends in a jungle. Though he’s left for dead, he miraculously comes back to life.

Possessed by the tiger’s spirit, he turns into a bloodthirsty beast and on full moon nights prowls the city streets for victims. Those familiar with the Werewolf theme can guess what happens next.

This chalo Hollywood trend has got Bollywood writers worried. They say TV scripts are increasingly poaching on their territory and giving them a run for their skills. They fear that soon enough there won’t be anything left for them to copy...oops get ‘inspired’ by.

Can you guess who’s the Biwi No. 1 around here? No, this is not a sequel of a mindless David Dhawan comedy. Gharwali Uparwali Aur Sunny on Star Plus, Saturdays 9 p.m. is a rehashed version of a three-year-old show which was then titled Gharwali Uparwali.

It revolves around the life of Ravi, an adman whose first wife dies within a year of marriage. He then marries the second time and has a 10-year-old son, Sunny. Trouble starts when at a party a magician — a la Whoopi Goldberg — in Ghost, accidentally calls down the spirit of Ravi’s dead wife, who decides to stay on in the same house.

In the first avatar a tug-of-war started between the two as neither could tolerate Ravi being shared by the other. The child is an emotional bonding. In its new manifestation the focus has shifted to Sunny.

Both the mother and the lovable ghost dote on him. The two women unite whenever there is an external threat to their home and family.

But otherwise all hell breaks loose whenever they are together. And with each trying to prove that she is Mummy No. 1, the remixed version is still fun for the whole family.

Magic seems to be the new mantra for some channels. There’s Jaduu and Shararat on Star Plus and Meri Biwi Wonderful on Sony Entertainment Television. All claim to be doing well on the popularity charts.

Now the channel that desperately needs a magic to attract urban viewers too has got its own jaadoo going. Jaadoo Samrat Shankar Ka from Monday to Thursday at 6 pm on DD Bharti is a daily half an hour show.

It features a 20-minute magic show and the rest of the time is devoted to the magician, who claims to have performed 18,000 shows and globalised Indian magic. It seems, he has cast a spell on the channel too! That notwithstanding, the point is, will Shankar’s magic work on DD Bharti? Though that remains to be seen, the show certainly seems to be working for the magician.

Even as achievement becomes every professional’s credo, so have the attendant problems. Power, wealth and career are the new key words for success. And so a generation is realising that if your target is to zoom up to the top then that’s when stress arrives.

CNBC’s Good Life Show is an endeavour to keep the executives stress-free and healthy. Celebrating its first birthday, the show has plans to add new flavour to executive fitness.

The show would lay more emphasis on striking a balance between health and chaotic work schedules with a sharper focus on current health issues, expert opinion on physical ailments and tips on exercise and diet.

Host Mini Menon along with her team of health experts embarks upon everyday problems to give viewers total fitness solutions. The show also has expert’s views on staying fit, doctor’s advice, aerobics and yoga.

Covering an array of subjects ranging from therapies to relieve back pain to new techniques in knee surgery Good Health Show is a comprehensive guide to a stress-free corporate life.

Aroona Irani’s undying passion for work is truly amazing. Riding on the success of her previous two soaps Mehendi Tere Naam Ki and Desh Mein Nikala Hoga Chand she now wants to complete the hat trick with her new offering Tum Bin Jaaoon Kahan on Zee.

"I do not like repetition. That’s why all three serials are different," says Irani. "Tum Bin... is a love story woven around the theme of reincarnation. This is the first time I’ve done something supernatural," says Irani, who plays mother to the lead star in the serial.

So how does it feel playing mother? Great, says the lady. "I felt very comfortable playing my age, though I’d would still love to do the vamp all over again. Those lovely ladies have simply vanished from the silver screen. I’d probably revive them one day."

Apart from reviving the vamp, does she have any other future plans? No, she says, "I don’t plan for the future, I only plan for the day." One hit after another.... That seems like a lot of planning for a day!

Are we the only surviving species in the universe? This question has been troubling humankind for ages yet there are no certain answers, just conjectures. While people from the science fraternity are constantly attempting to solve this mystery, films and television shows too have been presenting aliens in their own way.

Rosewell, every Thursday at 10 p.m. on Star World, is an attempt to combine science fiction with the heart-wrenching drama of the descendants of aliens who try to find out their place among humans as they struggle with adolescence.

There’s an overwhelming desire of the aliens to uncover the truth about themselves, to know who they are and where they come from. But this is complicated by their need to keep one step ahead of terrestrial and extraterrestrial adversaries.

An absorbing series that blends fiction with scientific facts in its search for an answer to the age old question...is there life beyond earth?

— Mukesh Khosla

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