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How real are the reality shows that beam everyday into your drawing rooms and with whom you involve so many of your emotions?
Considering they are the new TRP badshahs and promote everything from new films to stars to other serials on the same channel, they are a mini-industry on the telly. With SMSes voting for contestants in these shows accounting for crores, they are raking in moolah big time too. But are they true to their USP - live action in real time?
The SMS saga
The issue has been on the boil for sometime now, but it finally erupted when motormouthed item girl, Rakhi Sawant lost to Aamir Ali and Sanjeeda Sheikh, in the finals of a reality dance show. She went to town alleging that the channel had indulged in rampant manipulation of SMSes to favour the winners.
With the final results being linked to the SMSes, the ground is left open for all sorts of manoeuvres. In another recently concluded television reality show, Voice of India, finalist Harshit Saxena, who was leading in the vote count from all over India except in Northern zone, lost out to Ishmit, a Punjabi lad, who was said to have received a huge amount of votes from Punjab alone. Says Harshit, "Everybody tells me that this is just not possible, but I'm okay with it. I am grateful to the channel for providing this platform to me. But it would be better if there was some level of transparency in counting of votes."
'Foolproof system'
Discounting the allegations that are put up, Keertan Adyanthaya, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Star TV says, "The system is foolproof, and we get the counts of the SMS votes from the service providers. Our methods are absolutely aboveboard and foolproof, but those who are casting such aspersions on us have no proof of what they are saying."
Controversies be damned, it is the pure maths of the whole issue that excites the channels. The millions of votes that are cast, generate revenue, which could boggle the best of the economist.
Raising the TRPs
As these shows thrive on the TRPs, it becomes imperative that they should be able to snatch as many eyeballs as possible, because only when the audience is involved in voting -- the big bucks would come in. Kalyana Sundaram, the Creative Director (Programming) of Sahara One Television says, "If the audience involvement is not there, and SMSes are not being received in large numbers then efforts are certainly made to increase the viewers interest in the show."
Citing the episode of Jjhoom India , where celebrity judge Mahesh Bhatt walked out of the show following a spat with Shekhar Suman, Sundaram adds, "The judges are celebrities themselves and we can't ask them to fight with each other just because we wish to raise our TRPs. But these controversies do have a positive effect on the show, as after this incident the viewership levels of the show did go up."
The format formula
The producers have devised there own methods for creating viewers interest. When the participants are not celebrities, the temperatures are raised with continuous bickering and fighting amongst the celebrity judges. But when the contestants are celebrities, then gimmicks like wardrobe malfunction, and allegations between the contestants are used to spice up the episodes. Albert Almeida, Executive Vice President and Business Head of Sony Entertainment Television denies that incidents are stage-managed to increase the TRPs. "The complexion of the programme varies from format to format. Bigg Boss was about interpersonal relationships, where we hope to see the real persona of the celebrities, once the mask drops. So we had made up the show with Rakhi, Kashmera, Bobby Darling, who all added their own dimensions to the show. Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa was about the journey of people who are not dancers but are trying to excel in a dance competition. The incidents, which happen on the show are an outcome of the interaction of all these personalities. We do make use of them to push the viewership."
Spurring the careers
The shows also prove to be a boon for the celebrities who see it as the right platform to push their sagging careers. Bappi Lahiri, Jeetendra, Ismail Darbar, all managed to garner some publicity for themselves.
Agreeing with this, actress Archana Puran Singh says, "Reality shows project the three-dimensional personality of an artiste. An artiste may not have done well for himself on screen, but when he takes part in a reality show, his true self emerges. This sometimes helps in making him more popular. "
Ad-vantage
These shows are also seen as good enough vehicles on which a film or an event can hitch a piggyback ride. As most reality shows are scheduled around the weekend, they have become a fine platform for the pre release publicity of films. As the shows go over-the-top in terms of sound decibels and eyeballs, stars find it mandatory to be present on them, to push their films.
Adman Bharat Dabholkar agrees that such shows are brilliant marketing strategies. He adds, "Since films are now having a simultaneous domestic and international release, the effort is to bring in as many viewers as possible over the weekend. With the kind of penetration television has, these reality shows provide a ready platform for good
publicity."
Considering they are the new TRP badshahs and promote everything from new films to stars to other serials on the same channel, they are a mini-industry on the telly. With SMSes voting for contestants in these shows accounting for crores, they are raking in moolah big time too. But are they true to their USP - live action in real time?
The SMS saga
The issue has been on the boil for sometime now, but it finally erupted when motormouthed item girl, Rakhi Sawant lost to Aamir Ali and Sanjeeda Sheikh, in the finals of a reality dance show. She went to town alleging that the channel had indulged in rampant manipulation of SMSes to favour the winners.
With the final results being linked to the SMSes, the ground is left open for all sorts of manoeuvres. In another recently concluded television reality show, Voice of India, finalist Harshit Saxena, who was leading in the vote count from all over India except in Northern zone, lost out to Ishmit, a Punjabi lad, who was said to have received a huge amount of votes from Punjab alone. Says Harshit, "Everybody tells me that this is just not possible, but I'm okay with it. I am grateful to the channel for providing this platform to me. But it would be better if there was some level of transparency in counting of votes."
'Foolproof system'
Discounting the allegations that are put up, Keertan Adyanthaya, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Star TV says, "The system is foolproof, and we get the counts of the SMS votes from the service providers. Our methods are absolutely aboveboard and foolproof, but those who are casting such aspersions on us have no proof of what they are saying."
Controversies be damned, it is the pure maths of the whole issue that excites the channels. The millions of votes that are cast, generate revenue, which could boggle the best of the economist.
Raising the TRPs
As these shows thrive on the TRPs, it becomes imperative that they should be able to snatch as many eyeballs as possible, because only when the audience is involved in voting -- the big bucks would come in. Kalyana Sundaram, the Creative Director (Programming) of Sahara One Television says, "If the audience involvement is not there, and SMSes are not being received in large numbers then efforts are certainly made to increase the viewers interest in the show."
Citing the episode of Jjhoom India , where celebrity judge Mahesh Bhatt walked out of the show following a spat with Shekhar Suman, Sundaram adds, "The judges are celebrities themselves and we can't ask them to fight with each other just because we wish to raise our TRPs. But these controversies do have a positive effect on the show, as after this incident the viewership levels of the show did go up."
The format formula
The producers have devised there own methods for creating viewers interest. When the participants are not celebrities, the temperatures are raised with continuous bickering and fighting amongst the celebrity judges. But when the contestants are celebrities, then gimmicks like wardrobe malfunction, and allegations between the contestants are used to spice up the episodes. Albert Almeida, Executive Vice President and Business Head of Sony Entertainment Television denies that incidents are stage-managed to increase the TRPs. "The complexion of the programme varies from format to format. Bigg Boss was about interpersonal relationships, where we hope to see the real persona of the celebrities, once the mask drops. So we had made up the show with Rakhi, Kashmera, Bobby Darling, who all added their own dimensions to the show. Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa was about the journey of people who are not dancers but are trying to excel in a dance competition. The incidents, which happen on the show are an outcome of the interaction of all these personalities. We do make use of them to push the viewership."
Spurring the careers
The shows also prove to be a boon for the celebrities who see it as the right platform to push their sagging careers. Bappi Lahiri, Jeetendra, Ismail Darbar, all managed to garner some publicity for themselves.
Agreeing with this, actress Archana Puran Singh says, "Reality shows project the three-dimensional personality of an artiste. An artiste may not have done well for himself on screen, but when he takes part in a reality show, his true self emerges. This sometimes helps in making him more popular. "
Ad-vantage
These shows are also seen as good enough vehicles on which a film or an event can hitch a piggyback ride. As most reality shows are scheduled around the weekend, they have become a fine platform for the pre release publicity of films. As the shows go over-the-top in terms of sound decibels and eyeballs, stars find it mandatory to be present on them, to push their films.
Adman Bharat Dabholkar agrees that such shows are brilliant marketing strategies. He adds, "Since films are now having a simultaneous domestic and international release, the effort is to bring in as many viewers as possible over the weekend. With the kind of penetration television has, these reality shows provide a ready platform for good
publicity."
Anupamaa
