Stretching things too far!!

As the finales draw closer, the shows get dramatic. The shows this week were surely action and controversy packed, this weekend. Musically, this week saw some of the best performances but the ugly head of controversy was conspicuous in all the shows, totally overshadowing the good performances, thus leaving the viewers outraged, dismayed and totally disheartened.

Mission Ustaad now has reached its final stage. This week the theme was “Zarra Socho” and the contestant Jodi’s were asked to sing any song of their choice and tell the viewers what message that carries. It was a thought provoking soul stirring journey. Every Jodi performed briliantly and gave some very beautiful and thoughtful messages. Simone Singh as the host deserves a big applause for anchoring the show with great élan. The perfect show on Friday however had one black spot. The Rathod Jodi lyricist Tausif Akhter came up on stage and questioned the judges’ decisions momentarily disrupting the otherwise perfect evening. This week, there was a tie for the Brahmastra winner, Naresh–Shweta and Kailash-Mahalaxmi. The best part of the show was how communal harmony was advocated by all the contestants and judges together.

If Mission Ustaad gave out some thought provoking and awesome messages on communal harmony, SaReGaMaPa was way away from just that. Friday was elimination day and this week saw Amir Hafeez getting eliminated. The elimination saw a big hue and cry on the sets with Amir’s family members giving the whole incident a communal colour. But it was sad to see the channel house behaving so irresponsibly by airing the whole saga, especially by airing the behind the set affair which showed most of the controversial part. It is so sad to the outrageous behavior; it was disappointing to see such segregation through religion being done on a musical show, that too in front of a celebrity guest – Ustaad Amjaad Ali Khan, who is well known for his role in spreading communal harmony! The good ambience, the good performances all got marred by the last few minutes’ fiasco. However, on Saturday the electrifying presence of Ajay and Kajol Devgan brought out the fun factor and masti back into the sets and there were some brilliant performances. Best being the theme of love dealt very aesthetically.

SVOI too was not too far behind when it came to harmony. The show from its onset is somehow propagating regionalism. But barring stray dramatic incidents here and there, the rest of the show was indeed very enjoyable and witnessed some good performances. Prakriti made it back into the team as the wild card entry. The highlight of the show apart from some brilliant performances was Alpansh’s own composition. On Saturday, the kids gave a new face to Himesh Reshamiya’s songs and made the evening surprisingly very enjoyable and the icing on the cake was it was dramafree! On Friday, the Vyom fiasco was a little overboard. The way the show producer interfered and scolded him or the way the host of the show was sidelined by the producer did not gel well with the viewers - what was the need for the producer to throw the weight around and create such a big scene? Vyom’s mother's reaction also was also a little over the top. At the end of the day, why do they forget that it is kids they are dealing with and why put them to extra pressure?

K for Kishore was quite heated up this week as it was the Challenger selection round. From the performances, it can be said that some of the challengers are much stronger than some of the super 6. Even K for Kishore witnessed confusion and uproar this week on whether Amit Paul should be allowed to be considered as a challenger as he was away indisposed. But after much deliberation and discussions, based on previous performance by Amit Paul on the sets of K for Kishore, the judges unanimously decided to select Amit Paul as a challenger.

In the reality shows the prizes are lucrative. But participants and families should learn to take the shows sportingly and realistically, without pinning too much of hope towards the outcome. Reality shows heavily laced with drama has become a regular issue. But when the realities are presented in a dramatic way, the presentation can actually impact a lot more as we saw. Loud behaviour or dignified decorum; TRP gimmicks or respectful sensitivity – what should be presented to the viwers and how much - this is the decision the channel houses need to take soon.

Author: Barnali

Note: The views expressed are solely of the author. For any information, please contact the author.