TV Review: ‘What Not To Wear India’ on TLC
Aki Narula and Soha Ali Khan.
Makeover shows usually all follow the same cathartic arc: cringe-worthy frump transforms into gilded swan with a lot of help from a cracker team of stylists and hair and make-up artists. Tears will be shed, followed sometimes by a breakdown, but that’s all part of the plot, because by the time the participant is made glam, the viewer is totally vested in his/her transformation. We cheer them on because secretly, we all would love to play out the fairy-tale fantasy of having someone fund our upgrade with the right tools and guidance at our disposal.
Which is why when the original What Not To Wear, with British presenters Trinny and Susannah aired on BBC in 2001, it was an instant hit. The acerbic duo was wickedly funny and usually just plain wicked, stripping their hapless victims, sometimes literally down to their undies, only to build them back up into shinier, more sartorially astute versions.
The TV series has long gone off air, but its a format that’s been syndicated the world over, India being the latest country to adapt it. The homegrown version, called What Not To Wear India, will air on TLC every night, starting Monday, September 3. Designer Aki Narula and actress Soha Ali Khan are the hosts/mentors and it’s entirely to the credit of the local producers that they haven’t attempted to model Narula and Ali Khan in the Trinny and Susannah mold.
As a result, from the first episode on, the duo are, for better or worse, true to who they are, which is to say infinitely nicer than their British counterparts (and thus sadly less entertaining). Ali Khan, one of the more affable and underrated actresses in Bollywood, is pretty, petite and perky, tempering Narula’s snarky proclamations with encouragement and cheer. When Narula is set free he is often at his funniest, telling victim number one, a sweet software developer from Pune called Falguni, that her clothes look like a mithai box (not in a good way).
But like a box of mithai, the show is undercut by its overwrought sweetness, with none of the dramatic build-up of truly great reality television to make us really care for Falguni. We see her errant tastes let loose in a department store and a few minutes later, after one mild talking-to by Narula and Ali Khan, she’s magically reformed. Unlike the British version, where the hosts often hand-held the participant through the traumatic process of shedding their clothes and much of their identity, the Indian version stays shallow, with no follow-up or analysis. For instance, after briefly touching on Falguni’s inferiority complex in the beginning, we hear nothing of it again, her issues air-brushed away as easily as her ghastly taste in kurtis.
Unlike a lot of recent TV presenters, Narula and Ali Khan clearly have the chemistry and chops to carry off a show that requires them to be entertaining and empathetic. But you get the feeling that someone or something is keeping the format benign (endemic incidentally of a recent spate of mediocre local English-language programming) for fear of offending sensibilities. All the more pity, because our two hosts are clearly the brightest things to grace our small screens in a while.
What Not To Wear India will air at 10pm every night, starting Monday, September 3, on TLC.
Tags: Aki Narula, Fashion, Soha Ali Khan, Television, TLC, TV, What Not To Wear IndiaComments (28)
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Hi, I want to nominate my daughter for this show. What is the procedure?
can you please tell me how to nominate for the show… pls do rply….
hi, i am 24 .i have just become a complete women by giving birth to a very beautiful baby girl.but have lost my figure,its not that i had a sexy figure or something .but i never felt so ugly about my self.but now i do. i feel as if people around me make fun of me.i need help please i have seen all your episode and i m sure that this could only help please help me by telling mehow to nominate myself
hi i loved this show as i saw one episode,i wanna nominate my sister for this show shez very pretty but doesnt find tym 4 herself n always wears same boring outfits,so may b dat way she vil learn a lot luv herself more…
kindly tell me where to fill the form
Hi,
I want to nominate my wife,she is 30 and
is pretty but due to her pear shaped body she hinds behinds loose bulgy clothes,hoodies and just dont look at mirror anymore as she is in a job wheerein she just needs to be seated for 8 hours,she just cant do anything about it,please help me i want to change her and bring in the front of world.
I really luv ur show n would love my husband to be a part of it as he is so workacholic he does not get time for himself i would luv him to be apart of ur show
Hello. I’m a housewife m 26.. I just want to nominate myself because I don’t know what is right for me so can u help me out I will be very thankful too u all so do ans .
i want to nominate my mom as i want her to look perfect
Hieee..me patli hai…parnts kehte ki m not slim bt friends kehte hai ki patli ho..aap btao kaisi dressng achi lage gi
mene apni sister ko nominet karna chahti hu kyu ki uske borring clothes ki wajah se.
i really like dis show . i wish to give a make over to my mom on her upcoming birthday. plz help me out how to contact ana get to know about the procedure. plz…
plz wana take part on your show plz gv me ur no so tht i cn talk u abt the show thanks
i like the show n want to b the participant bt i m from kolkata so would u guys can cum to my place??? i m 23 .. i can learn by watching the programme but in that case please increase the number of episodes of the show..looking forward to it..thanx..
I WANT MY WIFE TO BE PART OF UR SHOW SHE IS 34 AND A YEAR BEFORE WE HAD A BABY BOY AFTER 14 YEARS WE HAD BABY GIRL EARLIER SHE HAS PUT ON WEIGHT SHE WAS 120 KG BUT NOW SHE IS 99 AT THIS TIME AND SHE IS WORKING HARD TO LOOSE WT I THINK THIS WOULD BE A WONDERFUL GIFT FOR HER
i really like the show and really want to participate.
wonderful show. helps a lot how to dress up.
i want to nominate my mother for the show ….. where can i fill up the form???
Soha and Aki, Great stuff!!! But can you do a show on what TO wear on the streets of Mumbai – stylish yet comfortable!!
i love the show!!!!
How do i apply for this show? i wanna know and understand everyday styling.
i really like the show and really want to participate and its working the tips which Aki Narula gives and i followed that tips last sunday when i went for shopping.its gud n worth it .keep it up .
I want to nominate my sister Eshani please tell me the process.she’s working in IBM i want to change her style as she is very pretty still i want to she her more beautiful what ever she wear.
Its a terrible terrible show – you feel the presenters will pull down the participant behind her back, and the makeover is mediocre to say the least. Awful and depressing.
How do i apply for this show?i want to change my boring style.
Dear Ladies,
If you want to know about how to dress well, according to your body type, skin tone etc. then you can invest in a style guide. You can get Look Stunning At Any Size. Order a copy at Crossword, Infibeam, Booksdestination, Snapdeal and Flipkart. Join the page on facebook. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Look-Stunning-The-Book/118714968209426
I am a house-wife and extremely interested in being a part of the show “What not to wear – India.”
How do I go about it?
india the dwarf giant needs to be taught like a toddler, pampered like a child, and is a restless teenager, nevery stopping to find validity. Home grown oprah ???
Poor OLD INDIA and its bustling young folk with a craned neck, when all the knowledge is being stomped over and about
How do i apply for this show? i wanna know and understand everyday styling
Soha Ali Khan is underrated? She is lucky she is an actor in the first place. Also not like her personal style is anything to write home about – she won’t feature in any best styled list etc etc. Also television channels in India are so exasperating in their refusal to look beyond film actors as anchors. That is why we will never have a homegrown Oprah or even Trinny and Sussanah!