Season of reruns & returns

Winners have to win again. Competitors have to compete again. Those who lost have a second chance. No, these are not some prophecies from a Greek oracle; this is the state of reality television, today!

Remember Abhijeet Sawant, who won a popular reality singing show some time ago? Well, he's back on television competing with other singing sensations. His competitors have been a part of some reality show or another.

Others like Rahul Vaidya, Ishmeet Singh, Harshit Saxena, Raja Hassan, Amey Date, Rooprekha Banerjee, Amit Sana, Vineet, Aneek Dhar, Toshi Sabarwal and Debojit Saha are back as well. Which raises a very important question: aren't the reality shows meant for unearthing fresh talent?

Rahul Vaidya, who was contestant of the first season of a reality show, feels the fun is "to compete with the stars. It's the first reality show that has come up with the concept of a cross-over reality show on television." But does Rahul like to compete with people that he already has competed before with in the past? "It gives me space for self-evaluation. It's like improving upon your best," says Rahul.

Many participants, who gave a blink-and-miss performance, are coming back now on such shows. Himani Kapoor justifies this trend: We are all good friends off the screen and so it doesn't matter if we compete on-screen. And it is no secret that these shows are basically meant for entertainment and good TRPs." Himani further points out, "Not everyone who wins a reality show get a chance in playback singing. So, everyone wants a second chance." Rooprekha Banerjee, who has been a contestant of one such show, says, "It's a good way to improve upon yourself."

Even television actors are redoing the same act all over again. Prachi Desai and Ronit Roy, who were already part of one dance reality show, were again seen shaking a leg on a similar dance show on another channel. Perhaps, it's all about putting the old wine in a new bottle!