The fake reality tamasha

Thirteen strangers living under one roof with no contact with the outside world, following guidelines so strict that prison might seem blissful. Not enough? Alright then, how about a group of wannabe celebs trooping on a jungle trail living in grungy conditions, ready to share space with snakes and deadly reptiles to survive the jungle law? Still not entertained? Well then let’s just wire up a man, put him on a lie detector test and expose his most dreadful secrets for the entire world to gape at. This is bound to make them all jump!

Hate it or love it, you just can’t ignore the sadistic, dark and sometimes awfully amusing stunts reality TV has exposed us all too. So, we do live in a civilized society and advocate for a better compassionate world but it’s the raucous, wild rather obnoxious secrets and bitchy catfights that amuse us and quench our thirst for entertainment.

And no, I am not a doctrinaire idealist, who is out to whiplash reality shows. After all when a superstar as legendary as Mr Bachchan endorses ‘Bigg Boss’ one is left with little choice but to sit back and reflect on the magic that’s weaving this reality.

Frankly it’s avoidable when Shilpa Shetty plays host, it’s even understandable when an item girl turns drama queen to carry on her own swayamwar with the entire nation betting on who the doomed loser would be. But when iconic Big B backs ‘Bigg Boss’ one is left wondering, why?

Well for starters it’s big bucks, a soaring business. And like they say it’s all about the money honey, then why should Mr Bachchan’s repute be a roadblock to his chances to an even more hefty bank balance?

The TRPs are outstanding (Bigg Boss reportedly drew 11 million viewers, viewers react and attention craving mini celebs and junior artists get overnight stardom. For the host it’s all about the money. The bigger the star, the fatter the cheque. So while some are happy, everyone is bemused.

As to the extent of reality shown in such shows…it may be the real question we all need to ask?

True, they say, reality is stranger than fiction, but it’s even more engrossing when it’s scripted, edited and maneuvered to suit the audience's liking and psyche. Come to think of it, the quintessential formula for all hit reality shows remains the same.

The foundation of these shows is the most important and always comprising the most volatile group of individuals, who are assured to clash like meteors and get malicious over trivial concerns.

Finding them is often easy, thanks to the ever-growing item girls’ brigade, ageing models, and aspiring socialites whose sole claim to fame is a once famous celeb parent. Nevertheless they are willing to stake their family name all for their cherished 15-seconds of fame or defame.

And there is no better example of this desi façade than ‘Bigg Boss’. Just take one look at the line of houseguests and the combination needed to fit the reality show bill will become clear.

Sheryln Chopra- an item girl who is having a tough time keeping her clothes on, Vindu Dara Singh – the flop son of legendary boxer cum actor Dara Singh, Shamita Shetty- the lesser known sister of Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty, hoping to cash in on the Indian version, music director Ismail Darbar experimenting with his vocal chords on the show, Poonam Dillion- the yesteryear’s beauty acting all prim and proper, KKR the so called ‘patriotic’ maker of ‘Deshdrohi’ being his original rowdy, boastful self, reality TV couple Tanaz and Bakhtiyar Irani trying to be tactful, ex-model Aditi Gowitrikar who is trying hard to fit in the catty gang, German actress Claudia Ciesla who is hoping to gate crash Bollywood, Raju Shrivastav who is acting as the in-house joker, a cross-dressing designer Rohit Verma, and above all there was Jaya Sawant, the mother of the reigning reality TV queen Rakhi Sawant.

Now aren’t they a handful!

Having compiled the most combustible composition, the next step is fairly easy as it involves finding the theme for the show. Well, yes this should have been the first concern, but when you have just the apt star crossed individuals, the theme can wait. Right? After all anything that has a bunch of wannabe celebs fighting like hooligans and calling each other names is bound to draw eyeballs.

What follows next is the typical unreal face off. Scheming, bitching, backbiting, flirtations, betrayal and crying are the basic phases designed under the garb of reality.

If you ask me, reality shows are just as real as tear jerking soap operas. There is manifested theme, a set of eerie guidelines, a baffling script and real life celebs playing their reel life parts to perfection by being as ignominious as possible.

But, the fact remains that even though we continue to condemn such shows in an attempt to flaunt our intellectual supremacy we still remain glued to our TV sets hoping to find more appalling acts and defaming gossip.

So the TRP’s continue to soar, motivating other channels to join in the bizarre race by inventing even more revolting shows revolving around lame themes and incorrigible contestants.

Well, going by their skyrocketing popularity it’s only obvious that such show are here to stay. The question that we really need to ask is what’s worse, reality TV’s existence or the fact that it sells?