Pramod Thomas is a senior correspondent with Asian Media Group since 2020, bringing 19 years of journalism experience across business, politics, sports, communities, and international relations. His career spans both traditional and digital media platforms, with eight years specifically focused on digital journalism. This blend of experience positions him well to navigate the evolving media landscape and deliver content across various formats. He has worked with national and international media organisations, giving him a broad perspective on global news trends and reporting standards.
MARXIST-LEANING Anura Kumara Dissanayake and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa headed to a run-off for Sri Lanka's presidency on Sunday (22), the election body said, with a second round of counting to determine the winner using preferential votes.
It is the first time in Sri Lanka's history that the presidential race is to be decided by a second round of counting after the top two candidates failed to win the mandatory 50 per cent of votes to be declared winner.
All remaining candidates, including incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe, have been disqualified, the Election Commission told reporters. Dissanayake polled 39.5 per cent of the counted ballots with Premadasa finishing second at 34 per cent.
Wickremesinghe, who led the heavily indebted nation's fragile economic recovery from a debilitating crisis in 2022, trailed in third with 17 per cent.
This is Sri Lanka's first election since the Indian Ocean nation's economy buckled in 2022 under a severe foreign exchange shortage, leaving it unable to pay for imports of essentials including fuel, medicine and cooking gas. Protests forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and later resign.
"The election result clearly shows the uprising that we witnessed in 2022 is not over," said Pradeep Peiris, a political scientist at University of Colombo.
"People have voted in line with those aspirations to have different political practices and political institutions. AKD (as Dissanayake is known) reflects these aspirations and people have rallied around him."
Sajith Premadasa attends an election rally ahead of the upcoming presidential elections in Colombo on September 11, 2024. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images)
Dissanayake, 55, presented himself as the candidate of change for those reeling under austerity measures linked to a $2.9 billion (£2.2bn) International Monetary Fund bailout, promising to dissolve parliament within 45 days of taking office for a fresh mandate for his policies in general elections.
He has worried investors with a manifesto pledging to slash taxes in the island nation, which could impact IMF fiscal targets, and a $25bn (£18.8bn) debt rework. But during the campaign, he took a more conciliatory approach, saying any changes would be undertaken in consultation with the IMF and that he was committed to ensuring repayment of debt.
Premadasa also pledged to renegotiate the contours of the IMF deal.
Buttressed by the IMF deal, Sri Lanka's economy has posted a tentative recovery. It is expected to grow this year for the first time in three years and inflation has collapsed to 0.5 per cent from a crisis peak of 70 per cent.
But the continued high cost of living was a critical issue for many voters, and millions remain mired in poverty, with many pinning hopes of a better future on the next leader.
Voting was peaceful, although police declared a curfew across the island nation until noon (0630 GMT) as a precaution while vote counting continued.
About 75 per cent of the 17 million eligible voters cast their ballots, according to the commission.
Dissanayake, known for stirring speeches, ran as a candidate for the National People's Power alliance, which includes his Marxist-leaning Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna party. Traditionally, Dissanayake's party has backed stronger state intervention, lower taxes and more closed market economic policies.
Although JVP has just three seats in parliament, Dissanayake was boosted by his promises of tough anti-corruption measures and more pro-poor policies. He drew big crowds at rallies, calling on Sri Lankans to leave behind the suffering of the crisis.
Premadasa, 57, entered politics after his father, President Ranasinghe Premadasa, was killed in a suicide bombing in 1993. The younger Premadasa polled 42 per cent of the votes in 2019 to finish second, behind Rajapaksa, in the last presidential election.
Premadasa's centre-left party has promised tax changes to reduce living costs. Support from farming communities in north and central Sri Lanka helped him close the gap on Dissanayake as counting progressed.
The winner will have to ensure Sri Lanka sticks with the IMF programme until 2027 to get its economy on a stable growth path, reassure markets, repay debt, attract investors and help a quarter of its people climb out of poverty.
So, Kajol and Twinkle Khanna’s show, Two Much, is already near its fourth episode. And people keep asking: why do we love watching stars sit on sofas so much? It’s not the gossip. Not really. We’re not paying for the gossip. We’re paying for the glimpse. For the little wobble in a voice, a tiny apology, a family story you recognise. It’s why Simi’s white sofa mattered once, why Karan’s sofa rattled the tabloids, and why Kapil’s stage made everyone feel at home. The chat show isn’t dead. It just keeps changing clothes.
Why Indian audiences can’t stop watching chat shows from Simi Garewal to Karan Johar Instagram/karanjohar/primevideoin/ Youtube Screengrab
Remember the woman in white?
Simi Garewal brought quiet and intimacy. Her Rendezvous with Simi Garewal was all white sets and soft lights, and it felt almost like a church for confessions. She never went full interrogation mode with her guests. Instead, she’d just slowly unravel them, almost like magic. Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha, they all sat on that legendary white sofa, dropping their guard and letting something real slip out, something you’d never stumble across anywhere else. The whole thing was gentle, personal, and almost revolutionary.
Simi Garewal and her iconic white sofa changed the face of Indian talk showsYoutube Screengrab/SimiGarewalOfficial
Then along came Karan Johar
Let’s be honest, Karan Johar changed the game completely. Koffee with Karan was the polar opposite. Where Simi was a whisper, Karan was a roar. His rapid-fire round was a headline machine. Suddenly, it stopped being about struggles or emotions but opinions, little rivalries, and that full-on, shiny Bollywood chaos. He almost spun the film industry into a full-blown high school drama, and honestly? We loved it up.
Kapil Sharma rewired the format again and took the chat show, threw it in a blender with a comedy sketch, and created a monster hit. His genius was in creating a world or what we call his crazy “Shantivan Society” and making the celebrities enter his universe. Suddenly, Shah Rukh Khan was being teased by a fictional, grumpy neighbour and Ranbir Kapoor was taunted by a fictional disappointed ex-girlfriend. Stars were suddenly part of the spectacle, all halos tossed aside. It was chaotic, yes, but delightfully so. The sort of chaos that still passed the family-TV test. For once, these impossibly glamorous faces felt like old friends lounging in your living room.
Kajol and Twinkle’s Amazon show Two Much feels like friends talking to people in their circle, and that matters. What’s wild is, these folks aren’t the stiff, traditional hosts, they’re insiders. The fun ones. The ones who know every secret because, let’s be honest, they were there when the drama started. On a platform like Amazon, they don’t have to play for TRPs or stick to a strict clock. They can just… talk.
People want to peep behind the curtain. Even with Instagram and Reels, there’s value in a longer, live-feeling exchange. It’s maybe the nuance, like an awkward pause, a memory that makes a star human, or a silly joke that lands. OTT gives space for that. Celebs turned hosts, like Twinkle and Kajol in Two Much or peers like Rana Daggubati in Telugu with The Rana Daggubati Show, can ask differently; they make room for stories that feel earned, not engineered.
How have streaming and regional shows changed the game?
Streaming freed chat shows from TRP pressure and ad breaks. You get episodes that breathe. Even regional versions likeThe Rana Daggubati Show, or long-running local weekend programmes, prove this isn’t a Mumbai-only appetite. Viewers want local language and local memories, the same star-curiosity in Kannada, Telugu, or Tamil. That widens the talent pool and the tone.
From White Sofas to OTT Screens How Indian Talk Shows Keep Capturing HeartsiStock
Are shock moments over?
Not really. But people are getting sick of obvious bait. Recent launches lean into warmth and inside jokes rather than feeding headlines. White set, gold couch, or a stage full of noise, it doesn’t matter. You just want to sit there, listen, get pulled into their stories, like a campfire you can’t leave. We watch, just curious, hoping maybe these stars are a little like us. Or maybe we’re hoping we can borrow a bit of their sparkle.
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