INSTEP Magzine

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review
Thank God, it's Friday!
Farhan Akhtar's Oye! It's Friday! successfully breaks out of the mould of clichéd celebrity talk shows to become a complete paisa vasool entertainment show. Instep takes a look at what makes the show worth staying in on Friday night for.

By Saba Imtiaz

There's always something intriguing about a celebrity talk show. It's usually the insider factor: the inside jokes, the background, the shared histories that celebrity hosts bring to their elaborate sets. Whether it's Karan Johar's Koffee with Karan or Ellen DeGeneres' show in the United States, talk shows hosted by these household names make them a must-watch.

And while Farhan Akhtar's Oye! It's Friday! may seem to be only a celebrity talk show, it is anything but. It does have that insider value that gives it an extra edge. After all, who better to interview Bollywood luminaries than a star kid (the son of lyricist Javed Akhtar and stepson to Shabana Azmi) who took Bollywood by storm with his directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai, following it up with films like Don: The Chase Returns. Farhan comes equipped with reams of info on his guests - he's grown up with several of them and is chock full of anecdotes about his contemporaries as well as other stars (including how Sridevi slipped on the set of Lamhe because of him).

In a surprisingly short time, Oye! It's Friday! has managed to become one of the most talked about television shows running on a primetime slot. But what makes it so enjoyable? Oye! It's Friday! takes the 'talk show' concept to a whole new level for Indian television: it's format moves away from the idle banter and affected mannerisms (hello, Simi Garewal) that Bollywood celebrity hosts have adopted to the nth, and instead focuses on pure paisa vasool entertainment.

Oye! It's Friday! is ultimate entertainment value: it encapsulates every element of Bollywood that has made Indian commercial cinema so popular worldwide. In addition to the actual interview itself, there are item numbers by foreign dancers in skimpy costumes, acts that seem straight out of a circus, a house-band, guest performances and skits enacted out by Farhan and celebrity guests and a dose of unscripted drama.

The show's unconventionality makes it a must watch. Farhan's spontaneity and genuine camaraderie with his guests make for a combination that has seen episodes where Ranbir Kapoor and Farhan have enacted 'using a towel in dance' ala Ranbir's infamous towel scene in Saawariya, Sourav Ganguly giving Farhan tips on batting or Farhan asking Kangana Renaut to enact three typical Bollywood laughs including Kangana's famed 'suicidal/psychotic' laughter. The guests also reveal much more in their interviews than they do anywhere else. Aamir Khan spoke about his prankster antics, how he offended Madhuri Dixit and how Salman Khan would never show up on time on the set of Andaz Apna Apna. Rishi Kapoor revealed he was just getting to know his son Ranbir since he'd never spent much time with him growing up. And Farhan turned the tables on Karan Johar by making him do a 'rapid-fire' round (labeled 'return fire') where Karan confessed 'Ram Gopal Varma walks through me at parties because I said I hated RGV ki Aag.'

But what really has set this show apart are the Bollywood skits - and that's why Oye! It's Friday! is so much more watchable than a 3 hour-long film. A complete satirical take on the Indian film industry, one of the most memorable ones was 'If Sooraj Barjatya (the maker of sappy holier-than-thou films like Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Hum Saath Saath Hain) had made Fashion' replete with the wardrobe malfunction scene, references to Tuffy (the dog from Hum Aapke..) and preachy goodness.

The show's sharp writing and the actors' comic timing is rare for Indian television which is now over laden with reality shows after an era of soap operas. What makes Oye! It's Friday! stand out is that it is the only purely entertainment show of it's kind. There are countless Indian TV channels that focus on 24/7 Bollywood news and programming but their shows are chock full of the same speculative rumours and clichéd interviews that one sees rotating on every channel. On Oye! the actors break out of that typical interview mould. And to see them act out satires on an industry they very much embody themselves provides new insight into how one should really take their printed comments with a pinch of salt. One of the best scenes of Oye! was where Karan Johar and Farhan enacted a barter exchange that went something like this:

Farhan: "meri laundry ka aik bill"
Karan: "K3G mai Shah Rukh Khan ki sherwani"
Farhan: "Arjun Rampal ki moonch"
Karan: "John Abraham ki poonch" (holding up a pair of yellow shorts ala Dostana)
Farhan: "Island ke ghar ki chaabi"
Karan: "Shah Rukh ke romantic expressions ka copyright"
Farhan: "Rock On ke saare profits"
Karan: "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai mai Shah Rukh ki 'cool' chain
Farhan: "Don mai Shah Rukh Khan ka chashma"

…Farhan won the face-off, winning dates by SRK so he could finally make the Don 2 sequel, while Johar wiped a fake tear off.

Farhan, who's acting debut last year with Rock On and Luck By Chance (his sister's directorial debut), has shot him to household-name-status, seems to have come into his own by hosting Oye! It's Friday! While on the big screen, Farhan's acting may be wooden and awkward; on the show he enacts his role as a host and in the skits to perfection. The comic solo parts have their hits and misses, but Farhan's one-liners are classic: "bored couples can practice this at home with their curtains" - uttered before introducing a trapeze act.

Unlike other celebrity talk show hosts such as Rohit Roy, Karan Johar, Manish Malhotra and Sajid Khan, Farhan makes the mood lighter and doesn't get intimidated easily. He doesn't shower his guests with compliments - ala Karan Johar and everyone else on Indian airwaves.
Dance, drama, slapstick comedy and superstar guests, this is Bollywood entertainment at its best. And for that, we highly recommend Oye! It's Friday!

– Oye! It's Friday! airs on NDTV Imagine on Friday nights at 9:30 PM