Review of Koffee with Karan: Volume 1

Introduction

Not being big fans of Bollywood cinema here, it was impossible to know whether Karan Johar is the Parky or the Graham Norton of Indian pop interviewers. So when Reviewer received 3 volumes of his hit English-speaking chat show `Koffee With Karan`, split among three reviewers like three unloveably ugly triplets separated at birth, each of us was forced to fend for ourselves on a topic none of us are the least bit au fait with.

As it turns out, the show was quite a hit when it aired between November 2004 and May 2005 until Johar went off to direct Hindi smash `Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna`. Using a rather pedestrian talk show format, Johar engages in casual chit-chat with prominent Bollywood players. This first volume, titled `The Best of Shah Rukh Khan` is a three-episode compilation featuring episodes that relate to the popular actor.

Video

Presented in broadcast quality 4:3, this first DVD in the set looks fine with particularly vibrant colours from the rather garish blue and purple set. There is a strange shimmering effect in the first episode, where examining Shah Rukh Khan`s blue suit is rather like watching a dull strobe lighting effect, but the transfer is free from any other big defects.

Audio

Dolby Digital 2.0, and is as crisp and clear as you could hope for from a chat show.

Features

6-minutes of `offtakes`, or outtakes to you and me, that doesn`t get much funnier than Johar fluffing his lines or a naughty guest letting slip a cuss word.

Conclusion

Attracting what appears to be the crème-de-la-crème of Indian cinema and assaulting them with some fairly candid questions, `Koffee With Karan` would probably like to be compared to a Bollywood version of `Parkinson`, but instead looks and feels like a Hindi version of the BBC`s Pebble Mill, and in some ways, ITV`s ghastly `Loose Women`. It`s light and fluffy and feels like a goss-rag`s daytime TV equivalent. Our host Karan Johar, a notable director, clearly knows most of the guests he interviews, and so has none of that awe and genuine interest behind his questions that someone like our Jonathan Ross has. Johar`s entire vibe as host comes across as slick and self-congratulatory and at times even dull and uninterested, as reactional cutaways suggest. But most chat formats aren`t wholly reliant of the wit and verve of the hosts, instead rely on the caliber of the guests who appear. In this respect, giving copies of `Koffee With Karan` to this particular selection of reviewers is like giving copies of `The Tonight Show` to a panel of judges in Delhi who have no idea who`s who in Hollywood; it`s hard to judge the entertainment value of the disc as a whole package to its intended audience.

As the disc is dedicated to Shah Rukh Khan, it`s a relief that he himself comes across as personable and endearing in his appearances throughout the episodes. In the first, he is interviewed along with actress Kajol in which he proves to be witty, down to earth and somewhat charming. The second WAG-centric episode features Johar interviewing Gauri Khan, Shah Rukh`s wife, along with actor Hrithik Roshan`s other half Suzanne Khan-Roshan, and features the husbands appearing towards the end. The third episode, the `season finale`, begins with Shah Rukh in the hosts chair as he stands in for Karan Johar and interviews Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan for 10-minutes, before our regular host returns.

Despite a tawdry, over-rehearsed casual format and the relative insincerity of the host (at least to these ignorant eyes), the steady foundation of Bollywood fans and the flavour`s rising popularity among younger generations in Britain is sure to see these discs find a receptive home for anyone looking to see the juice squeezed out of India`s most poplar and prominent sensations, and this disc in particular is probably quite the treat for the Shah Rukh Khan fans out there.