08 December 2004

WATCH IT

jeanm@sph.com.sg

PITY my second helping of Achar left a sour taste in my mouth.

The sitcom premiered with the novelty of an inter-racial marriage and cross-cultural clashes on its side, spiced up by the much-reported off-screen skirmish between its two leads, Bollywood hunk Jas Arora and Chinese-Australian babe Steph Song.

The appealing, fresh-faced couple played opposites-attract newlyweds Ajay and Stephanie.

This season, singer-actress Rui En replaces Steph, and apparently got along swimmingly with Jas.

But maybe some of that old spice goes a long way, because the comfortable chemistry between them is more of the good buddies kind than of the passionate lovers variety.

With her exaggerated gestures and facial expressions, baby-faced Rui En proves she’s better-suited for Channel 8 comedies.

Despite a sophisticated wardrobe and hairdo, she still can’t match Steph’s edginess, and comes across as too young, too bubbly and too childish for Jas that he almost looks like a cradle-snatcher.

And that’s not very funny.

Speaking of which, Achar seems to have lost its recipe for clever humour and relies on leftover stereotypes instead.

The second season opened with Ajay and Steph forgetting their first anniversary, with things getting messier when the meddling in-laws conspire to get their offspring in the mood for love.

Ajay’s roly-poly mum Uma (the ever-reliable Malti Lalwani) scatters tealights, aromatic bath oils, rose petals and gold dust on the floor.

Predictably, Stephanie’s parents bring plastic flowers, a cake, Yomeishu and cheena red lingerie, causing Uma to exclaim: ‘You’re supposed to inspire romance, not horror.’

Unfortunately, Achar 2 doesn’t inspire much laughter either.

Achar 2 is showing over Channel 5, Thursdays at 8.30pm.

Source: The New Paper

Categorised in Achar, The New Paper.