A horde of actors, filmmakers and other artistes were guests on the first two episodes of Lal Salaam, the eponymous show that marked actor Mohanlal’s television debut last week. One by one, they graced the stage, and heaped praises on the superstar and his exploits over the past three decades. Recollecting snippets from their time with Mohanlal, they harped on the latter’s talents and virtues.
“I would take a look at Mohanlal while acting, and it would melt my heart,” said actress Rekha who was Lal’s co-star in Aye Auto, a super-hit comedy in which Lal played a simpleton auto-rickshaw driver named Sudhi. “Mohanlal would just skim pages of dialogue, and when he goes for the take, he would get it right effortlessly,” said actor Maniyan Pillai Raju, the star’s long-time friend and colleague who produced Aye Auto. Manju Warrier, apart from speaking about how nervous she was while working in Aaram Thampuran (in which she was paired opposite Mohanlal), performed a dubsmash with Lal, mouthing dialogues from one of the most famous scenes in the film.
Unlike other eponymous shows from across the world, Lal Salaam seemed to be an ode to the superstar who anchors the show.
It wasn’t unexpected, though. Right from the teasers to official statements from Team Mohanlal, Lal Salaam was conceived not as a programme on cinema, but as a tribute paid to Mohanlal by Mohanlal himself. In random intervals, the actor and his friends would stop their chat and invite special guests – non-celebrities who are involved in extraordinary charity work – and introduce them to the world.
Over the first two episodes of the show, Mohanlal hosted Jolly Johnson who runs a charitable institution called H20 for the disabled and the elderly destitute, and a group of auto-rickshaw drivers from Thiruvananthapuram who ferry cancer patients for free.
The show also saw Mohanlal acting as a shrink for the studio-floor audience. “Laletta, what should I do when senior citizens board my vehicle?” asked an auto-driver, seeking the advice of the actor who played the most famous auto-rickshaw driver in Mollywood, Sudhi in Aye Auto. “Give them discounts,” the actor smiled. The man who posed the question nodded his head, and sat down contently. The next question was more complicated. “How do I chat up the pretty women passengers who board my vehicle, without making them feel uncomfortable?” asked a wide-eyed young auto-rickshaw driver. Lal replied, “You can just start talking to them. If you are particular about not making them uncomfortable, don’t chat at all.”
*****
Although Mohanlal is known to be a recluse when it comes to giving interviews to the media, he has proved time and again that he can be a spirited host. He is the most energetic when working on a show/event in which he calls the shots. Be it Lalism, the disastrous musical event / PR exercise that cost him a lot of goodwill, or the one-man shows at various high-profile film award ceremonies, Mohanlal has been quite enthusiastic off movie sets as well.
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In Lal Salaam, he uninhibitedly sings hit numbers from his films, and urges his guests to join him. When Meera Nandan, the secondary anchor of the show, welcomes the audiences in English, he protests lightly.
The show, thus far, has offered nothing particularly interesting other than the pleasure of watching a veteran actor, immensely talented and acclaimed, dish out endless narcissistic toasts to himself. Overall, it is mindless fun, but when you have super-hit talk-shows of a similar nature in which film personalities are invited over for warm chats (Asianet’s Badai Bungalow, for instance) on Malayalam television, what exactly does Lal Salaam seek to achieve?
We’ll find that out this weekend, perhaps.
Lal Salaam airs on Amrita TV on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm.
*****
Pic: Vinodadarshan.com