Abhishek gets a Bingo opening

Abhishek Bachchan’s debut TV game show Bingo opened to a TRP of 5.1, the highest for any non-fiction show since 2008. Shah Rukh Khan’s Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hai?, Salman Khan’s 10 Ka Dum and even Amitabh Bachchan’s Bigg Boss had opened to a 4-plus rating. Of course, the first episode had senior Bachchan as the celebrity guest, which undoubtedly was a major attraction. That week, Colors crossed the 350 GRPs mark for the second time since its launch with 365 GRPs.

A fall before a hit
Did you know Kajol can cry at the drop of a hat without the use of glycerine? Or that she can shed a tear from whichever eye the director wants! This was revealed by one of her best friends Karan Johar on his show Lift Kara De. Another interesting nugget revealed by the affable host is that whenever Kajol had a fall while shooting for a film, that movie became a huge hit. During the shoot of Karan’s first film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kajol fell while filming a cycling scene and the movie was a blockbuster. Next, she had a bad fall when she was shooting for Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... and we know that the film was a huge hit. It seems during an event for My Name Is Khan, the light-eyed heroine fell and instead of coming to her aid, the entire unit was celebrating (an omen for an impending hit). “Nobody bothered to find out whether I was fine,” grumbles Kajol on the show. It will be aired on February 5 and 6, at 8 pm.

Rahul in a dilemma
Rahul Mahajan is nervous and excited about his swayamvar. “It’s the first time a swayamvar is being held for a guy,” he grins. What’s more he’s flattered with the kind of response it has evoked from the girls, which is better than what he expected. “I am having a tough time deciding on the girl because one is beautiful, another is intellectual and yet another has a good nature,” he shares as the show begins. He, however is looking for a genuine person with a sense of humour and honesty and promises to offer the same qualities to his would-be. When asked if he would really marry at the end of the show or like his predecessor Rakhi Sawant he will back out, he emphatically says that he is not here to find a girlfriend or a fiancee. “I have taken my mother’s blessings and they are expecting a bahu,” he signs off.

Romance back in Bidaai
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, serials are trying to bring romance on the tube. Rajan Shahi’s Sapna Babul Ka - Bidaai, which had become dramatic of late, is trying to get mushy now. Kinshuk Mahajan (playing Ranveer) is back from jail and Parul Chauhan (Ragini) has had a miscarriage. The couple will bond again while Angad Hasija (Alekh), who is totally recovered from his mental ailment, will start romancing Sadhna (Sara Khan) once again.

Whose credit is it anyway?
Dheeraj Kumar’s new show Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam is courting controversies since its launch. To begin with the writer Rajita Sharma, who was also co-producing the show, was said to have been forced to quit as producer and Creative Eye became the sole producer. Sharma has gone to court for being denied credit for her creative inputs on the show after the first few episodes. When contacted, Dheeraj Kumar said, “I have always believed in giving credit where it is due but since this matter is sub-judice I cannot comment.” There’s also talk that the channel is unhappy with the show as its rating is between 2.3 - 2.7. But Kumar is unperturbed. “Uttaran in its initial 100 episodes had a rating of just 2.6 but today it is the top-rated show with 8 TRPs. We have completed just 20 episodes on air. The channel has a strategy for every show,” he explains.

Behnein on STAR Plus
J.D. Majethia is calling it the mother of all soaps. His new serial Behnein that will be aired on STAR Plus from February 8 is obviously about sisters, in this case four, which means there are four protagonists in the show. Majethia, who is known for his slice-of-life soaps Baa Bahoo Aur Baby, Khichdi, etc is moving away from this genre to present a soap high on drama. “The story of each sister is such that I could have made four shows but I decided to make one with four interesting stories,” says J.D. Starring Ketaki Dave, Shruti Ulfat and Darshan Jariwala in pivotal roles, it has four new girls Alisha, Shiju, Ada and Ojeshwi playing the protagonists.