Best TV Moments of 2013

What a year for Indian television it has been. The small screen has been replete with poignant moments of impudent creativity which have lent impeccable television viewing experience to millions across the globe. These moments make couch potatoes jump in surprise only to later slouch back on their comfortable couches and enjoy watching their favourite shows on the small screen. Tellychakkar.com as part of its Year Ender series of articles lists the top on screen and off screen moments of 2013. Read on… KSG out of Qubool Hai – As the year was about to end, the world woke up to the biggest news of 2013 wherein Zee TV declared to have thrown out the most popular Karan Singh Grover from their show Qubool Hai for his unprofessional attitude. And then KSG opened up to Tellychakkar.com and spoke at length about his health issues and how he walked out of the show only after his contract got over and all allegations were baseless. Fans till now have not got over the shock and are yet to accept Raqesh Vashisth as the new Asad in the show. SLB producing a TV show and then letting it go – The magical Sanjay Leela Bhansali who has made some of the most spectacular films on celluloid decided to try his hands on producing TV shows with his ambitious project Saraswatichandra on Star Plus. The move created quite a media hysteria. But soon he understood the difficulties of dealing with the daily show format and decided to opt out of the project, passing on the mantle of responsibility to Sphere Origins. Rise of comedy king Kapil Sharma – Once upon a time there was a stand up artist who was seen in various shows making a bored crowd smile. And there is a man today whose show has become such a rage that every Bollywood celeb wants to be a part of it to promote their movie projects. Such is the game of fate and a true destiny’s child is dynamic and talented Kapil Sharma who has had a great 2013. Mona Singh MMS scandal – Jassi of Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi aka Mona Singh’s nude MMS went viral. The world was shocked to see the video but Mona called it a morphed footage. Bigg Boss 7: Season of controversies – Well well, this show has been always wrapped with controversies, but this season broke all records. From police cases and over the top fights and brawls to love affairs and love making in bathrooms and under the sheets, the season 7 turned out to be a complete ‘tauba tauba’ for TV viewing. And to top it all, Salman was said to be mean and biased host, an allegation which might not see the star coming back in the next season of Bigg Boss. Year of “VFX” on TV – Mythological shows have always been lapped up well by viewers but this year saw an ocean of advance technologies used in shows. Not just mythological, but historical and fantasy shows made its mark with the use of superb special effects. Shows like Mahabharat, Maharana Pratap, Jodha Akbar, Buddha, Mahadev, Haatim, Baal Veer wowed viewers and proved that Indian TV shows are indeed experimenting and turning a new leaf around (applaud). The game changer, 24 – Well, this definitely was touted as the biggest moment on Indian TV and not surprisingly it did turn out to be a one. Anil Kapoor dared to get home an international format show, 24 and cast B-town biggies and a whale of new comers to present an interesting tale of a cop fighting to save his country and family in a span of 24 hours. With news of the show’s sequel already ripe, we think Anil just nailed it, minus the TVTs. Chennai Express record breaking premiere on Zee TV – It’s not a big deal to have SRK breaking box office records, he is used to doing that. But the charisma of the Badshah weaved its magic even on small screen when the premiere of Chennai Express broke the record of garnering highest TVT for a movie premiere ever on any channel till date. Replacements and leaps continued in 2013 – TV shows are never complete without some replacements and leaps. And the biggest replacement of the year came when Balika Vadhu’s loved Anandi, Pratyusha Bannerjee decided to move out of the show and Toral Rasputra was brought in overnight. Next big replacement was Giaa Maanek in Jeannie aur Juju and Ayaz Ahmed and Nikita Sharma in Do Dil Ek Jaan. And as for leaps are concerned, shows like Veera, Pavitra Rishta and Bade Achhe Lagte Hai made the biggest impact with the arrival of the new generation post the sequential jumps. Year of Seasons – Seasons may rule the international market but it’s yet to make a mark in our TV industry. But 2013 spelt a new definition in Indian television with many shows adhering to the season format. Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha, Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, The Buddy Project, Punar Vivah, Sanskar Dharohar Apno Ki, were some of the shows which saw a season 2. Youth shows ruled the roost – The maximum percentage of our population is youth, and TV producers know this well. Thus came in a shower of shows that touched the youth’s correct pulse. Dil Dostii Dance, The Buddy Project, Gumrah, MTV Webbed, Yeh Hai Aashiquiand a lot more that swarmed the TV screen with fresh and interesting content plus some young new faces. Crime shows continued good run – Crime in India has always managed to raise eyebrows and shows based on them does the trick of bringing the right numbers. Apart from law and cops based shows like CID, Adaalat, Shapath and Arjun reality based shows like Crime Patrol, Savdhaan India, Gumrah, MTV Webbed etc ruled the charts too last year. Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya announce TV fiction projects– Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan decided to move to TV as part of fiction shows on Sony Entertainment Television. Big B will play a suave businessman and wife Jaya too will be playing a strong character in another show. Big B’s project is with Endemol with Anurag Kashyap as the director. Jaya’s project too is co produced by Endemol. The Social impact– Rise of social networking has definitely sparked a new medium of promoting and communicating, but what surprised us was the impact the platform made on TV shows and celebs. Having thousands of dedicated fan pages, trending on Twitter on birthdays has come as a great source of appreciation to the stars. Also dealing with issues like asking to bring back KSG in Qubool Hai or cry for Na Bole season 3 the fans have been actively taking to the social networking sites to pass across their message. As for the celebs are concerned, they too were quite active in interacting with their fans through these sites. The number game– Every week, actors, producers, technicians and most importantly fans wait for the TRPs to flash which gives them an insight about the highs and lows of the shows on TV. But TRPs wore a new attire of TVTs last year and what not. Some hated the number game and some thought it’s necessary as a barometer of success. Love it or hate it, it’s all about numbers baby!!! Gutthi walking out of Comedy Nights – When Kapil launched his show on Colors, apart from working wonders for him; the show brought forward the talent of another actor, Sunil Grover. Playing the ugly pig tailed desperate village belle Gutthi, Sunil impressed not just the fans but also every celeb who came on the show. And suddenly he decided to walk out of the show and look for greener pastures. The controversy was talked a lot with the channel being against Sunil using the character of Gutthi anywhere else, and Sunil claiming that the character was his own. Now Sunil will come in his own show on Star Plus and play the role of Chutki (rings a bell?) These were some of the big TV moments of 2013. Did we miss anything, if yes, share it in the comment section below!!!