A reality check

With word that Jhalak Dikhla Jaa may be cancelled this year for the first time in a decade, allegedly to avoid going head to head with Bigg Boss, it looks like reality TV has plateaued, with only the strongest of the strong surviving. Big names like Comedy Circus and India’s Got Talent and even Indian Idol having struggled to make a mark in recent times, reality TV doesn’t seem to have the kind of punch it had a couple of years ago.

The last season of Jhalak got dismal TRPs even though it had names like Karan Johar, Jacqueline Fernandez, Ganesh Hegde and Farah Khan associated with it. Gaurav Chopra, who has been associated with the original British version of Jhalak — Dancing with the Stars — says that the problem lies with a lack of original content. “There’s nothing new. The shows are rip-offs of Western shows, as is the case of Jhalak, Khatron Ke Khiladi or India’s Got Talent,” he says.

Ehsaan Noorani, who is a judge on the reality show, The Stage, agrees that there are too many shows that follow the same format. “When Sa Re Ga Ma Pa first came out, it was the only show of its kind and there was a lot of interest around it. Today, you have many singing and dancing reality shows and none of them are any different from the others,” he says. 

As the only Indian contestant in Dancing with the Stars, Gaurav says that there’s no difference between international shows and the shows in India. “Even there, you have the same drama and rivalry to keep the TRP alive. What we need is something that caters to the Indian audience. Kaun Banega Crorepati is probably one such show. It’s still going strong 17 years after it was introduced. It’s a show that targets both the middle-class and lower-middle class in India. So, people love it,” he says.

Ehsaan adds that an economic approach to shows is another way forward. “It would be better if shows could stay within their budget goals in terms of sets and stars, and have a better idea about what kind of returns one can get. Stage, for instance, is in English. So that makes it a niche show, right there. So, we work with a smaller budget, which ultimately works for the show,” explains Ehsaan.