Ekta ruled Indian Television for good 10 years or so and made fortune by making monkey-ass out of us viewers. I do not know if she has totally lost the touch but I can say for sure that number of shows coming out of her production house is negligible. Currently, reality shows have taken a whole new look and are intimating some or the other. Many have found Star Plus’s Sach Ka Saamna a nerve-racking one, whereas Sony’s Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao is touted as a skin show if not just freakish and scary. NDTV Imagine’s Rakhi Ka Swayamvar is still not digestible to many and is looked down. How can she do that? It is just a gimmick of making money out of a marriage. Rakhi is cheap and her show is cheapness personified. And many such comments have been made. I find all this a tad too irrational and a lot more hypocritical. Time and again it has been established that we Indians are the hypocritical ones and when it comes to Television, nothing and absolutely nothing which is made/re-produced in our country goes without a hostile response.
I find nothing wrong with the above three reality shows. I have never been an Idiot Box fanatic but a good entertainment at the end of day doesn’t do any harm. I have enjoyed just one show (MTV Roadies) in last 6-7 years post Buniyaad/Nukkad/Fauji/Swabhimaan days. And unlike many others, I have always admitted of catching few episodes of Saas-Bahu saga from Ekta factory. How can I demean them if I do not see them and critic myself? Also, upon finding them utterly uninteresting I have stopped but never made a judgment on those who continue to watch, again, unlike many others.
As I said, these reality shows might be scripted but I do not find them obscene and vulgar. What I find disturbing is that plethora of women/girl-centric television serials have found a foothold after Ekta K-Series. If Ekta promoted debauchery, infidelity, multiple marriages, multiple re-incarnations, these newbies are flaunting ‘How women/girl should be treated as in our society?’ I saw one such show called Ghar Ki Laadli Betiyaan whilst surfing between Iss Jungle and Sach Ka. This was being aired on Zee TV. I thought of stopping for a minute or two but ended up seeing till the end because I could not believe what I was seeing. I was quite bothered after seeing that show for 20 mins or so.
Father-in-law along with his two sons is standing knee-deep in a small river and is about to do his own Shraddh. Both his daughter-in-laws are standing on the shore and are crying. He is furious and angry with his younger son’s wife. He says, “ Tum sab apni marzi ke maalik ho gaye ho. Mera marr jaana hi achha hai.” No where it shows he is sad and being ill-treated. Incidentally, he comes across as an egoist, stubborn and conceited. The elder son then starts shouting and blames the younger one for not keeping his wife under control and blames him and his wife for the on goings. All this while, younger one doesn’t speak or defends himself or his wife. Father continues to pour the ashes in the water.
How a person who is alive could throw his own ashes and conducts his own shradhh is a different thing to laugh about. Anyways, so finally the youngest daughter-in-law, who is supposedly the culprit breaks in, takes small quantity of water in both her hands and says, “Thik hai. Mai is nirmal jal ko sakshi maanke kasam khaati hun ki aaj se mai koi bhi nirnay akele nahi lungi. Mera koi bhi nirnay aapse bina puchhe nahi hoga. Agar kabhi aapko laga ki maine aapki marzi ke khilaaf kuchh bhi kiya toh mera mara muh dekhenge.” Her husband still says nothing. Father-in-law content after hearing this comes out of water. I was quite appalled at this. Women still are being shown as home bound, children raising sex objects. They cannot have opinions and decisions of their own. Still? Ekta had not done enough damage I guess; now these people have taken it on them to finish it off.
I spoke to my mother and sister after this and they filled me in with many such serials being screened these days. Majority of them are showing women in contemptible and low-priced fashion (Agale Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo, Uttaran et al) and if not that they are shouting from roof top child marriage can work out if the family is well off (Balika Vadhu). What the hell. I find all these disturbing and alarming and not the reality show which are most often scripted but still enjoyable. I can surely switch off or move to next channel and I suggest those who find reality shows offending to do the same but in my case I am not taking back anything from the show after it’s over. However, the ones I mentioned above are clearly throwing wrong signals and many people are indeed catching them and implementing them. These shows must be banned or must be toned down.
Coming back to the aforementioned reality shows, Sach Ka Saamna (Copy of American show Moment of Truth which in turn was based on Columbian Show) has created a furor everywhere. Parliamentarians want it go off air citing various reasons which I cannot fathom and find juvenile. Can I not then rationalize my standing by stating watching someone revealing his/her secrets on national television is much more interesting than watching the same very politicians throwing chappals and shoes at each other right under the nose of the speaker. And that did not happen long ago. Two days ago in J&K assembly, similar story was repeated. Isn’t that sending wrong signals everywhere? Why target TV? People who are participating are adults and aware of what are they getting into. Their family and friends accompany them most of the times and even they take this in their stride (at least on screen). So, what’s the big deal if two or more people in mutual consent decide to rip off their innermost details to the world. The world can watch, enjoy and ignore or go to sleep; but no ways banning it is the way out.
Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao is a copy of Popular British show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here wherein celebrities live in jungle for a period of two months with basic human necessities and have to go through horrendous tasks to earn the good hearty meal else they will be fed just rice and soup. Once again, moralists are up against it. The show is obscene and vulgar as female contestants are being shown taking the shower in open wrapped in minimal clothing. This is their argument. It is jungle and things are supposed to be the way it is in jungle. You cannot have four walled wrap for a shower in jungle. When basic necessities are provided in smallest quantity and contestants are bothered about their next meal, which animal is going to fuck their brain in the next task, how they will survive another day in jungle with no amenities after living a life of a celeb, moralists are complaining about the skin show and the shower in jungle sitting in their comfy home.
A lot has been said about Rakhi Ka Swayamvar. I found the show or tamasha as few called it a total time pass. The show seemed a dud in the first two episodes, probably because the Rakhi we saw was not the Rakhi we knew. She came across as a coy and quiet unlike her blatant self. I will not go into the details of the show and the 16 prospects that came from different parts of country (world) to woo the item girl. But surely I will cite out few scenarios/dialogues and stuff like that. To state the facts, the show is a super hit. No matter what people say, Rakhi and the channel have raked moolah like there is no tomorrow. Rakhi and her mannerisms were nothing less than hysterical at times. But then that’s Rakhi. Sab chalta hai. I find it very irritating when people voice their opinions in complete off-putting mode. Isn’t it a very basic thing to understand and implement that what she is doing is her decision and how she does that is her choice. What is the need of character assassination? If you do not like the content of the show or whatever that is shown, criticize that but generalizing a person’s character based on it is a big put off for me. She is not very fluent in English and sometimes her grammar and pronunciations are off-mark, but she has voluntarily accepted the fact eons ago and prefers to talk in Hindi. Still, I see people making fun of her. The same people, seeing an interview/performance of a non-english speaking actor with subtitles below go gaga about the person’s intelligence or beauty and find no flaw. Even in corporate world I have seen most of the European executives signing off in their local language. Why single out Rakhi? Another case put forth often is she is cheap-slut and a drama queen. So? What harm her drama is doing to you or your life or your character? She is flamboyant, just the way Nandita Das is not or Sherlyn Chopra is. Big deal. So what if she keeps harping on how sad her childhood was or how she doesn’t get along with her parents and how much she had to struggle to come up in life? She says she has not compromised a bit and has done no wrong to survive so far. I will believe that on face value. I am not supposed to do anything beyond that. Did not Salman’s fans forgive him on his face value when he said he has not committed any crime? I did not forgive him or accused him. For me, it doesn’t matter whether he committed crime or not. It’s his 3 hrs presence for which I can judge him. Same goes for Rakhi and whoever. People should just stop being judgmental and mind their own personal life than murdering the disposition of others.
Which brings me to the conclusion, all those moralists/parliamentarians/public should stop deciding on my behalf what to watch and what not to. I would also say, if they feel those women-demeaning serials are giving them a kick, please carry on. I did say those should be banned instead of reality shows, but each to his own I say. You enjoy your drama; I will dance on my routine.
Big बाज़ार
1 week ago
