Sach Ka Saamna stopped midway?

Star Plus' controversial reality show, Sach ka Saamna ended last week. But the fact that its first season folded up within two months has raised many eye brows.

So what is the real reason for Sach Ka Saamna wrapping up in just two months? Normally reality formats which do well stretch for nearly three to four months before taking a seasonal break. Can this mean that this Star Plus show where people reveal their dark secrets on national television has really not clicked? A cursory glance at the TRP charts does indicate that apart from the first week, it did not really set the ratings on fire. Viewers who have watched the show will accept the fact that Indian public is still not comfortable to view such bold content along with family. Secondly, the fact that the channel was forced to push the show to 11 pm slot did not help matters, as late night slots always have lesser viewership.
 
Could another major reason be that the channel and the production house ran short of people who had enough dirty linen to wash in public?  Well, having said this, we also know that many people had been turned down, for they were not controversial enough. And many celebrities who were approached simply refused to be part of the show, courtesy the format which has all the ingredients in it to make a person shy away!!

We have also heard that one such celebrity who has a show on a News channel was clearly told in no uncertain terms that if she takes part in Sach Ka Saamna, her contract will stand cancelled. The celebrity is reported to have been offered good amount of participation fee as well, but she was forced to decline. May be the above reason (lack of saleable contestants) also forced the channel to tweak the format mid way to allow participants to keep 10 lacs, once they cross that threshold. Earlier, the contestants had to forfeit the entire amount on a single mistake. Having said this, even internationally very few people have take home the full booty, which in our format happened to be 1 crore. Also, the recent spate of press reports of linking deaths to the show may have also harmed its prospects. This format had run into trouble quite early with even Parliament debating the matter. 

In this given scenario although the channel is touting that Sach Ka Saamna will return with Season 2, the jury still seems to be out on a possible return; hence the channel has not fixed a date. Also, there have been reports floating that the host Rajeev Khandelwal is not forthcoming in hosting another season of the show..
 
But in all this criticism, if somebody has walked away with lot of aplomb and respect, it will have to be anchor Rajeev Khandelwal, who has really handled some of the very delicate questions in an extremely sensitive manner.

Reporter and Author: Anil Merani