What a jhalak indeed!

Since the time of it's inception and now post it's launch, Jhalak Dikhla Ja has been in the news for all the right reasons, except for the flak it received (costumes, movements and comments). This Sony show has been under scrutiny for being an answer to Star One's Nach Baliye which got rave reviews last year. So when we are invited to go on the sets (which we feel is to gauge media's reaction), we are charged up to watch our celebrities live in action! Here's a jhalak of what we saw. To begin with, judges Farah Khan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and svelte Shilpa Shetty mostly kept aloof and joked amongst themselves. They also seemed to dislike the constant takes and retakes on the sets (talk about not having enough time for television!). To add to the confusion, hosts, pati and dharampatni Parmeet and Archana seemed a bit distracted about something or maybe were not in the mood to give their best, as they were constantly giving retake pe retake, making us wonder when they'd get it righ Coming to the contestants, Mahesh Manjrekar seems to be a hit with everyone, be it the judges or the fellow participants. His mimic acts and funny antics on the dance floor made the judges roll with laughter. His daughter (who had accompanied her daddy dearest) squirmed every time when Mahesh blew her a kiss! Shveta Salve was a delight to watch….her graceful movements and sharp expressions were worth the high score. No wonder Mr. Bhansali compares this sultry actor with none other than the dancing queen Madhuri Dixit. Even Shilpa Shetty agrees with him. Rati Agnihorti seems to have taken the feedback seriously as her costumes has bettered this time. It's quite commendable to participate in such a competition at this age notwithstanding the innumerable slip discs she's had. Talking about the performance, there's scope for improvement. There's some co-ordination gap between her movements and her choreographer Feroz, who seems to overpower her. But having her son and husband sit in the audience every week seems to work for Rati's dipping scores. Mona Singh has finally come out of her Jassi image and we found her sweating it out to get into the groove. Farah Khan and Sanjay take a close look to find if she fits in the Bollywood scene! Especially after shedding oodles of weight, this punju kudi looks all the more smashing and sashays more smoothly. After receiving the lowest score last week, Akashdeep Saigal has definitely worked big time on his act and was in perfect co ordination with his choreographer Bindi. They put their best foot forward and left the rest on the judges and the viewers. And yes, we couldn't possibly miss Akashdeep looking at judge Farah for better marks, but the lady seemed quite rigid when it comes to him (her ex-flame)! But the dark horse could be Ajay Jadeja as we saw him bowling over the maidens (literally) with his Govinda ishtyle! And his choreographer Rhea seems to be complementing him well, besides teaching him the right steps. This cricketer turned actor is planning to get his son the next week to watch him perform. How sweet! At the end of the shoot, Sanjay made a quick exit while Farah stayed put for a few retakes and Shilpa gladly obliged for some sound bytes. We also spotted actor Mohan Kapoor (of Saap Seedi fame and Achint Kaur's boyfriend) who is a part of the production team, looking after the nuances and making the judges feel at home. Producer duo Siddharth Basu and wife Anita Kaul Basu were at their sweetest best with the press and the celebs. All in all…….dancing with the stars can be quite a fun filled experience, we say…!