A Reality Checks

ay back in 1993 when Zee TV came up with Antakshari, it was such a novel idea. And viewers lapped it up.
Entertainment on television, till then, was the job of the actors. Aam janta having fun on the box and providing the same to millions like them in their drawing rooms seemed such wonderful entertainment. And even now, if you tell an Antakshari fan that it was but a reality show, he would almost doubt you. Such is the pleasure of a first experience! But in 2009, even a kid in a cable TV household would be able to tell you what the term meant. He might even be able to give a few names who were on TV to chase their dreams. So understandably, this year particularly saw a volley of reality shows all across TV channels, with a wide spectrum of themes from music, dancing, acting, business ideas, modelling, humour, veejaying, general knowledge, et al. Be it Indian Idol 2, Fame Gurukul, SuperSinger, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge, Super Sale, Dial One, Business Bazigar, Pogo Amazing Kids Hunt, Hungama Captains, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, MTV Roadies, Kaboom, Get Gorgeous, Dance Dance, Kaun Banega Crorepati , Nach Balliye... the list seems endless this year. Suddenly, the smiles and tears, the fulfilment or rejection of the aspirations of the man or woman on the street have become the main means of mass entertainment on the Indian tube. So much so, they are now inching into the space of family dramas, otherwise a prominent fixed feature across these channels. They are siphoning off a huge chunk of advertisement revenue too. Reality TV has the largest TRP on Indian television now and has remodelled TV programmes. Several factors work towards the success of these shows. The behind-the-scenes and the on screen real-life drama, is the main attraction and makes it an easy format to follow. Indians are emotional people and so, loud drama, rona-dhona, gale-lagana comes so easily to us. All one needs to do is to keep the camera rolling. Besides having a popular medium to give you that one-minute of fame, be it through failure or success is what everyone is hungry for and cant get enough of even if humiliation comes with it. So, does that mean it is the end of the story for family dramas on Indian mass entertainment channels? Reality TV has
A Reality Check
Reality shows today have replaced soaps and have become a household name in India.
the advantage of touching an instant chord with the viewers for it is them that the shows are celebrating. Better still, everyones clapping as they ring up the TRPs too. So times have changed and the buzzword today on TV is reality. Television programme producers see a vast opportunity in India for them. With the unprecedented success of programmes like Kaun Banega Crorepati on Star Plus and Indian Idol people's participation has proved to generate tremendous public interest and of course TV ad revenue. The best thing about a reality show is that it is real, it is interactive: the viewers can decide who will be an Indian Idol or any other winner. Reality shows make the dreams of millions of Indians come true. The public relate to the characters who appear on the shows, and this makes the shows more meaningful than any tearjerker film. These moneyspinners can be in the form of quiz shows, panel shows, and celebrity guest shows, anything which gives the audience the power to decide the next move and also be a part of the show. There have been shows like Khulja Sim Sim, a remake of the American show, Let's Make A Deal. Here the viewer could play and participate in the show. The same was also the case of Kismey Kitnaa Hain Dum, a remake of the famous British hit, Night Fever. It featured a karaoke contest where viewers could sing along. Viewers like sharing the trials and tribulations of the participants. Perhaps Indian Idol based on American Idol really set the audiences adrenaline flowing. A cleverly planned screenplay, which empowered the audience to select their personal favourites made it click. Most viewers will vouch for MTV Roadies officially being the first reality show telecast on Indian Television. It has been the longest running reality show on Indian Television. But then 10 years back how many watched MTV Roadies, and even if there were any it was a certain section of people termed as "GEN X" who watched it. Even today it caters only to an audience mostly in the age group of 20-30 years, whereas the Indian Idol thats an out and out copy of the hugely successful American Idol caters to masses and classes alike. In fact it had the entire nation glued to the television screen when they saw participants from general households taking centre stage. This coupled with famous celebrities acting as judges added flavour that was the need of the hour. Backstage happenings behind the scenes were shown for the first time. Criticism, favours, arguments and awards were publicly viewed and helped the show garner high TRP's and dominated other shows till the end of the season. The success ensured that the winners became household names and the show continued every season. Soon after a list of shows on similar lines followed on different television channels but all failed to create the hype and success that the initial edition had. But the trend has continued. UK's biggest reality show Big Brother had Shilpa Shetty an Indian actress come out as a winner. No sooner, a show related to the theme with more or less the same name Bigg Boss showed up at home. The show featured some small time television actors and struggling aspirants all competing against each other for the prize. Currently, reality shows are either based on talent searches that include singing and dancing contests, comedy shows, game shows and in-house shows. Prizes and rewards are discussed and issued publicly. These shows are publicized due to the drama and scene they create like controversial kisses, slaps, fights and kisses amongst participants. News Channels particularly highlight these incidents thereby boosting the shows TRP's. However, the latest reality show that is hogging the limelight is that of Rakhi Sawant and of her finding a suitable match There have been lakhs of entries for the show because just being on the show will garner one a lot of media attention. One does hope that reality shows like these would not be too vulgar and dent Indian tradition and culture.
Reality is interactive
Gen X
Suddenly, the smiles and tears, the fulfilment or rejection of the aspirations of the man or woman on the street have become the main means of mass entertainment on the Indian tube.
A reality_checks_Final.indd 2-3 7/20/2009 6:02:41 PM

A Reality Checks

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ay back in 1993 when Zee TV came up with Antakshari, it was such a novel idea. And viewers lapped it up.

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