The first season of this highly anticipated dance competition generated enough interest - thanks to surprisingly good performances from celeb couples. NB2, on the other hand, seem to have become a popular by-the-watercooler topic of discussion for everything... but its dance. The fiery controversies so far and the melodrama occuring on and off stage can give any [K]Ekta soap a run for its money. And not all that surprising considering more than 50% of the participants have all worked in some Balaji soap or the other. And the others are or have worked in shows that appear to be Balaji clones. Their daily exercise in rona-dhona have come in handy for pretending on NB2.
Judges:
Saroj Khan - Her attitude and arrogance have increased in leaps and bounds since last season. She doesn’t deter from spewing rude remarks nor does she give much consideration to her fellow judges. Plus, her non-bias is extremely questionable since her favoritism towards certain couples are becoming apparent.
Malaika Arora Khan - Is definitely the glamor factor of the show. She probably doesn’t have much technical knowledge about dancing, but being a hugely popular model and item girl, she knows what it’s like to be on the other side of the choreographer’s danda.
Kunal Kohli - As a director, how far does his know-how about dancing go is a mystery. However, he knows what makes an act look good, where the couple chemistry lies and how interesting do the performances appear.
The Contestants:
With the hot favorite Hiten-Gauri, the savvy Shweta-Manav, the fairytalesque Hussain-Tina, the cute Gurdip-Arjun and the intriguing Shweta-Raja jodi, this year has some high anticipations. Unfortunately, their performances are not likely to stay in our minds as much as the spate of controverises surrounding them. Be it the new voting format where the participants have a say in who stay and who leave or the undeserving oust of Gaurav and Narayani due to this very format or the fact that the popular jodi of Hiten and Gauri have been unable to garner good reviews from judges, it’s been a healthy fuel for forum discussions. The blatant partiality from Saroj Khan to the cry-at-everything Shweta Tiwari has become a subject for criticisms from both audience and her fellow judges. The hypocritical hugging and tear-jerking as each pair leaves will look very familiar to all those who have feasted upon the Indian soaps of today.
Verdict:
If you want a purely intelligent and drama-free competition zone, then NB2 is something to be steered clear of. However, it makes for good timepass and some of the performances do make the hour worth it.