For last month or so there has been a lot of hullabaloo about the face off between KBC and Big Boss. KBC tickles your IQ (if you have one that is) and is a rags to riches story on TV (with slight dose of the desi melodrama {main paise jeetonga to apni maa ka ilaaz… /bhai ki padhai … / behen ki shaadi … etc}) while BB appeals to the fetish of voyeurism (whatever is permissible in Indian TV) in every man. One is hosted by Sallu bhai (flavour of the season) and other is hosted by Bachchan ji (evergreen). Both shows could have co-existed with harmony but they decided to take each other head on.
With the telecast of the 1st episode of KBC, it very clear who is the real Big Boss. It has been the most successful reality show in Indian Television history. It did not just reinvent AB (from where his ‘2nd innings’ took off) but also paved way for a number of reality shows. The formula was simple, CCP (what we MBAs do a lot), CUT COPY PASTE. Take any successful reality show and copy the format in desi istyle. Indian Idol, Big Boss itself, India Got Talent, Master Chef etc all are lineage of this mega show. I guess the only original reality shows that India has ever produced are Rakhi ka Swayambar and now Rakhi ka insaaf (Puneet, I hope you do see this one too as you are her No. 1 fan. {Actually, no other country can have these shows as no other country has Rakhi [even though these shows are also rip offs]})
Coming back to the face off between BB and KBC, the result was out last week itself when Sallu bhai introduced the contestants. I guess in race to compete with KBC, they completely overlooked the participants. The house breeds Dacoit, Thief, Lawyer, Actors, Models, Losers, Controversial figures and even foreigners. Following are the contestants (and possible reasons why they have joined):
Sweta Tiwari: if Raja can do it so can she
Manoj Tiwari: if Sweta can do it so can he
Seema Prihar: to play the role of all rounder – Dacoit, Actor, Politician all in one (many don’t know she acted in the movie based on herself and is now an active politician)
Abbas Azmi: to look for prospective clients in the house
Rahul Bhatt: to escape from FBI
Veena Mallik and Begum Ali: to promote aman ki asha
Ashmit Patel and Sakhshi Pradhan: they have already proven their credentials in satisfying the thirst of voyeurism via respective MMS
Sameer Soni, Sara Khan, Anchaal Kumar and Hrishant Goswami: uhh …. Uhh!! I wish at least they know why they are there.
Only other place where such heads are bundled together under one roof is our respected Parliament (ironically there also all people do is fight). So if someone is looking for masala, I guess they will turn to channels like Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha (which are now shown live) rather than tune to BB.
F.N.-- BTW from this weekend Akshay will be "serving" his show and Rakhi bhi insaaf karegi at 9 p.m.