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Reporter chats up villagers at Sialba Majri and uncovers their side of the story
It would be foolhardy to assume that the 3000-odd villagers of Sialba Majri are disinterested bystanders when a reality show is being shot in the background of their own homes. Contrary to what the channel authorities believe, they have been making mental notes throughout the shooting and gossiping about little else whenever they meet.
A walk through two of the houses where the contestants live shows that the contestants must have adapted well to the situation. There are two wooden beds with bedspreads, table-fans, a mirror stand and a kitchen with all the usual utensils in place. When asked if the contestants actually live here for all the 24 hours, the housewife of Kashmera Shah's home nodded fiercely, saying the contestants had been staying with her for two months now. When asked if the generators in her home belonged to her or to the channel, she refused to answer and ran inside. Manvender, an auto mechanic meets his group of friends every evening to discuss the latest goings-on in the village. He drops a bomb when he opens the conversation saying, "There have been a lot of fights on the show, some downright ugly ones as well. The biggest fight happened during Monica Bedi's voteout. What happens is that the contestants vote against each other. The two contestants with the most votes have to face the panchayat. Monica Bedi was voted along with Ishitta Arun and the panchayat decided to eliminate Ishitta. But the other participants threatened to walk out of the show if Ishitta went. In the end, the finalists had their way and Monica was sent packing from the show." This is contrary to what the contestants gushingly said about them bonding with each other.
Manvender's groupies also debunked Imagine's Nikhil Madhok statement about Sialba Majri being chosen for its rustic Punjabi appeal. "This is quite a popular location for shooting movies and teleserials. Over the years, apart from a lot of Punjabi music videos and serials, a few Hindi daily soaps were also shot here some time back. Parts of many recent movies like Singh Is Kinng, Veer-Zaara, The Hero and Kisaan have been shot here. Some parts of international movies like West Is West and Train To Pakistan were also filmed here," Manvender said.
Rajvir, another resident of the village, said that most of the episodes had already been shot and that the finalists of the show are Ishitta Arun, Kashmera Shah and Roshni Chopra. "We even saw the tasks assigned to them the other day. Ishitta had a dhol strapped to her and was running through the village. Kashmera had to make rotis for everyone while Roshni is given the task of lighting the village with a torch," he said. Manvender said that some of the tasks were quite amusing. He said just because Chopra's name means light, the channel must've thought of the task for her.
The villagers are hoping that the show brings prosperity to their village and makes it a popular destination. The guys admit that watching the contestants from television in flesh was a little disconcerting in the beginning but they've been quite sporting. "The contestants have made cowdung cakes, something which I have never done," Rajvir said admiringly. All may not be lost for the girls after all.
here is link http://www.screenindia.com/news/babes-to-belles/611988/
It would be foolhardy to assume that the 3000-odd villagers of Sialba Majri are disinterested bystanders when a reality show is being shot in the background of their own homes. Contrary to what the channel authorities believe, they have been making mental notes throughout the shooting and gossiping about little else whenever they meet.
A walk through two of the houses where the contestants live shows that the contestants must have adapted well to the situation. There are two wooden beds with bedspreads, table-fans, a mirror stand and a kitchen with all the usual utensils in place. When asked if the contestants actually live here for all the 24 hours, the housewife of Kashmera Shah's home nodded fiercely, saying the contestants had been staying with her for two months now. When asked if the generators in her home belonged to her or to the channel, she refused to answer and ran inside. Manvender, an auto mechanic meets his group of friends every evening to discuss the latest goings-on in the village. He drops a bomb when he opens the conversation saying, "There have been a lot of fights on the show, some downright ugly ones as well. The biggest fight happened during Monica Bedi's voteout. What happens is that the contestants vote against each other. The two contestants with the most votes have to face the panchayat. Monica Bedi was voted along with Ishitta Arun and the panchayat decided to eliminate Ishitta. But the other participants threatened to walk out of the show if Ishitta went. In the end, the finalists had their way and Monica was sent packing from the show." This is contrary to what the contestants gushingly said about them bonding with each other.
Manvender's groupies also debunked Imagine's Nikhil Madhok statement about Sialba Majri being chosen for its rustic Punjabi appeal. "This is quite a popular location for shooting movies and teleserials. Over the years, apart from a lot of Punjabi music videos and serials, a few Hindi daily soaps were also shot here some time back. Parts of many recent movies like Singh Is Kinng, Veer-Zaara, The Hero and Kisaan have been shot here. Some parts of international movies like West Is West and Train To Pakistan were also filmed here," Manvender said.
Rajvir, another resident of the village, said that most of the episodes had already been shot and that the finalists of the show are Ishitta Arun, Kashmera Shah and Roshni Chopra. "We even saw the tasks assigned to them the other day. Ishitta had a dhol strapped to her and was running through the village. Kashmera had to make rotis for everyone while Roshni is given the task of lighting the village with a torch," he said. Manvender said that some of the tasks were quite amusing. He said just because Chopra's name means light, the channel must've thought of the task for her.
The villagers are hoping that the show brings prosperity to their village and makes it a popular destination. The guys admit that watching the contestants from television in flesh was a little disconcerting in the beginning but they've been quite sporting. "The contestants have made cowdung cakes, something which I have never done," Rajvir said admiringly. All may not be lost for the girls after all.
here is link http://www.screenindia.com/news/babes-to-belles/611988/
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