Hrithik to make TV debut

Hrithik Roshan is about to find out what television audiences are really like. The Bollywood star makes his TV debut as a judge on Star Plus's dance reality show Just Dance, and ahead of the premiere he has been doing his homework — reportedly shutting himself in a room for days to study audition tapes.

He also got some advice from someone who knows the format cold. Cat Deeley, who has hosted So You Think You Can Dance since 2006 and become one of the most recognized faces in reality television on both sides of the Atlantic, shared her judging philosophy in a Mid-Day interview: honesty first. Viewers can tell when a judge is performing niceness, and a show built on evasion is a dull show.

Her second pointer was about criticism. Telling a dancer a performance was terrible accomplishes nothing unless it comes with a way to make it better. Constructive notes give the audience something to follow too — they start watching for whether the contestant takes the advice, which pulls them deeper into the competition.

Deeley also offered a quiet warning about what actually wins these shows. The trophy rarely goes to the most technically perfect dancer. It goes to the most popular one — the contestant whose personality gets people off the couch to vote. Technique gets a dancer onto the stage; likability gets them the title.

For Hrithik, whose own reputation rests on being Bollywood's most precise dancer, the adjustment may be real. Judging rewards a different skill than performing: the ability to see what a dancer could become, and to say so in a way that helps them get there.

Based on reporting by Mid-Day.