Why MasterChef Australia is a good product offering

MasterChef Australia is one of the few excellent product offerings in the recent times. Let me tell you why.

I don't like programs that expect me to park my brains outside and try to sell me sub-standard stuff. A combination of reality show, game, talent quest and cuisine, it has all the elements of at least three programs put together. It teaches things that I would otherwise not learn. It has the excitement, challenge and suspense that make the viewer think, sympathize and decide. Moreover, it includes the viewer in the whole chain, learn something while having fun. Passive, learning.

It takes the grueling, usually unthankful, ruthless work of a Chef to a level where his/her skill is put to test and has a chance of being evaluated by the one that matters most - the customer! It changes your attitude and approach not just towards food but towards work on the whole. The viewer can relate the show to their daily work which makes it more identifiable.

Some takeaways are...

• Any one can cook a marvel dish given three hours, the recipe and all the ingredients, but can one cook the same thing in a stipulated time frame, limited options in terms of the no.of ingredients and in a pressure situation? Which job in the present world has the leisure to take three hours?
• Can work be fun? Guess it is. MC makes it look like fun while working;
• Appreciation or rejection is straight forward and instant feedback is awesome. The fact that the contestants are under constant scrutiny makes it more edgy and practical;
• Creativity is encouraged while teams and individuals are egged to work on different dishes and churn out dazzlers to surprise the judges;
• Working in a team while contributing individually makes it a sight to watch;
• Accentuates physical + psychological effort;
• Scent of failure at every step;
• Need to improvise;
• Keeps non-critical things simple. Like the teams are named red and blue;
• Demonstrates the need for leadership, mentoring and high performance.

I can go on and add more to the list above. I am sure you can too. What I like about the program is that it is well structured, has all the elements I need in a show and best of all, I don't need to park my brains outside. In all it is an offering that is simple yet diverse, enthusiastic, entertaining, accepting, well-packed, practical, emotional, direct and pretty smart. There is your near perfect product offering.

Pic is from Kusut-blogs.

Un-buttoned consequences

We live in strange times. Women in Bangalore are assaulted for displaying their bare arms and wearing jeans. Imagine then, a popular hunky actor thrusting his pelvis into his wife's face and requesting the blushing lady to do what she may or may not do even in the privacy of their own bedroom. This is where discretion and good sense often fail our organisers. Clearly, it was a planned part of Akshay's ramp strut for Levi's Jeans (he is the brand ambassador of the product). I know the entire campaign is based on the 'unbuttoning' story. Great. So far, so cool. But to perform this cheesy number on the ramp was definitely pushing it. I am no prude. I am all for freedom of expression. But this is plain silly. And all the people involved ought to have known better than to go along with the script, knowing the media would gobble up the tantalising visual, and replay it a million times over. Which is exactly what happened.

Shobhaa De

Fake it, Make it

Though it is premature to state that it has become a cult, I would like to risk it. Well I am talking about a new blog that climbing up the charts like the temperature this summer. Its Fake IPL Player! Posing as some one in the team and describing in detail what happens in team meetings, individual differences and what not this blog has more than what comes around in the press. The infamous blogger reveals info about what happens in the dressing room, the conversations between SRK, the coach and the team. At present this blog has nore than 4800 followers along with numerous visitors who visit it daily. Each character inj the blog have been given funny names and this is firing up the blog even more. Some claim this is a player in the IPL while some claim Sharukh has figured out a way to get free publicity. Only time will tell. Till then happy reading.

For those who are new here are few names and equivalant---

Gilli danda : Ashok Dinda
Bhookha Naan : John Buchanan
Boy George - BRAD HODGE
Style bhai spinner - Murali Karthik
Lord Almighty = Ganguly
Phoren baba = Mccullum (also Gayle & Hodge when used in plural ?)
Calypso king = Gayle
Vinnie Dildo / Badshah Dildo = Shahrukh Khan
Kishen Kanhaiyya = Ravi Shastri
Sandy: Mandira Bedi
Sultan of tweak = Warne
Sparrow / parrott = McGrath
Bevdaa team = BRC (Mallya’s Team)
Big Sister’s team = RR (Shilpa Shetty’s team)
Mr. Bativala = Vijay Mallya
RDB = Ranadeb Bose ?
Prince Charles of Patiala = Yuvraj
Prince of Patiala = Yuvraj
Little Monster = Little Master / Sachin
The Rajputs = RR
Pedophile Priest = Gilchrist
Little John = Ishant Sharma
Very very special friend Ram = VVS Laxman
Kaan Moolo = Agarkar
Former India fast bowler who will remain a former India fast bowler = Agarkar
Bangla Tiger = Mortaza
Appam C = Sreesanth
Junta Tormentor = Ajanta Mendis
India’s best fast bowler = Ishant Sharma

Who will win MTV Roadies 6.0?

As per rumors Sufi is the winner. Sufi will make a wild card entry to the show and the MTV Roadies 6 preview which showed Sufi boxing certainly confirms his re-entry to MTV Roadies 6. There could be another voted-out Roadie along with him. The winner last year for MTV Roadies 5 was well known to almost everyone since the finale was shot well in advance. Raghu's brain has worked this time and folks, the finale is yet to be shot. So that means two hungry MTV Roadies 6 hell mates are still out there. Why so? MTV is running a contest where you’ll get a chance to feature on the show’s finale. Duh!

So it’s obvious the winner is still undecided which is a pretty good thing. Who are the two finalists of MTV Roadies 6? One could be Sufi and the other could be anyone. So the game is still on!

Pay Back Time

Though I don't drink or watch roadies and I think Raghu is doing this for a publicity stunt, but he has a point. You decide!!!
Knowing what people want is one part and using it is another. Raghu seems to have both!

Jaago and Jeeto

This game "Jaago aur Jeeto" that starts from 12 AM the night in ZEE TV is definitely a fraud game! It asks questions and asks viewers to send SMSs with "Jeeto" at 57575 and win thousands of rupees. No matter how many SMSs you send you will never be called back. Each sms costs rupees ten!! There were instances where after 15 minutes no viewer was called and the question lapsed! I think this is a all staged where sometimes someone from their own team calls up and actually no one gets paid.

Though the entire mechanism looks flawed many people do SMS. The continuity of the show is the proof for this. Many such shows exist on various channels.

It hits the most at where it hurts but not right away. The lure is high enough to make you send the SMS. The anchor seductively cajoles, lures and what not to make you send the SMS. Why no one complains is because the effort of pursuing this legally is too big when compared to the Rs. 10/- loss upfront. Hence the success. If we keep the ethical side away, I think it is a clever idea.

Meet Pragjyoti Samal

Pragjyoti Samal, a 24-year-old computer engineer from Bhubaneshwar, Orissa, is the first person to win Rs one crore on Star Plus' Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain.

Answering to the question: Do you think your lifestyle will change now?

She said, " I don't think so. I am a simple person. When we used to hangout with friends, we would think twice before going to Cafe Coffee Day. Now, that will not be the case.

When I returned to Bhubaneswar from Kolkata, my train got cancelled due to heavy rains. I spent the whole night on the platform. The next day, it was cancelled again but I waited for the train. If it is urgent, I travel by flight but if I have the time, I will not spend money unnecessarily."

Read full story.

Hosting anyone?

Taare have come down to silver screen. Many stars have started hosting. Amitabh, SRK, Karan, Salman and now Adnan Sami. Seems they are raking enough with this. Also the promotional activity comes free with the hosting. People now see you as a family member and not a star.

People dont have time to watch you for 3 hours. So to stay in their memory you need to be more flexible and walk in to their houses and ensure you stay in business.

Recall value is important.

Pic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shailphoto/1637118119/