Voyeur TV

I have never had a high opinion of the plethora of reality television shows flooding our airwaves. Just when I thought the talent shows were bad enough it hits us shows like Sach Ka Samna and Rakhi ka Swayamvar and Iss jugle se mujhe bachao. Capitalising on Indian public’s apetite for emotional melodrama, these shows thrive on stimulating emotionally charged situation and through some creative creating recognizable stereotypes. One viewer of Sach Ka Samna recently disclosed that watching the show made him feel morally superior to the contestants who confess anything from adultery to embezzlement for the sake of money. The pathetic farce that is Rakhi ka swayamvar formed loosely on the line of ‘the Bachelorette’ leaves me dumbfounded. It comes in the wake of Rakhi Sawant’s self confessed quest for ‘respectability’, its an audition for 12 odd men fighting for the dubious honour of being Rakhi Sawant’s husband. Her immoveable, botox and collagen pumped face would have done Madame Tussaud proud. Every marginal celebrity, has-been, never was has jumped on the bandwagon to earn a fast buck and generate future work. The reality shows have recognizably engineered plots, they are blatantly exploitative and think nothing of manipulating regional, religious or communal sentiments or reducing contestants to the verge of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion in an effort to generate more SMS’s and more TRP.