Scrutiny: Movers and Shakers

Showing posts with label Movers and Shakers. Show all posts

August 27, 2012

Has Brand Shekhar Suman diluted?

Much before Arnab Goswami of Times Now took over the title, Indian television was ruled by the first Badshah of Blah-Blah – Shekhar Suman; who his then publicist Dale Bhagwagar branded in the media as ‘The First Superstar of Indian Television’.

And boy oh boy!! How the actor deserved the branding! Shekhar swept one and all on television with his inimitable style and wit on Movers and Shakers (popularly known as M&S), till it became a trademark! He was loved, hated, but never ignored! He moved you so bad you wanted to shake him up real good!

Some called him the badshah of bullshit, bakwaas, bedlam, blah-blah, the king of kitsch. Putting inane questions to (in)famous people, he was billed the Indian Jay Leno and Jerry Springer.

A poll on a website rated him as one of the most repugnant artistes on TV. But inspite of this backlash, everyone tuned in to watch him as he appeared on the small screen five late nights a week on Movers & Shakers – such was the programme’s pull and addiction.

But when Brand Shekhar Suman returned in his original avatar with the new season of M&S, it didn’t quite create the expected ripples. By now, even his earlier publicist Dale Bhagwagar had moved on to other television superstars such as the lovingly-charming Ram Kapoor of Bade Achhe Lagte Hai superfame and chocolatey Amar Upadhyay of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhio Bahu Thi and Bigg Boss fame.

But when we called Dale to ask him about Shekhar Suman, he surprised us with glowing comments! “Like Amitabh Bachchan, who has bounced back umpteen times, Shekhar too could well surprise us by making another comeback! Don’t write him off yet,” said the PR specialist.

May 18, 2012

Tina Dutta in Movers & Shakers!

"To read more about Tina Dutta Click Here"

May 14, 2012

What’s going wrong with Movers and Shakers?

Movers and Shakers on Sony Entertainment Television used to be the most talked-about stand up comedy show a few years ago. But its latest avatar on Sab TV doesn’t seem to be catching on with the glory.

That, inspite of bagging celebrity guests like Anupam Kher, Govinda, Isha Khoppikar, Kader Khan, Mahi Gill, Mika Singh, Nupur Mehta, Om Puri, Sameera Reddy, Saroj Khan, Satish Kaushik, Shaan, Sonu Nigam, Sonu Sood, Sukhwinder Singh, Pakistani starlet Veena Malik and the Indian hockey team!

So what’s going wrong with M&S this time? The look, feel, format and suave host Shekhar Suman’s trademark wit is almost at par with the earlier edition. But the jokes, gags and punches are contributed by a different team now, apart from the show having a new director Shashant Shah, who also directed the touching film Dasvidaniya and the successful TV series The Great Indian Comedy Show.

The show’s earlier creative director Abhigyan Jha has moved on to direct his own show Jay Hind on the internet, followed by The Late Night Show on Colors with Sumeet Raghavan; the same host of Jay Hind.

Many feel that the similar formats of Movers and Shakers, Jay Hind and The Late Night Show have divided the viewership and diluted the M&S brand loyalty. Moreover, Shekhar’s favourite mimicry characters, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Laloo Prasad Yadav, are more or less absent now, as they are no longer viewed as frontrunners in Indian politics.

Also missing from the team is Dale Bhagwagar, now the Bollywood PR guru, who used to be Shekhar Suman’s personal publicist as well as the media manager of M&S for quite some time during its first innings. The public relations specialist is often credited for branding Shekhar as the First Superstar of Indian Television in the media.