With Tamil Nadu waiting to elect the next government, even entertainment channels, which have largely steered clear of direct political talk shows, took the bait.
Last week, general entertainment channel Star Vijay decided to put politicians on the spot as they were asked questions about manifestos, ideologies and plans for future in their now marquee talk show, Neeya Naana .
Though the show, hosted by well-known anchor Gopinath, has dealt with topics related to politics before, it was perhaps a first for the its creators to grill the politicians so directly.
Stating that he did not want to organise a show about ‘love and break-up’ when everyone was talking about politics, Antony, director, Neeya Naana , says that they were aiming for a show aimed at constructive dialogue between politicians and people.
“Mostly, the debate shown on news channels end up in verbal scuffles. We didn’t want to have a show like that. We also didn’t want to mock the politicians. We wanted to see if politicians were in touch with the people,” Antony says.
He adds that he did not want to merely pit politicians against each other and cause a verbal fight.
“We wanted something more constructive and spoke about various issues such as reservations in the private sector, unemployment and so on. That way, we could keep the show comprehensive,” he said.
Masterchef Australia season 8 wins hearts
Fans of Masterchef Australia have had much reason to rejoice after the eighth season of the reality cookery contest began on May 9.
The show, which is airing on Star World and Star World HD, has been keeping culinary enthusiasts, budding chefs and food buffs from the city glued to the television.
“The episodes with the preliminary auditions so far had contestants trying out a number of interesting recipes,” said S. Swetha, a software engineer, who has been following the show.
The season, which sees Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston return to their roles as judges, has been popular from the time the initial seasons were telecast on Indian television for the cookery skills of the participants and the engaging format.
“Even though the show has an American version, the Australian edition has always been a favourite given how sporting the judges and participants are. We are looking forward to Nigella Lawson’s appearance on the show and are also hoping that there will be a host of interesting culinary challenges for the participants,” said K. Anandi, a student from the city.
British chef and restaurateur Marco Pierre White and Australian patisserie Adriano Zumbo, who is known for giving the contestants challenging dessert recipes to recreate, are expected to make appearances in the show.
(Reporting by Udhav Naig and S. Poorvaja)
