Originally posted by: asmitamohanty
Hey....I get all your points, and honestly, many of them are valid. But my issue is when you said "middle aged housewives , uncle and aunties don't get the nuances of the show" as if their preferences automatically lack depth or “nuance.”
Truth is, they don’t necessarily miss nuances… they just respond to a different kind of nuance.
Everyone doesn’t consume content through the same lens.
You might prioritize meta-humour, complexity, layered drama, morally grey dynamics and that’s perfectly fine.
But a large chunk of middle-aged and older viewers connect with authenticity, simplicity, emotional resonance, and steadiness. That’s not “less nuanced”; it’s just their framework of engagement.
And honestly, these are the same audiences who have sustained Indian television for decades. They aren’t oblivious , they’re often incredibly perceptive in a human way. They read sincerity, consistency of behaviour, and emotional honesty better than we sometimes do.
Also, having a pre-existing fanbase isn’t a crime. Every reality show globally brings in known faces because familiarity is what pulls the initial viewership. If someone can mobilise an offline votebank, that’s not “unfair”… that’s just a different demographic showing up with equal rights to vote.
You’re absolutely right that BB isn’t the Oscars but that cuts both ways.
If it’s not that deep, then there’s no need to invalidate the audience that likes someone simply because he seems “nice” to them. Their criteria may be different from yours, but not inferior.
And regarding serial actors they will always come with an existing fanbase. Just like strong social media influencers come with their own digital armies. The idea that only TV actors skew things is not entirely accurate...(Not saying to you but in general)
The way you contrast Deadpool vs Sooraj Barjatya films actually proves something interesting:
Art, entertainment, and engagement are subjective.
Your preference doesn't become the “correct” one just because it aligns with a younger, more online crowd and vice-versa
At the end of the day, the larger audience - including those “aunties and uncles” often vote based on the one thing Bigg Boss tries (and fails) to script:authenticity.
They don’t care about “content” the way online viewers do; they care about consistency of character.
And your final point “bring 15 GK-type contestants next year and see how entertaining the show will be.”
But the thing is, you can replace this argument with any archetype:
Bring 15 Munawar-types cases - the season becomes an emotional therapy workshop.(As you yourself said)
Bring 15 Archana-types - the season becomes a shouting marathon.
Bring 15 Abhishek-types - the season becomes unwatchably aggressive.
Bring 15 Manara-types - it becomes a watered-down romance track.
Bring 15 Tanya -type- we audience will have to get admitted to check our sanity 🤣
Bring 15 Farhana -type- Ahhhh I don't even want to imagine 😭
BB only works because the house is a cocktail of different energies, not a clone factory.GK’s persona clicked with a certain demographic the same way Abhishek clicked with another and Munawar with another.
At the end of the day, every contestant enters with something a fandom, a sob story, a controversy, a personality, a reputation, or pure chaos energy.
The show milks all of it.
What i meant was that I dont agree with the nuances of the said mentioned people and dont view content with the same lens as those because I have different preferences and also in the case of our respected elderly viewers they might take things at face value when I and a lot of other online and younger folks over so many seasons of bb might havr become more aware about how the channel works, how they script the story of their seasons, how they pre select contestants they wanna push and how others are only casted as slot fillers and how its all about sponsorship and trps for the makers with a lot of money invested in their show so they wont just let their show be left to the contestants and audiences devices
And those audiences might have sustained tv industry for long but things evolve, cable industry is dying everywhere and younger millennials, gen z’s and and gen alphas are migrating in mass to ott
And see we differ on how the said audience sees the contestants and the show as u feel they “read sincerity, consistency of sincerity, consistency of behaviour, and emotional honesty better than we sometimes do” while I feel due to their lack of exposure to the inns and outs of the showbiz industry esp the backworkings of a show like bb like those of us who are chronically online are familiar with they buy what the channels sells often at face value which I personally feel is naivety. Now if it was about the workings of day to day life in the real, outside world I would hands down agree as r elders they have more experience so know more
And in my opinion having a big pre bb fanbase provides an unfair advantage to said contestant right from the start but mere chahne na chahne se kuch nai hota channel will always want to attract those celeb’s fanbases. But mind u this celeb only bb format is exclusive to india. In the west where bb started from they have 2 different bb’s one is celeb bb and other just normal bb with everyday folks as contestants
And I never said others criteria is inferior I just stated that for me I dont agree with that criteria and i prefer another one
And I never said only tv actors skew voting in their favor I’ve been routinely saying the same about social media influencers
And I never said my preference is the correct one for all I just xyz is my preference, it’s what I want and its my subjective opinion. At the end of the day everyone’s preferences are subjective including mine, urs and other gk fans.
The only objective fact is gk won and farhana was runner up and gk had around 37 k live views on insta while farhana had 150 k plus views now how relevant or significant those view counts are is subjective based on everyone’s preferences
And the one thing we again differ on is that you believe the older gen votes on what they feel is authenticity while I believe they vote based on what the channel sells them as authenticity on face value
Also while i do get your point about the value of diversity in contestants coming in to bb but then a lot of them end up getting for the very same diversity and for not being like those fan’s fav contestants lol
Also bb 13 has been the most successful season in bb history and everyone was kaleshi there so it does indicate that while you might not enjoy it personally a season with full of kaleshis can be a hit like 13 was lol
Lastly and this not directed towards you (not towards infi either) but why is that when some one criticizes gk a lot of his fans get really upset but themselves dont hesitate a bit before name calling other contestants like bawasir, gutterhana, druggist amaal genda baz etc? Like are they expecting fans of those contestants wont troll back gk in retaliation? 😂
Very well penned. You write so well.
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