The perfect entertainer

In the mid 90’s came a show titled Hip Hip Hurray which became an instant hit with the youth. And college going teenagers could readily identify with the characters of the show. The show focused on college going students and different aspects of their lives. The entire cast which comprised of actors like Vishal Malhotra, Kishwar Merchant, Pia Rai Chaudhary, Purab Kohli, Nauheed Cyrusi and Shweta Salve got themselves etched in the memory of TV audiences. Some of the actors cashed on its popularity and went on to do even more popular roles and others faded into oblivion. One such actor who is still in public gaze years after his debut show as host of Disney Hour (on Sony in 1995) is Vishal Malhotra. The actor has finely balanced television and movies and never has he been out of sight though he admits that he is choosy when it comes to selecting projects. The actor is currently hosting Perfect Bride and Entertainment Ke Liye Aur Kuch Bhi Karega on Star Plus and Sony respectively. Talking about his personal life the Vishal admits that he has had several failed relationships and is still striving for the ideal girl who would eventually become his perfect bride. TellyChakkar got into a freewheeling chat with him and talk about the show, his upcoming movies and what it takes to become his kind of girl. Excerpts: Share your experience so far on Perfect Bride? For the past few years I have been trying to reinvent myself and this show is a very new experience for me. Perfect Bride gives me tremendous opportunity to do something which I have not done before. To host a reality show pertaining to such an imperative decision of life- to find a perfect life partner is something which I have not been successful at so far. It is little ironical that I am hosting such a show as I have not been successful so far on that front. I also got to learn lots of things from the mentors of the show. Amrita Rao is desirable girl who every bachelor would want to marry, Shekhar Suman is an experienced man and Malaika Arora Khan who is working woman. Both of them have had a successful and ideal marriage. What is your role in the show? I am going to be there twice a week out of which one day is going to be task-based wherein, you will see me as the task master. The tasks will be performed by guys for girls and vice versa and based on that would be the eliminations. Besides that I am also going to anchor the show in the studio where all three mentors will also be involved. In totality, I am going to be master of ceremonies and will be channelising everything. In such a show there is lots happening and so you require someone to channelise it. I am going to be the confidant to both girls and boys. How have you groomed yourself for this show? As far as my physical appearance is concerned, I have cut my hair. If you notice in the first season of Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega and for a couple of films which are all set to release anytime now required me to grow my hair and thus I had to straighten my hair. Now to have a new look for new show and for my upcoming film I have chopped it off. When I am hosting Entertainment I have to be little more vibrant, zealous and funny. Whereas, on Perfect Bride I have to keep my fun element at bay and have to be as real as possible. Don’t you think that the female contestants would be more comfortable with a girl mentor? Not necessarily. I will tell you from my personal experience, my best-friend is a girl with whom I end up sharing almost everything. In situations like these people will be surprised to see that girls feel more comfortable with guys especially with a neutral boy with whom they have a platonic relationship. I am neither going to be a father figure nor a brother figure in the show. I am just an unbiased guy from whom they would seek genuine suggestions. With this show where there are 10 females and five male contestants which means there will be maximum eliminations from the girls’ camp. Aren’t we emphasizing on the fact that even today the ultimate choosing power is vested in the hands of males when it comes to important and life-changing decisions like marriage? My personal take on this is that women are superior to men in every aspect of life and I am not trying to patronize the fairer sex saying this. Intitially you may feel that boys have an upperhand on the show but a few episodes down the line you will realise that girls ultimately have the choosing power on the show and then you will witness the woman power. We have worked on the numbers in such a way so that to accommodate five mothers, so the numbers of both the camps equals to ten. Marriage is sacred institution so why cash on it? I say why not? Channels and production houses produce and air shows to make money. Advertisers put in their money on the shows they think would work. We all work for money. What about the daily soaps and films wherein you see the entire journey right from childhood to marriage? We can capitalise on these phases but I strongly believe that the format of capitalising should be pure, fun to watch and not offensive and hurting to anyone. What is your idea of a perfect bride? I have still to find one. Let me do a private ,swayamwar and not exhibit on TV. I want my girl to be intelligent, pretty who also has an amazing sense of humour. I want today’s girl but at the same time I want her to be traditional. I want her to have her own view-point and not a say-yes-to-everything kind of a girl. She has to pamper me a lot. I have no issues with what she does professionally but she has to enjoy doing what she does. (laughs) I want her to make a lot of money so that she can buy lunch and dinner for me sometimes. Would you seek your mother’s advice while selecting your perfect bride? I would go for everyone’s advice who I respect and trust and not just one person. Do you believe in an arranged marriage? I have never been to such a set up. Here you have a real show which is not scripted. Nobody really tried to fix me up in that set up and in addition to this I do not get so many proposals. Personally I will not do such shows because in my opinion I don’t possess that capability. I am not that eager to get married now. Further I believe every set-up is an arranged set up, for example if I would go out and my friend would introduce me to someone, I will term that also a set up. Have you had failed relationships? Yes, several ones. Did you try to fathom the reason behind those failed relationships? I guess sometimes you run out of love and interest. As a human being you may end up developing a liking towards others in the hope of finding greener pastures and other person may also have the same point of view. Distance too is a major reason behind a relationship not culminating into a strong bond. Adding to this is work stress and geographical problems. I am still single and ready to mingle.” Don’t you fear that two shows at the same time would end up in over-exposure on TV? Entertainment’s first season got an overwhelming response from the viewers. I did one successful show Hip Hip Hurray and that was the show I crave to do even today. The show offered to me should be better than the previous projects. Firstly, hosting two shows at the same time was not a planned move and even if it was I would surely not lose such a golden opportunity. I am not apprehensive but I am happy that people are going to see me more and more because they have not seen me for the last six months. My last release was Kismat Konnection which released in June, 2008, and then they saw me on Entertainment... which was roughly three months ago. I keep substantial difference between my shows and I make sure that I come back with a bang. As soon as these two shows will conclude my two films will get close to their release. What do you watch on TV? I watch English drama series Friends, Gray’s Anatomy, Boston Legal and so on. On Indian television I liked Hip Hip Hurray and currently its Perfect Bride and Entertainment…. A comedy show that I love to watch is Office Office as it’s a very intelligently written sitcom.