If a TV show can be jinxed, then Power Couple definitely qualifies. Among the 13 couples (an unlucky number to begin with) and the hosts, the relationships of three have ended, one terminally.
Hosts Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora Khan have split, as did model/dancer Jessie Randhawa and her husband Sandeep Soparkar as soon as they were eliminated from the show.
The third couple was Rahul Singh and Pratyusha Banerjee. While Pratyusha’s tragic suicide is still in the news, Rahul is being probed for abetting her suicide.
So, is the show really jinxed? Would participants in the second season (if there’s one) think twice before signing up for it?
Things aren’t too bad, say the show’s makers. The marriage of the winners of the first season, Naved Jaffrey and Sayeeda, is going strong. The other finalist couple, Shawar Ali and Marcela Ayesha, had entered the show just after getting married, and they say that the show was like a “honeymoon” for them.
Says Power Couple’s producer Lalit Sharma, “It is really sad to note that three couples have broken up. But the rest of them are doing well. However, having the couples in Power Couple for a short period of time, we did not know what exactly was happening in their personal as well as professional lives. But all of them had a great time while shooting the show in Goa.
“We are saddened with the sudden death of Pratyusha and the break- up of the others, but then it’s their personal decision. As of now we have not discussed about having the show again. But if we do I am sure that actors will love to participate as they know and like the concept.
Let us not be negative about the show… you are only considering three couple who might have been facing problems in their lives. We have given our best and are happy with the outcome as everyone liked the show.”
Sandeep Soparkar, Jesse Randhawa’s husband (the couple was eliminated from the show), says, “I would not blame the show for couples separating. These couples had face-offs in real life, when they separated they would have been in the relationship for more than 10 years or so.
In fact, Power Couple gave them an opportunity to be in each other’s company without separating even for a minute. No phones, laptops etc., also, we were free from professional assignments.
But if asked again I would not do PC. As I have already mentioned, I participated in the show only because Jessie wanted to perform all those stunts. I am not one for stunts. About my separation with Jessie, Power Couple had nothing to do with it.
“Arbaaz and Malaika, too, were good to us personally as well as professionally on the show. Pratyusha and Rahul too would have reasons to separate that would be better known to them. Pratyusha’s suicide is a sad thing for all of us.
“Lastly, I would say that PC was a fun show and I am sure if they begin Season 2, many couples will love to spend time with each other on the show.” Says Shawar Ali, another participant, “It was a wonderful journey for both my wife and I. We had got married just before the show and we got to know each other closely and bonded emotionally on the show.
This is one of the most positive shows unlike the other reality shows wherein there are a lot of fights and negativity. You cannot say that the show is jinxed simply because a few couples had some personal problems.
“About Pratyusha, one cannot end their lives for someone else… she left her parents in agony and distress. I did not know Rahul at all. I came to know him through Pratyusha. She would call him ‘hero’. ‘I am so happy that mujhe mera hero mil gaya… I was always looking forward to this kind of a man,’ she would say. “But just because a few couples separated we don’t have the right to say that the show is jinxed. I’m sure Season 2 will bring in more powerful couples.”
Delnaz Paul too feels that the show actually is great for couples. She says, “Percy and I became emotionally very close. I was really shocked to see that while in any kind of problem, he would readily do anything to safeguard my interests. This show indeed gave loads of strength to couples. We got to know our weaknesses as well as our strong points.
“About the other couples, we spent only a short while with them and it’s not possible to know them well. But in the case of Sundeep and Jessie, I always thought they had similar interests and they were strongly bonding with each other. So I presumed they were the most perfect couple. However, what they were going through in their relationship was better known to them.”
