Fame Gurukul

Rex D'Souza was finally the one who bowed out of <em>Fame Gurukul</em> in a long winded episode on Sony on Thursday night, making way for Kolkata based Ruprekha Banerjee and Kashmiri Qazi Tauqeer to emerge as the Fame Jodi. The climax to 15 weeks of grueling preparation in the gurukul and performances in front of sceptical judges was built up in a special two hour episode that dragged in places, and appealed in some.

We have all seen the celebs dance but wait till you hear them sing.. <em>Fame Gurukul</em> is all set to bring in nine celebrities as 'shishyas' who will learn the nuances of becoming singers and performers and finally compete to win the prize. So the nine TV actors comprise of Tanaaz Currim, Ajay Gehi, Tisca Chopra, Amit Sareen, Smita Bansal, Bobby Darling, Bhaktiar Irani and Hansika Motwani. These celebs will be musically tamed by the same group of gurus namely Padma Wadkar, Prashant Samadhar and Ila Arun and will be judged by Javed Akhtar and Alka Yagnik.

Controversies they say always add to the popularity of a show. <em>Fame Gurukul</em> has seen major tiffs not only between the participants, but also amongst faculty members and judges.But of late, spicing up the proceedings is a war of words between the lesser known faculty members and their well known headmistress, Ila Arun.

Usha Uthap will enter <em>Fame Gurukul</em> shortly.The last stage is looming and all six contestants of <em>Fame Gurukul</em> are as edgy as they could ever be. With the increasing pressure of the competition and judges' decision, the talent hunt show now ropes in a morale booster, none other than Usha Uthup. The heavy voiced singer, who is very happy about being on the show says, "Actually I am very nervous and also it's a lovely feeling to be on the show. Sony has done a fantastic job of creating a show like <em>Fame Gurukul</em>." <strong>On her role in the show</strong>

The viewersare the greatest beneficiary of what is called 'interactive television.' This is one place where the viewers drive the show -- be it Star Plus' <em>KBC</em>, Star One's Bluff Master or SaharaOne's <em>Dial One Aur Jeeto</em>. Viewers not only participate in these shows, but are also a medium of pulicising them. Recently, two Mumbai lads won bumper prizes by participating in shows on popular channels. SaharaOne organised the 'Kohinoor Dekho Kohinoor Parkho contest which invited viewers to go on a quest for the Kohinoor stone by enabling them to win grand prizes.

It's difficult enough to see your dreams being shattered, but perhaps it is doubly so when your one great chance to attain instant fame is abruptly stalled. This is exactly what happened with Monica Gadgil, who was voted out by her fellow participants last night. Here is what she had to say about life after <em>Fame Gurukul</em> -- <strong>On missing her friends-</strong> I am going to really miss them. I had so much fun being with them. It was a short time, I know, but it was precious <strong>On Fame Gurukul-</strong>

Promoting films on television shows has been the norm this year. But Shahid Kapoor has now done just the opposite -- he is all set to shoot for a commercial to promote Sony's reality show, <em>Fame Gurukul</em>. Shaihd, who is the brand ambassador of Clinic All Clear, will shoot with the <em>Fame Gurukul</em> headmistress, Ila Arun, to further build the association of Clinic All Clear with <em>Fame Gurukul</em>. The commercial brings the key attribute `Confidence' to the forefront.

A rap artist, a guitar, two telly wannabes, a jazzy stage…does not maketh a concert! No? Read on. Sony's show, <em>Kaisa Ye Pyar Hai</em>, seems to be trying out everything to get its house in order, before the blitzkrieg called <em>KBC II</em> hits on 5 August. The latest gimmick is an hour long concert to promote its in-house rock stars, Angad and his girl, Kripa.

Watch out for Cyrus Sahukar! He is the most likely candidate to replace Bhaktiar Irani in Sony's <em>Batliwalla House No. 43</em>; he will also take on the sole responsibility of hosting Zee's long-delayed <em>Business Baazigar</em>, with Sandhya Mridul opting out of the show. This is not the first time that this VJ has done a mega show, he's hosted <em>MTV Roadies</em> before. Moreover, he will also host MTV's Kya Baat Hai and if this isn't enough, he is also going to host a special episode of Sony's <em>Fame Gurukul</em>. Phew...that's a long list...