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They came, they cooked, but did they conquer? At the end of two episodes of MasterChef, it didn’t seem so. The big ticket, cooking culinary competition show that aired on Star Plus this weekend is not only an unsavoury imitation of the Australian MasterChef being telecast simultaneously on weekdays on Star World but it is tacky and, frankly, rather tasteless. In the Indian version,
the star of the show is clearly Akshay Kumar, fulltime Bollywood action
hero and part-time chef back in the days when he was trying to make it
as a stuntman in Bangkok. His expertise with green Thai curry is
probably the reason why this one-man attention machine landed himself a
presumably lucrative contract to become the host of this internationally
franchised talent show; the other reason could be his undeniable success
of another reality show, Khatron Ke Khiladi. So unlike the hosts
of the ‘other’ show, he is no foodie expert.
Of course, that doesn’t prevent participants from swooning all over him, or getting into an overheated pant, even as they rustle up their signature dishes. But culinary expertise gives way to adulation and many theatrical moments. One auntyji even feeds putar, aka Kumar; another honours him with a sword with tears in the eyes; while another just wants to touch him. Apart from these glaring transgressions, there are many other fatal flaws in this show. A lot of it is to do with bad camerawork. Its early days yet but the food looks unappetising, often suffocating in layers of oil and masalas. The not-so-cleverly orchestrated product placement, like the cooking oil being used, is about as subtle as burnt toast. But perhaps the basic fault lies in the fact that these early contestants are just not passionate about cooking as a vocation. You get the feeling that this is just a time-pass participation, and perhaps a chance to get a shot at the Rs 1 crore in prize money, host a cookery show on TV and write a cook book. The initial episodes smack of entertainment rather than any serious intent; like the hefting up of an overweight contestant by Kumar and the other two judges, Kunal Kapoor and Ajay Chopra, which definitely nibbled at my sense of propriety. For a person who is fascinated by cooking, and doesn’t know how to cook, give me the Australian version of MasterChef, which, apart from its superior production standards, is also an emotional thriller — but for the right reasons. Competing with MC on Imagine is another celeb show: Rakhi Ka Insaf (RKI). I don’t know what it is with Imagine but they seem to have a janam janam ka rishta with Rakhi Sawant. The tell-all, bare-all item girl, drama queen par excellence, who refused to marry her swayamvar, is back, and this time as a judge. If this doesn’t keel you over with laughter and have your eyes rolling, you should look at RKI. In the first programme we had Shabina, a widow, who was being picked on by her in-laws. Upon seeing Rakhi, dressed in some kind of strange red contraption, she sobbed and plunged into Sawant’s ample bosom and related her woes. Enter the rest of Shabina’s affronted in-laws, who shout out their side of the story. Soon, the whole issue becomes a free for all, fisticuffs and fights, which would have done the stone-throwers in Kashmir proud. I suspect the people coming for Rakhi’s insaf will hail from the lower strata of society. Perhaps this is what they mean when they say big shows are for the little people; not for the snobs and well-heeled Rakhi’s brand of "insta-justice." But for we, the people of India, this is a good platform as any for voyeuristic and exploitative TV. Joining in the quirky, the freakish and the faded celebrities who seem to be the mainstays of Bigg Boss on Colors, this week was Khali, the 7-foot 3-inch tall giant wrestler in place of an ousted participant. The hot topic of debate on Day 14 was how many eggs had been specially given to the Great Khali as compared to the other inmates. At last count it was 80 vs 210. Sleep deprived and now apparently food deprived, the bias is already causing angst in the inmates of the Bigg Boss household, and getting Shweta hot under the collar. You might think a programme like this is an easy way for producers to fill in time and attract ads — again we saw some product placement of shampoos — but actually the show is popular. Critics may outrage against the Bigg Boss culture but without the canned clich`E9s and laugh tracks, in their own way and through the unscripted documentary format, such reality shows look at certain hot button issues — class, for instance, gender bias, even racism. Remember the Shilpa Shetty and Jane Goody face-off in the British version of the show, called Big Brother? Let’s face it. Most sitcoms are predictable.
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