15 mins of Stardom

" Agar aap apni chotti ko agle round mein dekhna chatte hain to please mujhe vote kijye, sms 'xyz' to 52323 (If you want to see me in next round pls vote for me, pick up your phone and sms ........) ". Welcome to the world of Reality shows. The oft repeated line is the vote appeal from the contestants. The package on offer has all the trappings of a successful bollywood formula. It has music, dance, performance, entertainment, melodrama, fight between judges with a doze of celebrities and bollywood Stars thrown in. Not to forget the mega bucks involved in the process.

From a humble start with Channel V girl band 'VIVA' and KBC, the reality shows have come a long way. Today no broadcaster(TV channels) ,who means serious business, can live without these reality shows. It has become a formula for generating high TRP's(viewerships) and raking in big mollah. The result is that today there is a reality show on almost everything whether its music, dance, quizzing, cricket, loosing weight, 24x7 peeping into the life of semi-celebrities (big boss) and now the search for the next leader for India (the Lead India show). On the 21" screen(the idiot box, ur television) are young and the old, coreographers and the singers, rising and the fading celebrities. No one has been spared, not even the kids.

What does this constant doze of reality shows does to the contestants. One good thing it does is that it gives a larger platform to show the talent to the world. But actually it is only 15 mins of fame and stardom. What lies beyond this make believe world of reality shows is not so good. The reality show starts with a lot of euphoria. The broadcaster puts mega bucks behind the promotion of the shows. Big brands are roped in as sponsors. While the contestants are on the idiot box, the world enjoys and makes them stars. One of them wins and the victory is celebrated with lot of hype. One more season of the reality show comes to an end with the promise of returning next year (only to be replaced by yet another one). The reality show soon fades away into the oblivion. the contestants and the winners too fade away from the memory of the public, who sometime back used to adore them.

The sucess in the reality show is not a guarantee for the success in future. Its not a passport for the entry into the big bad world of celluloid and entertainment. Outside the studio is the struggle to proove oneself all over again. Some of these guys are really talented. i only wish if the broadcasters who are raking all the mollah on the back of these talented people also do something to promote them, so that they are not lost in the wilderness.