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MARKETING GIMMICK?: Are these reality shows really about talent hunt?

          

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On Sunday Special, CNN-IBN’s Bhupendra Chaubey discusses the hidden reality of reality Television.

Is this the price of fame for young tender minds? Are these reality shows really about talent hunt or are they just another method of marketing forces to get more eyeballs on television. From lazy small towns to big cities, the desire to shine in the arc lights is putting pressure like never before on our children.

The question discussed is whether the reality shows bring out talent in children or put unnecessary pressure on them. To discuss the issue, there was the Second runner up of Little Champ Sameer, psychiatrist Seema Hingorrany and a well known Sufi rocker, who never went to any of these reality shows, Rabbi Shergill.

Bhupendra initiates the discussion by asking Rabbi, “Do you really think that these talent hunts are tools to dig out real talent or is this at the end of the day just marketing?”

“I think the real question is how do you define talent. Is it merely singing, is it merely an above average singing talent that you are talking about? I think talent has increasingly become very narrowly defined. I would see real song writing, music composing, and instrument playing as real talent. These shows prepare them for playback singing and once these guys graduate from the reality shows, they begin from the bottom of the ladder again,” says Rabbi.

Is it more to do with stage performance? Is that what these shows talk about?

Rabbi says that the shows talk of a very narrow aspect of the musical talent.

Bhupendra asks Sameer if he was disappointed to hear that he was the second runner up and that he had not won the championship. “What was your first response? Were you disappointed,” asks Bhupendra.

“No. I was not disappointed. But I was feeling good that time because I was the finalist and I thought I was so lucky. I was standing in front of an audience of 25000 people. Among them were many fans, who were cheering for me. It felt very good,” says Sameer.

Did you at any time feel like asking the judges that what was the difference between you, who was given the second runners up prize and the person who stood first?

Sameer says that the winner well deserved. It was about votes. I had 45 votes less than the winning contestant.

Forty-five votes! That was the margin between Sameer and the winner.

Bhupendra takes to the discussion forward by asking Seema if it is really possible for children in this age group to be taking these decisions on their own. After all, isn’t it the parents who encourage the children to participate in these shows?

Seema says, “I think parents do have high expectations these days. One thing we have to understand is that the reality shows are a platform to showcase talent but only one aspect of your talent. Lot of parents come crying and getting into depression that they want to get into the show but they are not getting the right ticket to get into the show.”

Bhupendra adds, ”In a sense you agree with Rabbi that these TV shows are designed in such a way that they look at only a specific part of the talent.”

For me as a viewer it is more about their stage presence and not about their ability to be good singers, composers and so on. It is more about how they perform in front of the cameras.

Agreeing with Bhupendra, Seema says that kids at the age of 16 are still learners.

Is it all about fame at any price and is Reality TV a talent hunt or just marketing gimmicks?

Talking about marketing gimmicks to add the TRP ratings, Bhupendra asks Seema if she agrees that the tension in these shows is in an inbuilt factor, that the producers of these shows are looking to create more tension so that they get more eyeballs.

Seema says, “I think that the tension is inbuilt. Lot of people get sadistic pleasure in watching these people get in a tension mode. Sixteen-year-old teenagers lack emotional intelligence. Their emotional intelligence is not developed.”

“Maybe the Reality TV people are trying to capture that,” adds Seema.

Taking the discussion to Saagar, Bhupendra asks, “When you went to participate in the show, were you living your own dream or the dream of your family members?”

However Saagar says, “It was my dream to be a singer. My parents told me if I did not want to participate in the show, it was okay. They said if I wanted to be a singer, it was okay and if I did not want to be, then also it was okay. So, I took the risk to go on air.

“What are you planning to do now? You are the second runners up. Are you getting offers? Are you planning to make singing a professional career,” asks Bhupendra.

The second runners up for the reality TV show Sameer says, “The programme changed my life. I am doing movies. I am singing in the movies. I am acting in movies. I am doing shows abroad. So I am really busy now-a-days.”

The winner takes all. But what happens to the loser?

Meanwhile, achievers like Rabbi did not participate in such Reality TV shows to climb their ladder of success.

“I lived in simpler times and a simple society,” says Rabbi.

Concluding the discussion, Rabbi says that there is no substitute for talent. He adds that part of it is inborn and part of it is cultivated and it is the cultivated part of the talent, which helps people climb the ladder of success.