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Reality shows: fake or real

There is practically nothing in reality shows apart from falling short of cheap voyeurism

WINNERS ALL Rahul Roy after winning the reality shows

Of late, Bollywood starlet Shilpa Shetty has been more into the news and has perhaps out-beaten the Indian politicians for a change. Her participation in the Channel 4 reality show Big Brother seems to have brought her more popularity than her movies and the hot item numbers in films. Perhaps, that's exactly what she wanted to boost her sagging career in films.

The `racial' slur on her by Jade Goody, one for her co-participants, virtually brought UK and India to the brink of a diplomatic row. The outcome was the ouster of Jade from the show and Shipla emerging to be the first Indian to win the Big Brother show. While many consider her win as damage control exercise by Britain to cover up racial bullying, some say it is the Asian invasion.

Whatever be the outcome, the hullabaloo shot up the TRP (television rating points) of the Indian version of reality show, Big Boss, by many folds overnight. And at the end of the day only two people stand to gain.

Shilpa Shetty pocketed around 2,00,000 to 3,00,000 British pounds and Rahul Roy made a neat Rs.50 lakhs by virtue of winning the Indian version. The career graphs of both the filmstars were dipping but suddenly things have begun to look up.

What is reality show?

Reality television show is a new genre of television programmes that deals with lodging professional and amateur artists in an apartment or a building and recording their daily life with hidden cameras. They often bring forward dramatic or humorous situations and document actual events. And the entire show is supposed to be unscripted.

Shilpa

Though the show in some form or the other made its debut in 1940s through the medium of radio in the US, the first reality TV show in the modern sense was the PBS series, An American Family. Twelve parts were broadcast in the United States in 1973. The series dealt with a nuclear family going through a divorce. The formats of reality shows could range from documentary, special living environment, celebrity reality or game shows.

What people think?

Sunita, a housewife, opines that, it is the most boring show on earth. Referring to the Indian version, Big Boss, she says, "The people on the show seem to be from some another planet. I just cannot comprehend how people can behave like that in normal life. A few, especially Rakhi Sawant, was of bad taste. They send wrong signals to our growing children,"

Shagota, software professional, shares that, "I have a feeling that the producers stage manage a controversy to jack up the TRP ratings to sell the show. Otherwise, reality shows fall short of cheap voyeurism. There is practically nothing in them."

While various shows have different formats, many feel that the shows are not `that real' as they claim to be. "There are rules for the participants and I presume that the episodes are not totally unscripted as they declare. Some scenes in Big Boss seem to be premeditated and well rehearsed.

The funny part is, you ill-treat a co-participant one day and the next day you feel bad for doing it, and the show moves on.

That's what happened in Shilpa's case also. One day she cries for being harangued by Jade and when the controversy kicks up, Jade apologises in public and the show gains popularity. And further, Shilpa denies the racial abuse by Jade, once she wins the show and makes the buck. But all said and done, it has exposed the ugly face of racism and there is something to learn from it, especially for the ones who are in a hurry to pack their bags for those countries," says Atul, a management student from Bihar.

SUMIT BHATTACHARJEE

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