| Reality shows based on public voting are increasingly getting mired in controversies and allegations of rigging and favouritism. Recently, Roshni Chopra made it to the last three of Jjhoom India contest but raised doubts about the voting system when she was voted out a week before the show's finale. Two days after losing the Nach Baliye 3 title to Aamir-Sanjeeda, Rakhi Sawant and her partner Abhishek Awasthi accused Star Plus of rigging the result. Though Sandhya Mridul gracefully accepted her defeat to Prachi Desai, tongues didn't stop wagging when the latter was brought back in Jhalak Dikhla Jaa as a wild card entry. Judge Ismail Darbar was not too happy either with Raja Hasan losing the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge title to Aneek Dhar. Javed Akhtar was also not too happy with Prashant Tamang beating Amit Paul on Indian Idol. Why do most reality shows end in a blame game where the runner-up is always said to be a more deserving candidate? Indian Idol host Mini Mathur says that the show follows a rigorous audit system for its results. "But I can't speak for others because usually it's a 'grab eyeballs at any cost game' for channels," says Mini. However, Jjhoom India participant Shekhar Suman strongly feels that results of reality shows are rigged through clever manipulation. "In all reality shows of 2007 the second best won and some of the good candidates were voted out when the shows were half-way through," he points out.
Shekhar and Roshni admit that celebrities do understand the format but do not always read the fine print in the contract. "There is hardly any time to get into the nitty-gritties of the contract. Besides one tends to believe the channel," says Shekhar. Zee's business head Tarun Mehra is of the view that controversies are an inherent part of reality television. "Even judges' remarks attract criticism and their decisions are also questioned some times. A controversy about public voting and SMSes is just one aspect of reality TV. But the voting process and counting is always fair and square. There is never a bias against anyone and no injustice is done to any contestant. In fact, the number of votes and SMSes are ann-ounced on the show and the winner's victory margin is also made public. People tend to question the outcome or winner because the stakes are high and reality shows generate lot of interest and passion," he says. Albert Alm-eida, Sony's business head, feels it's the disappointed lot who back the runner-up candidate who don't feel happy with the final result. "Some times when popularity wins over perceived talent there is bound to be resentment against the winner. But channels follow the rules of corporate governance and conscience. We at Sony get our results audited by an outside agency. We don't give out the details of voting and SMes because the format of our shows don't require us to do that. But that does not mean we are unfair to anyone. It's the popular votes that decide the winner," says Almeida. http://www.deccan.com/TV%20Guide/TV%20GuideDescription.asp#R eal%20or%20Rigged? |
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