ZINDAGI
In June, Zee TV pulled an ace by launching Zindagi, a channel that exclusively aired Pakistani small screen content. Zindagi Gulzar Hai (in picture) to Aunn Zara, Kitne Girhain Baaki Hai to Humsafar, Indian viewers found themselves hooked to engaging dramas that introduced fresh faces and said it all in just 26 episodes. Why we loved Zindagi the most? It gave us a certain Fawad Khan!
KOFFEE WITH KARAN
Season 4 of the Karan Johar show in which his celebrity friends get candid and chatty kicked off with Salman Khan in December last year... and then got steamier with every episode. Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh brought out their bromantic best, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone got catty while Anil and Sonam Kapoor churned out some dad-daughter jugalbandi. The episode we loved best: Freida Pinto and Nargis Fakhri’s (in picture) fun boob and butt talk!
HOME STARS IN HOMELAND
The Lunchbox girl Nimrat Kaur packed a punch as the no-nonsense ISI agent Tasneem Qureshi in Season 4 of smash-hit show Homeland. The India connect was taken further by Suraj Sharma — Pi of Life of Pi — who grabbed eyeballs as Pakistani medical student Aayan Ibrahim.
MADE IN CALCUTTA
Calcuttans scored big on the small screen this year. While Kumartuli boy Shantanu Maheshwari (Dil Dostii Dance) is a sensation, Xaverian Ssharad Malhotraa (in picture) made a comeback with Maharana Pratap. The other local names on the national small screen: Ayaz Ahmed (Splitsvilla 7 and Kaisi Yeh Yaariyaan), Vishal Vashishtha (Veera), Ishita Ganguly (Shastri Sisters ) and Sreejita De (Uttaran).
BIGG BOSS
Hosted once more by Salman Khan, Bigg Boss attempted a different look and feel this year — but the flight format had to be quickly grounded with fans not flying high. Season 8, which will end in January, is inarguably the reality show format’s boldest outing yet — from Gautam and Diandra’s liplock to Upen and Sonali snuggling under the sheets.
MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA
The competitive cookery format hooked Indian viewers in Season 6, with Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris juggling roles of mentor and moderator, with kitchen queen Kylie Kwong pitching in as guest judge. Mystery Box to Pressure Test, Immunity Challenge to Invention Test, we cheered for our favourite contestants, even as the world’s best chefs... Adrian Zumbo to Heston Blumenthal to our very own Vikas Khanna... wowed us with their creativity in the kitchen.
COMEDY NIGHTS WITH KAPIL
Colors laughathon Comedy Nights with Kapil continued to rule the TRP charts, blazing its way to the 100-episode mark. Powered by Kapil’s trademark humour, Sidhu’s one-liners, Daadi’s antics, Palak’s straight-faced jokes and the return of Gutthi, Comedy Nights became the go-to show for celebrities to showcase their films — Amitabh Bachchan to Ajay Devgn — or just land up for a good laugh, Sania Mirza to Saina Nehwal. Chetan Bhagat showcased his new novel Half Girlfriend on the show... when Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge completed its 1,000-week run this month, Shah Rukh-Kajol chose Comedy Nights to celebrate it on.
STAR WORLD PREMIERE HD
Carrie Mathison’s daredevil Pakistani adventures in the fourth season of Homeland or the first season of the highly acclaimed historical Downton Abbey (in picture), STAR World Premiere HD ensured that India got to see the best and biggest shows along with the rest of the world.
CRIME CAPERS
Crime-based shows like Savdhaan India and Crime Patrol continued to grab eyeballs, but the big gainer was MTV’s cyber crime format Webbed that scored for its engaging dramatisation and it-could-happen-to-me feel. Gumrah on Channel V returned, this time with Abhay Deol as host.
LOVE IS IN THE AIR!
Episodics with love and loss, mush and marriage as theme caught on with the youth who found the highs and lows of their own love stories mirrored on these shows. The big names? Kaisi Yeh Yaariyan on MTV and Yeh Hai Aashiqui on Bindaas.
YAY DEBUTS
Sunny Leone made a splash with her TV debut as Splitsvilla host. Many tuned into the MTV relationship show just to gape at the former adult entertainer in her hot pants. Chennai Express man Rohit Shetty also came up with a power-packed turn as the new host of Khatron Ke Khiladi with music maker Yo Yo Honey Singh debuting as mentor-judge on singing talent hunt India’s Rawstar. However, Amitabh Bachchan couldn’t repeat his Kaun Banega Crorepati success in the small-screen fiction space: the Bolly legend’s Yudh failed to hook the viewer.
Twenty-six years after Wiseguy, two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey returned to the small screen with House of Cards, wowing with his turn as a politician without scruples.
