Executing Reality on TV is no easy task. The drama, the fights, the feisty conversations, everything has to be realistic and according to the script. Nilanjana Dutta lists a few shows who are pulling that off while dodging the Indian censor board and meeting the Indian sanskaari standards.
Bigg Boss
What started out as rip-off to Big Brother, has now gone on to become a mega event in itself for the Indian audiences. What technically was supposed to be a group of celebrities, living together, facing challenges and getting evicted in the process is actually a group of people who need to be google-d to be recognised, either hating living together or getting married on sets, making the worst out of challenges and brewing high voltage drama before finally getting evicted. And because of that or inspite of that, now in its 9th season, Bigg Boss has a viewership of 5.2 million.
India’s Next Top Model
The Next Top Model series makes its grand debut in India with an oh-so-glamorous panel of judges which include Lisa Haydon, Dabboo Ratnani, Anusha Dandekar and Neeraj Gaba. The contestants face a series of modelling tasks and challenges to win the title of India’s next top model and a served on a platter invite into the elite circle of the modelling industry whilst being mentored by the finest. The show brings forth a new concept for the Indian audiences with the right dose of drama and glamour.
Dance India Dance
A dance reality show with contestants from all over the country and the disco dancer’s comeback as a legend with the title Grandmaster Mithunda judging or rather praising every performance. The show has outdone itself with multiple sequels for people from every possible age group, ethnicity, gender and planet (DID supermoms, DID Li’l masters, DID Dance ka tashan) and still continues to be a rage among the audiences, with the winners becoming celebrities of their own right.
Indian Idol
A hunt for fresh new voices, Indian Idol provides the opportunity of a lifetime for singers from all over the country. Although the platform provides minimal room for experimentation which is a given since the participants look forward to making it big in Bollywood and that genre of music, but the competition has proven to be a mentor for many as quite a few participants and not just winners have gone on to become playback singers for major movies and performed in bands.
Kaun Banega Crorepati
What can be titled, India’s first reality TV game show, is every Indian’s favourite show till date. It has all the ingredients for successful TV time, from educational content, appropriate for children to monetary winnings for on set and off set audiences and of course the biggest USP being India’s favourite evergreen superstar Amitabh Bacchan as the host, without who’s baritone “Kaun Banega Crorepati” wouldn’t sound the same.
