I have never seen Shark Tank, so I had no idea how a show about entrepreneurs and investors would pan out and what kind of entertainment would viewers find in a show like this. I was quite skeptical about the show and only started watching it after Rohan Joshi and Tanmay Bhat's interview with two of the sharks. After watching the first few episodes, all my fears were put to rest, as Shark Tank India turned out to be an extremely enjoyable show. I was astonished to see a show of this quality on Indian Television ! What makes me even happier is that people are actually loving this show. Over the years Indian Television has touched new lows and it's baffling to know that a show like 'Big Boss' is the most watched Indian Television Show. The success of Shark Tank India indicates that all is not lost and there is still hope for Indian Television Programming to regain its lost glory.
THE THINGS THAT ARE GOOD :
1. It goes without saying that Ashneer Grover and Aman Gupta are the main reason why this show has achieved the popularity that it has. The two of them have contrasting personalities, one being overly critical and in your face, while the other being over friendly and high on enthusiasm, but they have created a space for themselves with their inimitable style and added a lot of excitement to the show. Ashneer and Aman say the things that you would never expect to be said in an Indian television show. I never expected a show like this to have so much humour, and Aman and Ashneer are primarily responsible for that. I thought that this would be just another business show, where serious conversations would take place and bore viewers like me, but that did not happen. There is a lot of entertainment in this show and even the business part has been done so well, that even as a viewer with not much knowledge of business and economics, one can understand everything and find it interesting. One must give credit to Ashneer for explaining everything in a way that is understandable to everyone. When Ashneer talks, you just want to listen, not only because he doesn't mince words while giving his opinion but also because he actually offers good advice to all the entrepreneurs. Kudos to the casting team for finding someone like him because he really knows how to talk and because of him, a show like this has become quite an engaging watch. The one week when both Aman and Ashneer were not present in the show, Shark Tank turned into a fish tank. The show just wasn't the same without the two of them.
2. Nobody likes to watch the same thing over and over again, we all want something new after a period of time, and this show achieves that by pitching in new products and ideas in every episode. As a viewer, we are always curious to know what kind of work these entrepreneurs are doing, what kind of change they are trying to bring in the society. These entrepreneurs are not just regular businessmen/women who are selling some commonly used products, they are trying to find solutions to the problems faced by people in their daily lives, some of them have actually done a lot of research and developed some new products that might become really big in the future. For once we are not just talking about singing and dancing in a reality show, but some actual work that people do for a living and that is definitely something worth looking forward to.
3. The conversation that takes place between the entrepreneurs and sharks feels very real and unscripted, and that is a relief considering what has been happening in the other reality shows over the years. There is no unnecessary drama and for the most part the conversations remain extremely civil and polite. There was no unnecessary sob story and at no point did the creators try to play with our emotions. The creators have tried to keep the show as real as possible, and that is truly commendable,
4. The selection of Sharks has been pretty good. Aman and Ashneer make the proceedings exciting through their contrasting style of talking, humour and banter. Vineeta Singh brings in a lot of energy with her (it feels like she cannot control her excitement, no wonder her hands move so much!), gives great feedback, does not try to intimidate or insult the participants, encourages the entrepreneurs who have to go back with an empty hand and more often than not makes an offer. These three sharks make sure that you don't lose interest in the episode at any given point. Then there is Anupam Mittal, who talks in a much more relaxed manner than Aman, Ashneer and Vineeta. He is the most experienced of the sharks and it shows, because he never loses his cool, and always tries to talk in the most respectful of manners to the participants. Then there is Peyush Bansal, who is the man with no pretense at all. Peyush is always on point, talk's mainly about business and never tries to be dramatic in any way. He is the only shark who actually invested in an idea before it became a business, he reposed his faith in a man who had put his entire life in creating something and had no resources to go on to the next step. That investment would have given a lot of hope to the budding entrepreneurs who have an interesting idea, but don't have the money to do anything about it.
5. A number of business terms are used in the show, which might be understood by those who have studied Economics or have done business, but what about other viewers? Terms like EBITDA, D2C, valuation, supply chain, equity, QSR etc just don't register in their head, which is why the sharks often explain the meaning of such terms, something that I find truly praiseworthy. If you pay attention, there is a lot to learn from the sharks, as they not only hand out offers but also provide information about how the world of business works.
6. The set design, camerawork and background music of the show is excellent. The set is completely different from what we have seen so far, and the whole concept of entrepreneurs walking through the corridor and entering the room full of sharks by opening that massive door, which resembles that of some great palace, makes for great viewing, especially with that amazing score.
7. The first season had a fantastic finale, where the sharks let their guards down and talked almost as if it was a get together of friends. The format was of course the same, with entrepreneurs pitching in their products, but this time there was more humour, a lot of it actually, and less arguments. Of course the ending was the best, with Peyush pitching in his company and Vineeta (who looked gorgeous in that red dress), Aman and Ashneer hilariously trolling him !
THE THINGS THAT ARE NOT SO GOOD :
1. Shark Namita may have become a meme by opting out of most deals, but seriously speaking, it doesn't make a lot of sense for someone who has no expertise in most of the businesses to sit on that chair. Namita mostly invested in businesses that had something to do with medicine, her own field, and stayed away from most other businesses. It's one thing to get rejected by the entrepreneurs, but she very rarely made an offer. Her presence was quite funny no doubt, but also questionable. Why not have someone who has a much broader mindset when it comes to investment?
2. Shark Ghazal was not required at all. She came for just one week and did not add anything to the show. When I look back at the show, I don't recall any memorable moment associated with her. Ghazal came across as too slow and uninterested in the show. Instead of calling a shark for such a short time period, it would have been much better to schedule the filming as per the availability of the sharks. I really hope they don't bring her back the next season and keep six sharks in each episode.
3. From the trailers that were released, one can observe that a lot of episodes were not broadcast. Some of the products were based on technology, like the one that had solar panels, and I was really looking forward to all of them, but those deals were not shown. I just hope that the channel did not cut episodes that they felt would have been too intelligent for the viewers. Time and again, producers have hinted that the Indian audience is dumb, because they love shows like Big Boss and Naagin, but that is not entirely true. Times are changing, audience is evolving and with a massive population like India, shows of all kinds will find an audience.
4. The Show is titled 'Shark Tank India' not Shark Tank North India, so they should not impose Hindi language on the entrepreneurs. When you are making a show that invites people from all over the country to participate, then you can't really force them to talk in a language they are not comfortable in. Knowledge of Hindi language should not be a criteria for participating in the show.
5. Rannvijay is technically the host of the show, but his actual role is to take the name of the sponsors. The creators could have just used a voice over to do that, there was no need to hire Rannvijay for it.
To sum it up, Shark Tank India is a fantastic show that is a must watch for everyone. It took a long time for a show like this to come to India and even when it has, I still can't believe that a show like this was approved for Indian Television. It's a reality show that is actually real, and that speaks volumes of the quality that it offers. I just hope that the creators don't try to add unnecessary drama to it, and make it like other reality shows. Shark Tank India should remain as candid as it is right now. I do hope though that the producers don't block episodes thinking that the viewers might not be smart enough to understand anything. Also, all the sharks should be present in every episode, it's a basic scheduling issue and I see no reason why the producers can't find a fix for it.
7 out of 10 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
