Bollywood star in Oz?

watch them deliver their heavily accented dialogues in English for a role in a Bollywood film. As the episode unfolded, however, something felt amiss. Perhaps the judges too could have been better prepared? They seemed starved of chutzpah somehow: at times dull, at times downright boring, and often lacking in coordination. Or perhaps I’m too accustomed to seeing Seal, Delta and Joel in these roles, who knows!

As for the contestants, our judges were desperately trying to pick the best amongst what was on offer. That said, some sprinkle of talent did pop up. But it took a Teigan from the Gold Coast to make the two male judges yearn to cast her in their next movie. I cringe yet again. Upping the ante might do some

And why was Vinny given so much footage? Was it because she had a broken ankle or was she too pretty to ignore! After all wasn’t someone harping on about the importance of looks just minutes

The very first episode of Bollywood Star came across as average and with superficial packaging. The arduous attempt to make it look like fun was in vain as boredom crept in. But then, there’s more to come, and I would be happy to eat my own words if the following episodes can get past the mediocrity and the stereotypes.

While episode one has 24 Bollywood hopefuls, the second part in the series will have these 24 perform a scene from their lives and a self-choreographed dance in front of family and friends. The number of contestants then trickles down to 12, who get to dance in a public flash mob choreographed and assessed by Bollywood Star judge Dipti Patil. This number is filtered to the final six who are flown to Mumbai for a taste of the real thing. A week of training from some of the best in the business, and then a further edit to four contestants for the final episode that has them exposed to the Dharavi slums.

(It’s beyond my reasoning as to why it always takes the slums of India to sell it on western shores, but hey, we might yet have a Slumdog Millionaire here!)

Finally filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt selects the winner to appear in his next movie. Well, if it takes a ‘Bollywood Star’ from Australia to awaken the sleeping star in Mahesh Bhatt, so be it. As long as he can get over the shadows of some of his thrillers hinting at eroticism, and churn out yet another Arth or Saraansh, I ain’t complaining! As for the winner, watch this space for an update on his/her stardom!

‘Bollywood Superstar’ premieres 7.30pm Saturday 2 June 2012 on SBS ONE