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What’s the program?
The beginning of the decade saw many failures but one struck gold. The likes of Govinda who turned anchors with Jeeto Chhappar Phaad Ke, didn’t have a long run.
2000
All for some crores!
The beginning of the decade saw many failures but one struck gold. The likes of Govinda who turned anchors with Jeeto Chhappar Phaad Ke, didn’t have a long run. In June 2000, Amitabh Bachchan became the host of Kaun Banega Crorepati, an adaptation of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and ruled the roost once more. The popularity of the show rose with every episode. It also had a kiddie version. Harshwardhan Nawathe, the first Indian to become a millionaire on TV, is still remembered for his win that night.
2001
Everyone sipped the saas!
Ekta Kapoor became the goddess of the small screen with shows like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii. Kyunki hit an all-time high on the rating scale with 35 points approximately. It opened the floodgates for hundreds of similar shows to enter our drawing rooms. The historic episode was Mihir Virani’s death for which morchas were taken out and Kapoor was forced to re-introduce the character. The K-series became the order of the day.
2002
Cartoons are serious business
Cartoons became serious business. Dubbing artistes were hired a dime a dozen to dub for cartoons in various languages. Kids began to move from the plain Tom and Jerry Show to Shin Chan, Ninja Hattori, Power Rangers and others. Cartoon channels or broadly classified as channels for kids, multiplied with imported content. Some even tried original shows but not many found takers.
2003
Commentary masala
No one could believe their eyes when they saw actress Mandira Bedi sitting in the commentator’s chair during the ICC World Cup, in skimpy clothes. Some laughed at the phenomenon and many criticised the death of the serious business of cricket commentary. Masala cricket was born. Doordarshan couldn’t match up to the SET Max standards, though now, even they have a female commentator. Same year, ugly became beautiful, with Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin. Dark- skinned and flawed appearances were no longer looked down upon. Saas-bahu dramas got a breather.
2004
‘Idol’ worship
Indian Idol on Sony Entertainment re-defined the norms of non-fiction shows. Before this show, there had been Antakshari where Anu Kapoor cried at the drop of a hat. There had also been Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. But this show kicked off talent hunts packaged with drama and masala. The show has completed four seasons this year, with three male winners and one female winner.
2005
Laughter therapy
The reason everyone would remember Star One for is the breakthrough show, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. It brought to the surface a plethora of comedians, whose jokes had everyone, right from a commoner to even a member of Parliament, in splits. The ones who made it to the last leg of the competition are considered celebrities now. For instance, Raju Srivastava’s Gajodhar jokes and Sunil Pal’s Ratan Noora act helped them land live shows, special TV shows on news channels, and even roles in films.
2006
No more cable guy
The CAS movement that had lost its steam caught on once again. Direct-to-home services entered the metros, including Mumbai. Dish TV was the first, followed by Tata Sky and other providers. Cable TV viewers because of the poor quality of reception and the restricted number of channels. Today, cable TV is in coma. Meanwhile, five-year-old Prince’s rescue operation near Kurukshetra proved how frivolous the 24*7 news channels were, that were launched as competition for Aaj Tak back in 2004. Crores watched the ‘action’ live.
2007
Who’s the Boss?
Bigg Boss, adapted from Bigg Brother, aired on Sony and found faithful viewers in almost every house, night after night. What followed was a series of shows where one could open oneself up on national TV, the latest being Sach Ka Saamna. Kahani Hamaray Mahabharat Kii, which started on the newly launched channel, 9x, was a hot topic of discussion for its Roman look. It was also one of Ekta Kapoor’s magnum opus ventures, which flopped big time. The channel is now working on re-runs of its old shows. This, however, did not deter Colors and NDTV Imagine to take the plunge.
2008
No more saas-bahus
Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and the likes shut shop, one by one, during this year. Talk about Ekta Kapoor’s fall, with each one of her shows shutting down after seven-eight years, gained momentum. Eventually, socially relevant shows took over. The trend kicked off with the launch of Balika Vadhu, a show about child marriage and the future of child brides. It continued into the following year with other channels following suit with shows on autism, the rich-poor divide, migration and groom
kidnapping.
2009
All heroes turned hosts
Khatron Ke Khiladi Level 2 and Sach Ka Saamna became the most talked about shows. The year also marked the re-entry of Amitabh Bachchan on the small screen as the host of Bigg Boss 3. Eventually, his son, Abhishek, and reportedly, even his bahu, Aishwarya will be seen as hosts . Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan were amongst the other most-talked about hosts this decade. Colors, the channel that started in mid-2008, took on television giant, Star Plus, and touched the 350-point mark.
