I saw umpteen number of blog posts bashing up the entire concept and execution of the now infamous show “rakhi ka swayamar”. That by itself conveys the fact that it has achieved which any tv show would want – attention. This is not a post to glorify the program, but to see it in a different perspective and not shun it completely for invalid reasons.
1. TRP and Ad revenue – It doesnot matter if you watch it becoz u love it or becoz u hate it…what matters is whether u watch it or not. That way, it has certainly worked wonders. The TRP ratings are quite high which obviously means that the ad revenues pour in. In short, a success for the organizers if purely seen as just any other tv show.
2. Entertainment Vs Sensibility – Since when did the indian audience demand sense in the shows ? They need serials that tug at their emotional chords, reality shows which either a dark horse must win, or those with hot hunks and divas with attitude. You can make them to do all circus acts, or make them bitch about each other or make them laugh, cry, romance and wht not and we would gulp it all down with zeal and await with licking lips for more. Coz that is entertainment for us. We believe it and yes, we are most keen to know about other’s lives. Even if it is all staged, who cares ? It satisfies my daily dose of reality show!
3. Insult of the institution called marriage – For once, assuming that the entire show is indeed true and she ends up marrying one of those jokers, i dont see the entire execution as an insult to the institution of marriage. For ex, compare it with any typical arranged marriage setting that happens across households in india. Its just a larger than life and better version of the same drama that happens in the confines of a home. By any standard, rakhi would get to know more about the suitor than if she had agreed for an arranged marriage. So, it is bad but better than the more popular and accepted way of marriage.
4. Suitors – Coming to the heros who occupy the centre stage, you must be kidding if you feign ignorance about the sheer celeb power that exists in india. You must see the fan mail and phone calls that knock their homes. The instant mob that gathers in 2min on the news of a celeb in the neighbourhood, just to have a peek at them. So, if given a shot to actually wed one of them, it is only expected for people to apply in dozens. Just like how a sw engr seeks a gride/groom from IT industry, the suitors are also pretty much aspirants of the glamour industry. Thry either end up marrying a celeb or lose to gain their 2min of fame, giving interviews to local mags about their experiences.
5. Rakhi, the entertainer – Rakhi has never claimed to be a social activist nor an intelligent film maker. She asserts her item girl status and being an entertainer for profession. You gotta applaud her guts to entertain people across the world not just with her appearances in movies but also by taking it home into her life ! How better can an entertainer get ! How more seriously can someone take their job ?
In short, its probably a marraige which actually ends up making money ! Unlike every other, where we spend a lot ! After all, the honchos at ndtv imagine are not dumb !
This entry was written by , posted on July 25, 2009 at 5:51 pm, filed under my 2 cents and tagged biz talk, movies, reality show. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
This is the start of a “iPonder” series, where i would be expressing thoughts that fly above my head. Here goes the first…
Fan Clubs In India
75 of every 100 movie viewers in India are from south india. Having lived most of my life here, it doesnot come as a surprise for me. Some of the stars here have fan clubs numbering into 1000s. These fan clubs celebrate their buddays, movie released, conduct camps n wht not with the star amassing great reputation and credit. The question is, “why such an unexplainable idol worship, only in this part of the country?”
One explanation by manish saini, is as follows. During the past, the north used to develop much faster than south, with more no of vela people in the south. Also, most of them being agriculturists had more free time at hand. No of achievers being low in south, translates into more admiration for each achiever. Admiration coupled with time factor to keep themselves engaged resulted in todays fan hysteria. Any more theories ?
This entry was written by , posted on July 14, 2008 at 3:18 pm, filed under iPonder and tagged iPonder, movies. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
