An impressive lineup of TV stars is about to grace television screens to help viewers get over IPL fatigue by the end of April. Zara Nachke Dikha,(ZND) a boys versus girls dancing competition that aired on Star One in 2008,returns in its second season with bigger names and a host of challenges to counter other dance reality shows. Amongst the names,the standouts from the women's category called 'Massakali Girls' are Rakhi Sawant and Sangeeta Ghosh,who returns to the small screen after a long gap and was the host of Nach Baliye,another dance reality show starring couples. Aamir Ali,Karan Singh Grover (who hosted ZND's first season) and Rakhi's former boyfriend Abhishek Awasthi are the 'Mastkalandar Boys'. The other girls include Aditi Gupta,Hazel Crowney,Kritika Kamra,Mukti Mohan,Rashmi Desai,Sanjeeda Sheikh and Sparsh Khanchandani while the Mastkalandar Boys include Angad Hasija,Karan Kundra,Asksshat Seluja,Siddhesh Pai,Sushant Rajput and Ayush Khedekar. Ayush,who played the role of little Jamal in the Oscar winning movie Slumdog Millionaire,is the young participant of the boy's gang,Sparsh,who played the role of Iccha in Uttaran will be grooving with the girls' team in the show. Both genders will have to select a leader in the first episode of the show and going by the camaderie amongst the group. it seems safe to assume that Aamir Ali and Rakhi Sawant will be the chosen ones. "Whatever show I do,I want to make history with it. It's the same with Zara Nachke Dikha. Yahan koi circus nahin hoga (There will be no circus here). We will show the guys what we're made of," motormouth Rakhi Sawant declared. However,when asked about the presence of Abhishek on the show,Rakhi said,"I turn deaf by afternoon." Abhishek too said he would like to be known for his dance "Rather than as an ex,Y or Z." Sparks are sure to fly between the pair during the show,considering how there is no love lost between the two. Monika Shergill,senior creative director,Star Plus said,"The boys versus girls battle has been going on for aeons. This show will seek to put an end to that debate with dances in solo,group,couple,theme,prop-based and other challenges that come in the way of the contestants. Girls have spice and boys are full of energy so it'll be an interesting competition. The winner of each episode will get to remove a contestant from the opposite team," she said. Shergill added that the show was shifted from Star One because the contestants and the jury would appeal to a much larger audience,which Star Plus can exploit. "The concept had to be done on a bigger scale and platform," she said.The contestants have been practicing for the past three weeks,Shergill said to which Rakhi added,"We haven't slept since we came on board this show," gesticulating wildly by keeping both eyes open as wide as possible. Many details were left out at the inauguration of the show at a suburban hotel in Mumbai,prompting curiosity and speculation about the hosts,judges,prize money and the format of the show,all of which will be declared at a later stage. Shergill later told Screen that the conference was held because already some of the contestants were leaking information about the show to the press. "Having a press conference to officially declare the contestants of the show seemed a better option," she said. Thus,the show which started more than an hour after its scheduled time,saw the nine male and female contestants jive to a medley of hits before being introduced before the assembled press.Produced by SOL,ZND seems to have made the first right step. Audiences,however,can expect a clearer picture of the show to emerge as the release date for the show approaches.
