Heart-to-heart
Heart-to-heart
When a Bollywood insider decides to host a talk show, one expects juicy gossip and secrets tumbling out of the closet. And that’s exactly what happens in the first episode of Tere Mere Beach Mein, where Salman Khan tells us that he still likes to sleep with his mum and dad...sometimes, that he will never give up his one-bedroom flat and move away from the building his parents live in, and that his folks still give him pocket money.
Farah Khan, choreographer, scriptwriter and director, takes on a new role with this show on Star Plus—that of a talk show host and a do-gooder. And no, beech has not been misspelt as beach. The reference is to the outlandish Goa-inspired set.
Every episode of the show, which will run for seven weeks, will highlight an aspect of a celebrity’s life, whether it is being a mama’s boy (Salman), sibling rivalry (Yusuf and Irfan Pathan), small-townie moving to a big city (Priyanka Chopra and Vijender Singh), grappling with weight problems (Sonam Kapoor and Karan Johar) or being a hen-pecked husband (yes, it is Shah Rukh Khan). Each celebrity on the show will either be accompanied by another celebrity who has dealt with the same issue or by a relative. A regular Joe who has been grappling with the same issue also gets invited.
The topic-based treatment is the best part of the show because it gives viewers a chance to catch a glimpse of a star’s life that is not in the public domain. It helps that Farah knows her subjects intimately and does not need (at least not in the Salman episode, which will be telecast first) to refer to a prepared list of questions. She is spontaneous and manages to draw out the usually reticent Salman with an ease that only a long-time friend is capable of.
But way too much happens in Tere Mere Beach Mein. The first episode had a chat session with Salman; another with his mother and Salman; video clips of Salman’s father Salim Khan and brother Arbaaz Khan talking about him; Mumbai girls on why they love Salman (totally unnecessary); a young girl dressed as a bride making a screechy entry and proposing to Salman and then getting his gold watch as muhdekhai (tacky, tacky, tacky); a Neutrogena hamper being gifted to a member of the studio audience; the saga of the non-celebrity guest; Salman donating a yellow towel used during a song sequence for an auction; and finally Farah making Salman and his mother do “the step of the week" dance. Whew!
At the end of the hour, what is lost amid all this “let’s be different from all other talk shows" is the candour with which Salman’s mother speaks about him being a difficult child, Salman getting uncomfortable seeing his mother weep and the small intimate stories from the Khan household.
Farah, in what seems to be an attempt to best all other celebrity hosts—from Karan Johar (Koffee with Karan had celebrities and a hamper), Farhan Aktar (Oye! It’s Friday! had dance acts and a studio audience), and even her brother Sajid Khan (Sajid’s Superstars gave away laptops as gifts to the guests)—has incorporated too many elements. Plus the Oprah Winfrey act (including the common man and lending a helping hand through donations) is an attempt at tugging at the audiences’ heart strings rather than adding any real value to the show.
All this, however, should not deter you from watching the first episode and getting acquainted with Salman’s softer side.
Tere Mere Beach Mein starts tomorrow at 9pm on Star Plus, and will air every Saturday and Sunday.
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