It’s star shine on the small screen. Leading film directors and actors, yesteryear stars and starlets are glowing as hosts of various programmes on the small screen. While channels cash in on their talent and star value, the players themselves see it as an exploration of their potential in another medium. Actors Swetha Menon, Revathy, Rohini, KPAC Lalitha, Mukesh, Siddique, Jagadish, filmmakers Siddique, Lal Jose and B. Unnikrishnan, and yesteryear actor Vidhubala are some of the big names in cinema that have made a name for themselves as hosts of various shows.MetroPLusspeaks to some of the big players on the small screen.
Mukesh
Host of Deal or No Deal, Surya TV
Game show
(The show completes 200 episodes tomorrow)
Sound: When the offer to host Kotipathi came, I was in a dilemma. Amitabh Bachchan was riding the waves as the host of KBC. Well-wishers advised me not to take it up as I would be compared to the great actor. Actor Sreenivasan pooh-poohed my fears and told me I would discover my potential in a new medium and, moreover, as the show was in Malayalam, it would certainly find favour with viewers. The huge success of Kotipathi motivated me to host this game show.
Lights: I don’t do any special preparation for the show that has participants from a cross section of society. I fall back on my experiences and my memory to keep the show going. As an actor, there is a certain distance between you and real people. I bridged that distance through this show that helps me meet people who fought the odds with courage and determination.
Camera: I feel humbled when I meet some of the participants. This show gives them hope for a better tomorrow and helps them dream again.
Action: This led to the establishment of the Mukesh Foundation for philanthropic activities because I understood that celebrities can act as a catalyst for positive changes in society. It bolsters my belief that all celebs should come forward to contribute in whatever way they can to support social causes. It can make a difference. For the special episode today, we have Kochouseph Chittilappilly and Father Chiramel, both of them kidney donors, talking about the importance of voluntary organ donorship.
Lal Jose
Host of Cinema Kariyangal, Amrita TV
Delves into the romance, business and techniques of filmmaking
(Cinema Kariyangal completes 100 episodes on December 8)
Sound: I had earlier hosted a music programme. So I was not new to the medium. My faith in the show’s producer Ananthapadmanabhan motivated me to say yes. I know his passion for cinema and I liked the concept.
Lights: A lot of research goes into each episode and every episode has been a learning process for me… the latest of equipment, lens, camera, audio work.
Camera: There is quite a bit of travelling and meeting people. I have met veterans who reigned over the movie business, and also the young Turks who hope to change the direction of filmmaking in India.
Action: The most memorable one was meeting octogenarian Ramakrishnan. He was M.G.R’s dupe in films and when the actor left the film field to move into politics, Ramakrishnan trailed his idol and became his body guard. He could do with some financial help but this gentleman has no complaints about anything that life has given him.
If you have the interest, you will have the time to purse that interest. So, in my case, before I left for Spain for the shooting of ‘Spanish Masala’ I completed the episodes required. I plan to continue with this as long as they need me. I have an offer to do a travelogue and visit historic places in India. For me, ultimately, all these will certainly better the director in me. I hope they bring out the series as a CD as each episode has valuable footage for all those interested in movies.
B. Unnikrishnan
Host of Face2Face, Kairali TV
Indepth conversations with opinion makers from different walks of life
Sound: I write and direct films but this I felt would be a different mode of self-expression. I had done a show in Indiavision in which I had engaged leading directors about their favourite films. It won wide appreciation and I enjoyed the experience. It was Recently, Mammootty who suggested that I anchor a talk show. He felt that I would be able to pull it off given my interests in politics, literature and cinema.
Lights: I share a warm rapport with people from different fields and so there is a comfort zone we share. We don’t indulge in trivia, as is done in many interviews. I was determined not to dumb down the show because it is for the idiot box.
Camera: There is a tendency to invite the same talking heads over and over again as they come with quotable quotes every other minute.
Action: One of our leading critics B. Rajeevan is not a familiar face for viewers as there was a popular perception that his conversation would be too heavy for the average viewer. I invited him to the show and it was one of the best in the series. Then we had an absorbing session with Vineeeth Srinivasan and Fahad Fazil. The idea is to explore the unexplored facets of the personalities featured on the show. I have planned an interaction with Mohanlal. I am confident that our conversation will touch upon new facets of this familiar figure’s personality.
Swetha Menon
Host of Veruthe Alla Bharya, Mazhavil Manorama
Family-based game show
Sound: I want to be grounded and connected to real people. As you evolve into a star, somehow, somewhere you distance yourself from ordinary people for various reasons. The two earlier shows I hosted proved that this was the best way to reach out to people.
Lights: I feel that communication is the best way to keep any relationship alive and that is the focus of this show. Sixteen families from all across Kerala are realising the plus and minus points of their familial ties. You cannot say one way of communication is right and one is wrong. Each person has his/her way of expression.
Camera: I am sure the experiences of these couples will help me too, as I am newly married. The episode in which the husbands read out the love letters they had written to their spouses was very moving. Based on the same themes, they had come up with 16 different emotions while expressing themselves.
Action: This show’s emphasis is on the need to keep the lines of communication open. As with everything else, a relationship keeps on changing and the trick is to keep adapting.
