Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa: The dance of the whiney

It's not like super important things transpire on JDJ - although you could argue that something magical is happening with Mir Ranjan Negi that will transform entertainment forever.

Yet, its hard not to watch when the players in the game fly at the judges and stomp their feet with disappointment when they don't get good grades despite "working so hard".

First a few weeks ago Sandhya Mridul singled out Shiamak Davar. Then Mika gave everyone a masterclass in carelessly staged whining. Finally, Sonali moaned and groaned about how she wasn't getting good scores. All of this resulted in some decent scores being handed out to said whiners.

This then severely pissed off Jay Bhanushali, that bastion of high class. "Maybe I should whine about the judges too!" he threatened. "Then, I'll get good marks". This was fairly amusing because that Jay (who smiles demurely when people overlook his spotty stubble and call him chocolate boy) has been annoying the crap out of me by grabbing the mike and chatoing anyone with a pulse within a twenty foot radius.

Perhaps this show calls for a different strategy then. In which case, shouldn't Jay blame his own competitive judgement rather than that of the judges?

But enough useless stuff - let's get down to Negi's dance shall we? This time our man came dressed in tight red pants and a red cap, a green T and an open-buttoned white shirt tied at the corners (a knot that kept riding up his belly). He also sported some mawaali type scarves. I was already laughing pretty hard and the dance hadn't even started yet.

And then he danced. Words can't quite describe the resulting spectacle. Suffice it is to say that after several foot stomps, head shakes and an ostrich step, Negi mounted a wobbly scooter and proceeded to twirl his topi while mouthing lyrics to the same effect.

This was unfortunate, because Negi's topi had decided to part ways with his toupee a little earlier. In fact, at one point, it even dangled from his wig by a single pin for a while before Negi decided enough was enough and yanked it off. Thus at this key juncture, without missing a beat, Negi decided to twirl an invisible topi.

Just as much as Negi, I enjoyed Ronit Roy and his partner's dancing to "Mein Hoon Don" - full of little surprises, macho grace and really smart choreography. Perhaps his partner's injury to her calf muscles in both feet has forced him to focus on the abhinay in the dance, but Ronit is now a front runner in the dancing stakes along with Sandhya Mridul.

Finally that jyotish who showed up on Nach Baliye was live in the audience on JDJ. Again, he held me entralled - this time by focusing on star signs rather than numbers. "Fire and fire!" he told Sandhya and her partner "so obviously everyone is seeing the fire!" Obviously!

Also:

• cool_guy enjoys the hockey stick presentation as much as Negi's dance



• Anon might swear off of chocolate



• Joules recognizes the genuis of Negi's chereographer, wonders why Prachi talks in high volume and thinks colored lenses make the actress look blind in close-ups
  



• Megan thinks Prachi's ouster was faked and predicts she will back as a wild card soon



• payal thought the hockey stick presentation was one of the funniest moments and notes that Sonali always has someone stop by the show



• Leera notes the lessons she learned from this week's episodes



• Memories of drunk baaratis are refreshed for Mind Rush who wants the judges' eyesight to be tested and is a new Ronit Roy fan



• Harsh & Raw asks: how much boob should a fashionable saree cover these days? and links to some sample pictures
  



• Bella loves Ronit's dancing



• Rupal finds that she is digging the choreographers more than the stars



• Single boob sarees are tacky according to Megan



• Harsh & Raw demystifies anarkali salwars



• Texan brings up a half-saree fondly called a parachute
  



• Saritha tells us all about the parachute and links to this song



• Joules mourns the lack of evolution of the saree



• Sidekick links to Helen Mirren in a saree