It's serial artistes as you have never seen them before. ‘Tharotsavam,' Kairali TV's new reality show for stars of the small screen features 30 well-known serial artistes in Malayalam leaving behind the greasepaint and singing, dancing and, of course, acting their way to the top. Senthil Vadakkanchery, the producer of ‘Tharotsavam,' which is telecast Monday through Thusrday at 8 p.m., talks to Friday Review about the show. Excerpts from an interview…
The show's USP…
They are all familiar faces thanks to their stints on the small screen. But how well do we know them? In fact, we know most of them only by their on-screen personas, be it as divas, villains, demure housewives, women of steel… Behind the greasepaint there is so much more to these actors. We aim to bring the real personalities of these serial stars and their latent talent to the fore.
The format …
The 30 contestants have been divided into six teams of five contestants each. The teams are named after popular Western forms of dance, namely Samba, Salsa, Mambo, Jota, Volta and Bolero, to give them a bit of a punch. In each stage and in each round the teams face off against each other.
The first stage, which has just been completed, had seven rounds where we got to see the contestants displaying their skills at singing and dancing. But it's not just plain singing and dancing. They are actors after all and they have to create an act out of their task. Stage two will see the teams pitted against each other for their acting skills. For instance, in the next stage the contestants will be given stories that are world classics and they will have to act it out.
Having established stars as contestants…
Actually, it is much easier when you have people with years of experience in front of the camera as contestants, as compared to relative unknowns suddenly thrust into the limelight. These are men and women who understand how the business works and as such I would say they are much more adaptable and mouldable.
Besides their reputations are also on the line. Also if you tell them something they grasp it quite well. On the flipside, though, coordinating all 30 stars is a bit of a challenge. You also have ensure that each person is given equal importance even when they are not the ones performing on stage.
On the judges
The show has two permanent judges – singer-composer Jassie Gift and choreographer Rekha Master – who will both act as mentors to the contestants. There will also be a celebrity judge who is a director; always only a director who is on the lookout for fresh faces in his upcoming films. The first stage had Roshann Andrews as the judge. In round two, director Blessy will be part of the panel.
The highlight so far…
This is a platform for television stars to show everyone how talented they are.
Each and every one of the contestants have taken it to heart and have at each instance given it their best. For instance, so impressed was Roshann Andrews with actor Dimple Rose (of ‘Porutham,' ‘Sree Guruvayoorappan,' ‘Alphonsamma' fame) that he selected her as one of the three leads for his new film ‘Casanova.'
