I guess class will always tell. Sony’s Archana Talkies finally gave us an ‘HS’ episode last week. Perhaps the guests make all the difference. To have Akshay Kumar as your guest is certainly a steep departure from the Shakti Kapoors, Gulshan Grovers and the Sharad Kapoors who grace Archana’s show on most Sundays. Of course, apni Archana is a maha-democratic person. She treats all her guests with the same set-expressions of wide-eyed wonderment, slit-eyed surprise and loud-mouthed amazement.

Akshay was joined by Dharmesh Darshan and they both spoke about Dhadkan as one would about a progeny who’s about to graduate with honours. When compared with Raj Kapoor, Dharmesh had the decency to blush. “I call him Akshayji,” he revealed shyly while Akshayji smiled cryptically. Throughout the three-pronged interface we could see the easygoing rapport between the star and the director. Yes, these two talented people will be working together again and we didn’t need Madame Puransingh to point that out to us.

“Perhaps Dhadkanon Ka Dhadkan?” Archana chortled. Dhadkanon Ka Khiladi would be more like it,” Akshay deadpanned revealing a rare sense of self-directed humour among showbiz folks.

For a change, Archana chose to be diplomatic and didn’t quix Dharmesh about his troubled relationship with his brother Suneel. However in her stand-up comedy section (it should be called the Move-her and the Shake-her section) she did sneer that it was very ‘LS’ of Aamir Khan to not attend the music release function of his cousin Mansoor’s Josh. For God’s sake, Aamir was shooting in Bhuj when the function happened. I think it’s very ‘LS’ to shoot off one’s mouth just for a few sniggers.

If Archana Puransingh’s Archana Talkies is an LS version of Movers & Shakers then SAB TV’s The Fan Club is an extremely LS version of Ruby Bhatia’s The Kinetic Mega-Show which went off Star Plus some weeks ago. Ruby gushed over guests ranging from Sharmila Tagore to Amitabh Bachchan. I was horrified to see Suchitra Pillai fawning over Sharad Kapoor and even getting some kids to play Sharad’s ‘fans’. With due respects to both Sharad and Suchitra, I think they should know there are limits to how much viewers can suspend their disbelief.

Rooted to reality and inured to the rhythm of everyday life was Irfan Khan’s film Alvida on Star Bestsellers. Here was a film that made a strong social statement while telling an absorbing and sensitive story. The principal performances were touchingly authentic. Vivek Mishra as Ashraf the tailor who gets the threads of his heart tangled with a housewife Ameena (Sadiya Siddiqui) who never seems to come out of the kitchen, endowed a bewildered brilliance to his part.

First time director Irfan Khan created an aura of mystery and tragedy reminiscent of Meena Kumari in Kamal Amrohi’s Daaera. As the reasons for Ameena’s ostracization - voluntary or otherwise - emerged, we became one with Ashraf’s search for the leprosy-stricken woman. Images, such as the one of Ashraf’s burqa clad beloved running through the greenery to meet him, stayed with us even after Star Bestseller that evening was over.

Give us more such emotionally enriching experiences, and please spare us the bakwas at primetime. Like Rajiv Mehra’s Office Office on SAB TV. Rajiv has made some films for his father F.C. Mehra. Must he bring a bad name to such an illustrious banner? And what is the distinguished Pankaj Kapoor doing in a sitcom as downmarket as this? Last week, Pankaj Kapoor tried to sell a serial to an asinine software executive and his assistant, played by Manoj Pahawa and Kareena Grover. The one-note humour hinged on the software-wallah’s ignorance about litterateurs like Munshi Premchand. And the guy didn’t even know the full form of TRP. Ha ha. By the way, does Rajiv Mehra know it?

After a couple of very filmy episodes Kora Kagaz has again gathered momentum. The afore-mentioned Kareena Grover has been added to the cast. She has an interesting part as Pooja’s brother-in-law’s wannabe wife who doesn’t know that the man she loves is besotted by his Bhabhi was ironical to see the girl getting her Bhabhi back from the station to return to her in-laws’ place. A bit like digging your own grave. In the meanwhile, the love-struck Ravi is getting bolder by the day. Two weeks ago he drove over to Pooja’s parents’ place and grabbed her hand through the window. Last week she boldly entered his bedroom while Ravi was fast asleep. But not to worry Pooja only wanted to have an oldfashioned conversation-with-conscience (the kind Asha Parekh undertook in Kati Patang where her character faced the same married-but-not-married dilemma as Pooja) in the quietude of Ravi’s bedroom.

Where does the hand-grabbing, hand-wringing go next? Surely we can’t have a Devar-Bhabhi liaison, no matter how suited Ravi and Pooja are to each other? Maybe viewers should be invited for their opinion on the desirability of the love match. How about a question on Kaun Banega Crorepati. Does Ravi (Salil Ankola) get to marry his Bhabhi at the end of Kora Kagaz? Yes? No? Maybe? Unsure?

hats off to Salil Ankola for playing the AIDS victim on Zee’s Rishtey last week. Ankola is the first major television star to do so. His performance specially in the dying moments of the story Forever was very effective. The hungering look in his eyes which seemed to scream, “I want to live” was impressively projected into the love triangle. Tamil heart throb Madhavan was surprisingly tame in the second lead. Does it mean Ankola ranks higher in the television hierarchy in spite of Madhavan’s big-screen success down South?

Subhash K Jha