Formula is finally passé with channels experimenting with quirkier shows

It's possible that when you heard of a show that reveals the past lives of its participants, your jaw dropped in astonishment. But given the number of years we’ve been subjected to sob dramas, celebrity dance couples and voyeuristic reality shows, that’s probably a good reaction.

With the unusual, and sometimes downright silly, programming on television these days, it’s refreshing to see shows as different as ones where actors hunt for their biggest fans, such as Sony’s upcoming show Mera Sabse Bada Fan Banega Mera Hero or when celebrities go in for past life regression like on NDTV Imagine’s latest offering Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka.

Raaz has been creating quite a buzz and it’s not just because of celebrity participants like Karisma Kapur and Sushmita Sen—it’s also its sheer novelty of concept. As Dr Trupti Jayin explains, “Many people suffer from recurrent phobias and problems which don’t seem to have a solution. There’s a theory that such problems may have a root in a past life and that is the solution which we’re offering on the show.”

But TV’s new love affair with the unusual doesn’t stop at past-life regression and other unexplained phenomena. Sheer silliness is also a great way to get people hooked and none do it better than Channel V’s Lola Sundays (aired on Saturdays). One segment of the show, Lola One Question, eschews traditional interview formats and has its unassuming host ask one innocuous question to a celebrity. Even as the celebrity answers in all earnestness, the interviewer freezes completely, much to the interviewee’s confusion and embarrassment.

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