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The year in television
The saas-bahus took a backseat. Indian television was star-struck instead – literally. We binged on American shows, bid a sad farewell to some, and got hooked on to new finds... because there’s no such thing as “too much TV”.
The saas-bahus took a backseat. Indian television was star-struck instead – literally. We binged on American shows, bid a sad farewell to some, and got hooked on to new finds... because there’s no such thing as “too much TV”.
Hit the ratings
Comedy Nights with Kapil
first aired in
June
2013. In just over a year, the comedy show became the biggest non-fiction programme on Indian TV.
And in just over a year, its host Kapil Sharma, who had had to make three attempts to win
The Great Indian Laughter Challenge
a few years ago, became the highest paid TV artist in the country. (He’s also supposed to have become very very difficult to deal with).
• Sharma reportedly charges Rs10 lakh for each episode. Rumour has it that the figure is actually Rs 50 lakh. His team refuses to comment.
• He demanded Rs 1.25 crore for hosting the extra innings of Celebrity Cricket League.
• Eighty films have been promoted on his show so far.
• Sharma will make his film debut in Abbas-Mustan’s next. He was set to debut in Yash Raj Films’
Bank Chor
, but the film and his three- movie deal with YRF fell through.
Most talked about TV show
Matthew McConaughey is hot! But McConaughey as a brooding, depressed detective solving gory murders in bleak, eerie Louisiana? Outstanding. Add a terrific complex storyline, throw in goosebump-inducing cinematography and you have the most talked about TV show of the year –
True Detective
.
Goodbye
We loved
How I Met Your Mother
, and we were sad when it came to an end in March this year. It was one of the most popular American sitcoms after
F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
But after nine seasons and 208 episodes of being with Ted and his friends, we were left highly disappointed with the finale. It didn’t have to be so morose and we definitely wanted more of our favourite character Barney doing his “Legen-wait-for-it-dary” stuff one last time.
Top runners
AXN:
Sherlock, 24 - Live Another Day, Blue Bloods
HBO Defined:
Game of Thrones, The Newsroom, Silicon Valley
Star World Premiere:
Homeland, Downton Abbey, The Blacklist
FX:
Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, American Horror Story
Comedy Central:
The Graham Norton Show, Anger Management, Suits
Also read:
Big debuts and bigger duds
Amitabh Bachchan in
Yudh
, “the most expensive fiction show on Indian television.” Expectations were huge, the excitement was palpable but
Yudh
simply bombed! Supposedly a “psychological thriller miniseries,” it hardly challenged you psychologically, except to make you wonder why the Big B was always sweating so profusely. Too sombre, with a dragging pace, it didn’t end up as the thriller it was meant to be.
Ashutosh Gowariker and AR Rahman in
Everest
, “the most ambitious project on Indian television.” One famous filmmaker, one Oscar-winning music director, one great mountain… formula for a clear win? Not quite. The telenovella (of an ordinary girl trying to do extraordinary things – like climbing Everest) is disappointing.
Turning tides
After years of soppy, over-the-top saas-bahu sagas, our TV sets saw a refreshing change in June this year when a new channel called Zindagi launched. It brought several beautifully made shows from Pakistan, with limited episodes, high production values, and a bevy of good looking actors – what’s not to love! (Except that the themes continued to revolve around the family).
Also, India’s first genre-specific Hindi channel, Epic, launched in November. With shows like
Dharamkshetra, Dariba Diaries, Ekaant
and others, it intends to celebrate the country’s heritage, mythology and history.
Overheard over coffee
All that made headlines on
Koffee With Karan
:
‘duck’ lips,
“You know what I mean”, Nargis Fakhri and Freida Pinto pushed to the late-night slot because of “mature content.”
Also read:
Antics at the Awards
The awards ceremonies were in a race to outdo each other on funny, witty, embarrassing and memorable moments that sent social media into overdrive.
• Setting the trend was Ellen Degeneres at the 86th annual Academy Awards when she ordered pizzas for the audience. Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Brangelina, among others were spotted grabbing a slice.
• Our desi Oscar, the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) made headlines across the world too, when the two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey draped a lungi over his tux and joined Deepika Padukone in an impromptu
Lungi Dance
. John Travolta showed off dance moves too with Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra.
• Hollywood star Johnny Depp rounded off the antics at the awards with his drunken speech at the Hollywood Film Awards in Los Angeles.
The end of Mad Men
Our favourite Madison Avenue folks from the 1960s will return to our living rooms one last time next year. The last seven episodes of the final season of
Mad Men
will be aired in April, 2015. Let’s get those glasses of Old Fashioned ready, and hope the makers, as Don Draper says, “Make it simple but significant.”
Better Call Saul
We loved
Breaking Bad
and we rejoiced as the cast and crew of the crime drama series came together at the Emmys this year (where they bagged awards in almost all the major categories), after the show ended last year. And now, we are more than excited for the spin-off
Better Call Saul
, which is set to premiere in early 2015.
Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat 
History seems to be the flavour of the season and riding on the success of shows like
Jodha Akbar, Bharat Ka Veer Putra
–
Maharana Pratap
, and
Buddha
, author Ashok Banker (of
Prince of Ayodhya
fame) is adapting the epic story of India’s greatest king for TV. The trailer looks super slick; we only hope that the show (on Colors) will be as exciting.
From HT Brunch, December 28
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