It's become too regular to even call it a trend anymore.
When any Bollywood personality -- actor, director, item-girl, former vamp -- isn't busy working, then they decide to take up a TV channel's offer and go host a chat-show.
But which of these chat-show hosts are really worth it? And who are just wasting your time? Here's a look at names new and old, so you can vote for the best of the celebrity chat-show hosts:
Farah Khan, Tere Mere Beach Mein
The latest addition to the chatshow-host circuit, Farah Khan promises to bring about a more candid side of superstars and not give them just another forum to talk about their upcoming releases.
If the first episode featuring Salman Khan and mother Salma was any indication, this show should be high on emotion and pretty darned frank. Then again, will she be as mean to her friends as she is catty to those she doesn't like?
Which celebrity makes the best host?
Image: Farhan AkhtarFarhan Akhtar, Oye Its Friday
Take a bow, Farhan Akhtar. He can direct, he can act, he can judge a reality show when he needs to, and he can sing.
Doing a stand-up routine is a whole different matter, however, and Farhan's lame attempts at badly-scripted humour didn't quite click.
He did get a fun mix of guests though, and even if his own jokes weren't good, the people on the other side of his sofas seemed to be having a good time.
Which celebrity makes the best host?
Image: Sajid KhanSajid Khan, Sajid's Superstars
Nobody who watched Ikke Pe Ikka would be surprised at Sajid Khan being one of the funniest hosts on television, and this show featuring Sajid talking to A-listers about the things he knows best -- hammy overacting, innuendo, industry gossip -- had its best moments when the visiting guests let their hair down as well.
Then again, the show was only fun when Sajid wasn't talking about his own film Heyy Babyy -- which was most of the time, unfortunately.
Which celebrity makes the best host?
Image: Salman KhanSalman Khan, Dus Ka Dum
Now we know this one's a gameshow and not really a chat show, but technicalities be darned, Sallu has celebrity guests in almost every single episode, and he ends up talking to them far more than actually playing the game.
It's a good thing too, because we haven't seen Salman this relaxed in any of his recent films, and the show brings out the candid, laidback side of the superstar.
The choice of guests isn't always fun, though: who really wants to see Kapil Dev playing against Navjyot Sidhu?
Which celebrity makes the best host?
Image: Karan JoharKaran Johar, Koffee With Karan
Johar brought the suave factor to Indian television hosting. His show was all about pretty people draped in high fashion, stylishly crossing their legs and answering trendy questions -- mostly about each other.
To his credit, Karan managed to build a show that balanced gossip with realistic questions in a mix that made even non-film fans follow the show, and he really did get celebrities to open up.
However, after a time it all just seemed like one big dysfunctional family as each of Johar's friends kept coming back for more. Gift hamper, anyone?
Which celebrity makes the best host?
Image: Simi GarewalSimi Garewal, Rendezvous With Simi Garewal
This show started and immediately became iconic as Garewal, clad in white, sitting amid white upholstery while simpering softly and cooing with extreme empathy, managed to get a stellar set of guests to open up and get emotional.
No handkerchiefs were spared as Garewal pried politely into old memories and often got guests choked up on screen, but one never quite knew how much of it was glycerine.
Still, it takes a special talent to turn into a show so big that even spoof-shows of it are successful.
Which celebrity makes the best host?
Image: Shekhar SumanShekhar Suman, Movers And Shakers
The first Indian celebrity to rip-off Jay Leno's Tonight Show, Shekhar Suman parlayed his television-star status into a fulltime profession as he called a varied set of guests, made Lalu Prasad jokes in his opening monologue, and had a tabla-player to laugh at his lines on cue.
It might even have worked, despite stolen format and all, had Suman not become so painfully predictable -- right down to his Atal Behari Vajpayee impressions.
Which celebrity makes the best host?
Image: .Okay, now you know all the celebrities bringing out their hosting couches. Which one is the best? Vote now!
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