Monday, October 11, 2010

IT'S BIG BOSS ALL THE WAY!


Imagine yourself in a wild run through murderous jungles, leading a deadly gang of 14 dacoits, hiding from the eyes continuously chasing you and you’re still moving on. I guess you are already gritting your teeth!

And now switch to another gang of 14, not dacoits but our own celebrities in a jungle of conversations and unexpected state of affairs, only the jungle is more beautiful, posh and urbane!

Seema Parihar, the new contestant for BIG BOSS Season 4, must have been going through the same transformation as several murders and trials later (she is still under trial for certain cases though) she walks on the red carpet of the house of Big Boss.

To add to the sparks and flashes of the starry house, we had 13 other known faces, some for their talent and praise and others for being the bad boys of bolly and telly-world both…well, the Big-Boss never skips this balancing act in his ‘adda’.

But one thing is good for sure. Like the previous ones, this time too, the cynosure of all eyes is the host, none other than the Bollywood hunk Salman Khan, who opened the season by welcoming all the fourteen guests or ‘housemates’ as they would call it.

But would the contestants this time, combining actors, advocate, thieves and dacoits, be able to sustain the audience’s attention like the previous seasons did? Or this time it is going to be a li’l different with a different combination of participants or lesser known faces?

We did a small survey to find out what Indorians thought about it.

“Why not? People have always liked the show. Earlier too the participants were a combination of good and bad. And that is how it must be. We would be too bored if there are all good people in the house. I think this time too the show would rock as always.” Opined 36 year old Shilpa Mehta, Insurance agent by profession and a TV buff too.

Well, that taken but what is it this time that would keep the ball rolling for the audience?

“It’s the format itself. Reality TV has become so popular in India that people hardly prefer watching other formats. It is a blend of emotions, drama, and suspense. You get served everything in one plate and that too LIVE! As for Big Boss, it’s something like the feeling I get when I go out with my colleagues on a business trip. You are living, though temporarily, with strangers day and night accommodating their good and bad habits and behavior under one roof. So it’s a real-life situation to which you connect better.” Says 29 year old Sanskar Sharma, Director, Indore Indira Institute of Management Studies.

So it’s not only women but men too who are ardent followers of the show. But let’s find out what do the most loyal telly-watchers, the housewives think about it.

“Though I don’t follow the show hard and fast, but it’s the fact that the whole family watches it together, gives more pleasure to me.” Confesses Mrs. Meenakshi Gaud, homemaker. Sweet that was!


But some replies were not so sweet:

"It's weird how these kinds of shows turn dacoits and hooligans into celebrities. I mean how could they deserve to get so much of publicity and attention as participants of a National TV game show? And to top it all, they make big bucks in the process! What impact would this have on the younger members of the society?" Regrets Siddharth Kumar, Director- Marketing, 9 n 10 Productions.

“As for the TRPs, every show, every format has had its ups and downs. There’s always a saturation point with the audience. And though this show has clicked well all this while with the people, it might take quite some time to reach that level of saturation, maybe another 2-3 seasons. After all, people like to live into the real world but they even like to fantasise.” Concludes Dr. R. A. Sharma, businessman.

Well, let’s see how soon the saturation point arrives, but till then it’s just Big Boss all the way!