Do know where Ajeesh is studying or where Ravi is working? Wondering who the hell Ajeesh and Ravi are? They are just two of the large lot of reality TV heroes. There are quite a few of them. Reality shows are not that real. When a competition is tailor-made to make TRP’s soar how come they are real? Reality TV is one of the many things our Indians have adopted from the Westerners. When there are some 50 odd cameras capturing every movement of yours, how can someone be real? We feel too shy when the cameraman focuses us in a wedding reception! Had Jade Goody been too good to Shilpa Shetty, no Indian would have known about Jade Goody or even Big Brother show! Even Shilpa Shetty would not have produced desi version of Big Brother, the Big Boss (which is no less filthy than theirs). We Indians always have this ‘why-not-us?’ attitude when something favours us and ‘why-us?’ when something is against us. They have an American Idol, why don’t we have an Indian Idol. They have ‘So if You Think You Can Dance’ why not we have ‘Aaja Nachle’ or ‘Jodi No.1 ‘or ‘Boys vs Girls’ or ‘Jalak Dikhla Ja’ or ‘Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhu Deva’ or whatever it is. Having named the reality show as Boys vs Girls, they could have at least tried to have some young guys and gals. All they managed rope in were some 40 year old uncles and 50 year old aunties. The worst part was to make them call themselves boys and girls during every ad break.
When Kambli was tired of sitting in dark, he decided to make his comeback through a loose talk on Sachin in Star TV’s latest reality show, ‘Sach ka Saamna’. The lime light he got through this was still not enough considering his complexion.’ MTV Roadies’ is another reality show where the bad mouthed, tonsured twins used foul language and made the programme so nauseating. There are lots of such programmes other than Roadies. TRPs at the cost of Cultural Values? Government was too late in banning the program. Lots of damage has already been done.
Paris Hilton may have born with a silver spoon to spend loads of money to produce a reality show just to find a New Best Friend for her. But Rakhi Sawant went even a step beyond by searching for her prospective husband in ‘Rakhi ki Swayamvar’. I wonder what makes the contestants feel proud in participating in such a wicked TV show. In the name of 24 hours News Channels, there is extensive coverage for such programmes.
Earlier there used to be quiz programmes for children. My friend Encyclo during his school days (even now!) had the habit of participating in quizzes. He has even maintained a diary for general knowledge. But now what children watch is ‘Super Singer Season 1,2,3,4,5..’ and dream of participating in such programmes one day. When parents of such children don’t take such shows as just another competition and see them a source of income, problems start. Children may lose the essence of their childhood because of the fame obtained through such programmes.
Oh God! It’s already 9.30 and I’ve lost half of ‘Super Singer’. I’m leaving you with this. Got some important work!