Recently at the shoot of Zee TV`s `India`s Best Dramebaaz`, a group of 10 kids performed the classic scene from Ramayana where Kaikeyi contrives and conspires to send Ram to 14 years exile. The key characters of the skit were Mehnaz from Mehnaz playing Kaikeyi, Aarya Dasgupta from Kolkata as Dashrath and Tanuj Jain from Ahmedabad as Ram .
After watching the skit, the judges - Vivek Oberoi, Anurag Basu and Sonali Bendre - announced they were in a fix to select the right kid for the one place they had. They weren`t able to decide whether to pick up Ram or Dashrath as both had performed really well ... When the judges discussed their dilemma and playfully left it to the kids to decide who amongst them gets to stay and who gets eliminated, Clearly the kids were not going to make their jobs easy…Tanuj (Ram) replied "Mujhe kya poochhte ho? Main kaise bataaoon? Aap hi decide kar lo" ... But the charming Vivek Oberoi insisted, "If the choice was left to you, whom would you select?" Not wanting to be cornered or say anything that would be incorrect, the bubbly Tanuj got cheeky and asked Vivek, " Tumhe Judge Kisne Banaya?" This left all 3 judges stumped and flabbergasted.
That was not all…Anurag Basu then asked, "Tanuj, you`re playing the character of Ram. Do you think Ram would ever have talked like this?" To which the boy saucily replied, "I am a modern day Ram and a modern day Ram would talk exactly like this!" It was then that the judges decided to nip the boy`s disrespectful manner in the bud! Anurag instantly corrected Tanuj and said, “We will not have kids on the show who are disrespectful to elders!” and Tanuj realized that he had been rude. Sonali Bendre, appalled at his sheer gall, refused to accept his justification saying, "No! Even a so-called modern-day Ram would not speak to elders like this! We are all here to encourage drama, naughtiness and mischief amongst kids! But this is not a platform for oversmart children. Remember that!"
While the boy Aarya who played Dashrath was immediately taken in, the judges left Tanuj wondering if he had made it ... it was only after the boy realized hsi folly and apologized that the judges broke the news to him that he`d made it to the Top 50 finalists!
Another prank was played on Mehnaz by the judges... On noticing that she is prone to tears, the judges had given her feedback to toughen up and control her emotions. To test whether she had acted on their feedback, they initially told her that she`s not made it to the Top 50’s position... Mehnaz’s seemed in control and had obviously taken the judges feedback rather seriously. After a few minutes of seeing that she remained composed, the judges announced that her act as Kaikeyi had won her a place in the Top 50 finalists. The judges were glad that Mehnaz was not only improving as an actor but getting stronger as a person!
So, the journey of arriving at the final Top 18 contestants is turning out to be one of grooming, moulding and coaching the talented kids for judges Vivek, Sonali and Anurag!
Get to know your Top 18 when you watch India’s Best
Dramebaaz, this Saturday and Sunday at 9 PM only on Zee TV.