Punjabi Antenna
Oodles of talent
Randeep Wadehra

Successful anchoring requires lots of talent and self-confidence, backed with knowledge and hard work. Anshu Sawhney is the archetypal female anchor who does not rest on her laurels; nor does she say "enough" to knowledge. She has kept on adding to her personality by learning classical music, dancing and singing. She has managed to do something that only a talented few can — make people laugh. Comedy is probably the toughest genre in showbiz.

Anshu, as Preeto in PTC Punjabi’s Preeto Top 10, has proved her talent beyond doubt while caricaturing doctors, cricketers and many others; as agony aunt for the lovelorn she was simply hilarious. And, she is adding to her repertoire. Now, you can see her anchoring the Voice of Punjab music reality show, too. Here, as a smart, sophisticated and urbane host, she comes out as the antithesis of Preeto, the simpleton villager.

She was a chit of a girl when one first saw Jassi Singh on a morning show telecast by PTC News. What had impressed one was that despite being a bit wet behind the ears, she had an impressive screen presence, spontaneity and irrepressible curiosity. Obviously, these traits have stood her in good stead. Next, she was seen on Zee Punjabi’s morning show Sohani Saver as Balwinder’s co-anchor. Now Jassi is anchoring ETC and Zee Punjabi’s shows like Main Kee Karaan, Apna Star of the Fortnight, Dial-e-Punjab etc.

She has also broken new ground by hosting Apna Pardes for the London-based Venus TV. Already she has done a special show on Baisakhi for the channel; another one on Amar Noorie will be on air by the time this column reaches you. Professionally, Jassi is growing in other ways, too. Apart from doing LLM, she plans out weddings and theme parties, and links up with potential customers through her website weddingandloveshowers.com. Talk of multitasking!

Since its inception, Zee Punjabi’s Pindan Vichhon Pind has been focussing on Punjab’s various creative persons, viz., singers, poets, lyricists, actors and writers. Although the show always had quite a few talented anchors, the present one, Baljit Kaur Johal, is certainly one of the most promising. She has what it requires for becoming a star anchor. Apart from good looks and a friendly mien, Baljit has a certain way of interacting with the featured guests that makes her unique. In the show’s last few episodes, the anchor has successfully brought out various personality traits of assorted celebrities. For example, K. Deep’s flamboyance even as he takes a nostalgic trip to his halcyon days when, teaming up with Jagmohan Kaur, his singing as well as comedy used to be popular among Punjabis (not that he has been forgotten now).

Then there was Barkat Sidhu — humility and simplicity personified even as his mastery over the sophisticated classical and light classical genres of music was quite apparent. He harked back to the days of extreme poverty when he used to learn the alphabet by scribbling on the mud rather than writing on a wooden board or slate. Baljit revels in putting the guests at ease with her infectious humour.

Talking of humour, one enjoyed the episode featuring Jaswinder Bhalla, where pathos mixed with laughter left a lingering effect on one’s mindscape long after the show was over. Ditto for Ranjit Kaur, who, too, came up in life the hard way. Long back this column had lamented the paucity of talented female anchors. Looks like Punjabi television is now in a much happier position.