Bedi Bani Judge Judy

Seriously the year only seems to get crappier. Well at least in the matter of me and my pick of favorite Indian celebrities. First it was Barkha Dutt, then it was Rakhi Sawant and now to make a certain nightmare a reality, it is ex-IPS officer Mrs. Kiran Bedi.

Now in order to make you understand the gravity of the situation, I have to dig a little in my past. When I was a kid (okay…stop grinning right now), so yeah as I was saying…when I was kid I was hugely inspired by a tele-series on Doordarshan titled “Udaan”. For those sleeping during this phase – Udaan, was one of the most popular serials on DD in the 1990s. Written and directed by Kavita Choudhary, who also happened to play the lead role of ‘Kalyani Singh’. The story, a typical Bollywood pot-boiler, struggle of a young woman aspiring to be an IPS officer. After several setbacks, Kalyani not only joins the IPS but with her sheer determination and some really ass kicking fight scenes, is given the post of an ASP.

Though Udaan was based on real life account of Kanchan Choudhary (Kavita’s sibling), a couple of plots where lifted from Mrs. Bedi’s days in the IPS. So I was told. Can’t really pin-point as to what clicked in me; maybe it was the in-built feminist instinct, maybe it had to do with Bollywood and beating up the bad guys or maybe it was a mix of both. From there on all I wanted was to be an IPS officer too. And the fascination only grew with time.

Once mum and I were boarding a flight for New Delhi and by luck Mrs. Bedi happened to be on the same plane as us. My mum wasted no time in informing the idol about her tiny fan and her aspirations. Needless to say, I was embarrassed yet the feeling of meeting the Kiran Bedi, in person, lingered on for days.

In my 10^th year in school I won the senior student personality contest (where I was crowned by actress Kimi Katkar…so very amusing every time I have a flashback) all because of my “I want be Kiran Bedi” speech.

And then college happened. With college came in friends, parties, boys, love, more Bollywood and somewhere the dream was lost. However, the fascination and respect for the lady continued to grow.

That is up until now.

As part of its continued endeavor to offer differentiated, bold and innovative programming, STAR PLUS - India’s numero uno general entertainment channel, is proud to bring to its viewers a new real life show ‘Aap Ki Kachehri’, with an opportunity to watch Magsaysay Award winner, Kiran Bedi, deliver justice in a swift and decisive court of Alternate Dispute Redressal.

Aap Ki Kachehri is a medium of timely justice with Kiran Bedi as the arbitrator. It’s a reality show with real people, real cases and real situations with an aim to educate and entertain. Its objectives include getting the affected parties to discuss the issue, look at probable solutions to their problems outside of courts and also to educate others in similar situations. [Link]

In simple words – a rip off of American reality show Judge Judy.

Now why oh why would someone of Mrs. Bedi’s stature get involved in something as commercial and ludicrous as this – completely beats me.

• It’s a freaking reality show. And we all know how manipulative they can get.
• Its Star Plus. The maai-baap of all things crappy with Indian Television.
• The concept is nothing but a mockery of those participating.

Maybe I should file at case in App Ki Kachehri against Mrs. Bedi and Star Plus for bloody hell running a childhood fantasy. Blah.