New Delhi, November 13
The death of a contestant, allegedly from acute depression after being called “impotent” by host Rakhi Sawant on her show ‘Rakhi ka Insaaf’, has put the spotlight on reality shows on Indian channels and the role of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in overseeing what is being dished out to unsuspecting viewers in the name of reality TV.
While industry experts are of the opinion that provocative reality TV shows like ‘Rakhi ka Insaaf’ and ‘Bigg Boss’ that dig deep and make a public spectacle of people’s private lives need to be regulated, political parties want a complete ban on such shows. Demanding a ban on ‘Bigg Boss’ for organising the “fake wedding” of housemate and TV actor Sarah with Ali Merchant and “misleading people”, Congress MP Jagdambika Pal says shows like ‘Big Boss’ and ‘Rakhi ka Insaaf’ portray the country in “bad light”.
“Sarah and Ali are already married and living together for over a year,” says Jagdambika Pal, adding that “a fake wedding is not
acceptable and a case should be slapped against producers of the show for misleading the public just to hike their channel ratings”. He says he will give a notice to the Speaker to raise the matter of such “cheap and vulgar shows” in Zero Hour.
BJP spokesman Prakash Javedekar, who terms reality shows as “far from reality”, also wants viewers to practice discretion while selecting serials to watch as a family. “We will also raise the issue in Parliament, but there is not much the government can do in this case. I think producers should behave responsibly and ask themselves what kind of India are they portraying to the world. My advice to people watching such shows is to avoid them completely. If people stop watching them, their TRP ratings will fall automatically and channels will stop producing them.”
Media analyst Akhila Sivadas is clear that shows like 'Rakhi ka Insaaf' and even 'Emotional Atyachaar', which are highly intrusive in the name of being open about issues and breaking the silence, are extremely insensitive. The shows are more like kangaroo courts, sitting on a judgement over people who have no control to stop what is happening
to them.
"Unless reality shows are handled well and sensitively no one should indulge in them. Such programmes have to be handled with extreme maturity and sensitivity and cannot be dumbed down," she says.
Meanwhile, Jagdambika Pal says he will also take up with Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Sonia why the
content monitoring cell set up by her ministry to look into such issues was not taking action.
