TV Review: Abhishek Bachchan and Farah Khan on 'Koffee With Karan'
Abhishek, Farah and Karan on this week's Koffee With Karan
I was quite looking forward to this week's episode, especially because Abhishek Bachchan is usually quite switched on, and Farah Khan is brutally outspoken. But aside from a few fun moments when all three let their hair down, the episode turned out to be something of a damp squib — definitely a case of promising too much but delivering very little.
First up was Abhishek, and we all know that he isn't the best looking of actors, but seriously I wish he'd make a bit of an effort with his appearance. I agree, he's totally up there and relatively talented, but unless it's for a role, that long hair and the crazy diamond studs, didn't make any kind of fashion statement whatsoever.
Abhishek is definitely one of the brighter actors of his generation. He's extremely well spoken and one can tell, he's had a good education, which came across in his answers. He spoke at length about being overshadowed in the Dhoom series and perhaps very rightly pointed out, that the villain may be charismatic, but the film is about the adventures of Jai and Ali. It's a point well made, but either which way it doesn't mean you sign on a film which has grossly underwritten parts for its protagonists.
I liked his self depracating humility when he said that he's done 55 (really?!) films and never taken for granted how he's Amitabh Bachchan's son, and that he has no insecurities despite being married to one of the most beautiful women in the world, especially given that he doesn't like what he sees in the mirror every morning. I did read a funny tweet about this which I've embedded here — it's harsh but deserved a mention:
Aishwarya didn't marry me cuz I'm a film star or a Bachchan: AB Jr
Of course not, she married you for your good looks & talent. Oh, wait...
— M (@LordPotter4eva) February 16, 2014In his defence, he did look like he was still totally smitten with Ash, and described her as an incredibly normal person when she wasn't in the spotlight. It was all light and cute, but seriously was there anything here that we didn't know already? The only thing that stuck out was AB mentioning how him and SRK are dancing around in tutus in Farah Khan's upcoming Happy New Year — and THAT alone may be worth the price of the ticket if nothing else.
Farah Khan was up next, and was totally 'bindaas' and carefree. She may be abrupt but I love that she calls a spade a spade. The director was extremely up front about her strained relationship with Akshay Kumar (who went to town with the media slating her and husband Shirish for the debacle of Joker). She was candid about her tummy tuck and says she didn't do it for vanity purposes, but then went on to add that she didn't like the way she looked in Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi — erm so if that isn't vanity what is?
I did giggle when she said that while host Karan and Farah were shooting in Scotland, the female director snuck into Karan's room as that was the only room she'd feel secure in! (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).
Abhishek gave a few grounded answers, especially the ones where he spoke at how polished newcomers are with their chiselled looks, and that they should focus on what really needs to matter — acting. I guess it's a fair point, but they don't really have a choice do they, they're not born in the Bachchan household so they have to work with what they've got!
In the same vein, the actor continued how he doesn't like the whole fad of chest waxing and how 'Mom always said never trust a man with no chest hair' — a quick retort no doubt, but that means he propably doesn't trust the entire fraternity, especially since everybody from Ranveer Singh, Varun Dhawan, Ranbir Kapoor and the like to seniors like Akshay Kumar and Anil Kapoor had had it done at some point or another!
I had high expectations from this weeks Rapid Fire round, but that too lacked the requisite fire and left me a bit cold. I did like the digs at SRK regarding his atrocious timekeeping and the awkward Shiney Ahuja moment and the fact that Farah thought Lootera was overrated, but overall her answers were quite half baked and she seemed quite disinterested and restless.
Abhishek's answers were a tad better — his digs at Ranveer's attention seeking ways, or how Sonam always ends up with her foot in her mouth did not go unnoticed. And that he found Katrina Kaif an incredibly hard working actress was quite interesting, given that quite a few people seem to have said that this season. He won the round unsurprisingly.
The Koffee Quiz had a samey feeling to it, and Abhishek nailed that one too, with his knowledge of Hollywood films and his general knowledge.
The next segment had quotes from Abhishek's friends like Ritesh Deshmukh, Goldie Behl and Uday Chopra, and a fellow tweeter summed up that segment rather well:
@BollyBrit Y'know when Anurag Kashyap mentioned "mutual masturbation", he meant Uday Chopra/Riteish D/ Goldie Behl's segment for Abhishek.
— Sujoy (@9e3k) February 17, 2014The bit with Farah's triplets was cute, but added no value to the show whatsoever and I suspect it was used as merely a filler.
Overall, the show started off well, but quickly nosedived into something predictable, and I expected a lot more from Farah Khan especially.
Next week's episode featuring Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla is the one I've been waiting for the longest time. Let's hope it lives up to the expectations generated from the promo clips.
Preview: Abhishek Bachchan and Farah Khan on Koffee With Karan
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