Garewal’s most desirable? Not really!

Garewal’s much-hyped ‘novel’ talk show had everything that the tyrant called ‘lifestyle’ boasts of in media. An anti-ageing agenda was held up by the 63-year-old hostess who looked like a wrinkle-free forty-year-old in black-and-white designer wear,emerald and diamond jewellery and brown nails (Simi’s formerly favourite red is in the red perhaps). Add to that,skin care brand Neutrogena as a show sponsor; a set that seemed lost between an Asian paints advertisement and a magazine décor shoot; an audience that consciously mixed Bharat and India; a tarot card reader saying only beautiful things and a dutifully doting star called RK.

What do you get? Skin care,jewellery,fashion,décor,an emotionally ‘correct’ celebrity and a buzzy crowd-on-rent. Lifestyle magazine fare,no? The least one expects from Garewal is crisply edited content and some understanding of celebrity behaviour. Neither came our way; there were no surprises on the show either.

The first episode should have been a killer,instead it chugged predictably through Ranbir’s newly minted Casanova image vs his real,introverted self,his respectful outlook towards family,elders,girlfriends,mentors and friends. Two bytes from mother Neetu Kapoor on beta’s heart of gold would have made the point; but the show’s editor roped in half a dozen,spoiling the broth.

Ranbir behaved his age. Simi behaved his age too. She turned a role play section called Mindfield — ostensibly an interaction between a needy girlfriend called Kiki and RK,to assess his relationship quotient — into a laborious game for her viewers.

Very adolescent. Jarringly oversimplified. So much so that it made RK’s “good boy,better son,best boyfriend” potential look less desirable than his Casanova image,which has an unexplained twang about it,a mystery that fuels interest in a celebrity’s life.

Garewal’s show may need to grow up. Otherwise desirability may be its first casualty.