Friday, August 28, 2009

Reality shows... are they real???

Trends on television change a lot.. some years back, family and culture oriented soaps where a hot favourite among the idiot box viewers. The gaudy makeups of actresses, the cunning plots of the vamps, the sweet romances and the "agniparikshas" of the lead character... these were the things that haunted our living rooms that time.
The trend has gone, and usher the era of "REALITY SHOWS"!!! In the beginning, the concept (not original, of course) was a grand grand success. The TRPs of the channels hosting such reality shows shot up. The reason...very simple... the parcipants here were no special people that u and I dont get to meet or those who are above the ordinary. The people there are just the common lot trying to make it big in life by achieving fame and success. An effort that every single common individual does. So, viewers can relate to them. This makes such programs intriguing.
But, recently, dramatization of such shows has gone too far. Some of it is fine, just for entertainment... but showing people crying, the tiffs and bitching between the competitors, narrating stories that will have the participants sympathized, the judges arguing over their differences in opinion, and the perfect background music to complement all of the above situations.... this is very irksome.
And above all, most of them are fake, just for the sake some mirch masala in the show, such atmosphere is created. Shows involving TV actors competiting for comedy, dance etc especially include a lot of these... (sometimes, i wonder if these people should change their designations as TV actors to reality shows' participants!!)
Is it really right to do all such things just merely for TRPs?!
Imagine the dilemma of the participants who are unable to concentrate on their ultimate goal coz of all this dramatization!! And those participants who purposely indulge in such melodramas, dont they realise its hard work that is rewarding and not such publicity stunts?!!
I feel that the TV soaps were much better than such "reality" stuff. At least, in the beginning, they have a Disclaimer stating that "All characters in this serial are fictitious". Its high even the reality shows should put up such Disclaimers so that viewers dont get confused watching them. :D