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MILKING cows and making cow dung cakes — reality content on Indian television gets a rural makeover with Imagine TV’s new show Desi Girl where eight glamorous celebrities will be seen doing all this and more in a village. Village-based fiction shows like Bandini and Kashi on Imagine TV, Balika Vadhu and Na Aana Iss Des Laado on Colors and Agle janam mohe bitiya hi kijo and Do saheliyan on Zee TV have been the flavour of the small screen nowadays. But with Desi Girl, the channel is attempting to experiment with the genre in the non-fiction space. "This reality show is an extension of the wave of rural themes popular on fiction content these days. We thought why not bring it to the non-fiction space and show the real aspects of a village since we have been trying to strengthen our base of non-fiction offerings," says Shailja Kejriwal, executive vice president (content), Imagine TV. The show will be shot in Sialba Majri — "a fairly less conservative village" in Punjab. As per the show’s format, the participating celebrities will stay with the families in the village. Turn by turn, each celebrity will undertake everyday tasks of the villagers such as milking cows, making cowdung cakes, cleaning the house, cooking food for the family, etc in a bid to prove that they aren’t just glamour and style icon but also have it in them to be a true ‘Desi Girl’. Last year, UTV Bindass had come up with a show Big Switch that required celebrity children to give up their comfortable lifestyles to fulfil the dreams of slum children. But Kejriwal says their show is quite dissimilar to Big Switch, which was hosted by actress Genelia D’Souza. "Big Switch was in a set made to look like a slum. Here, celebrities will be actually living out of a village. So even to get their cup of coffee, they would first have to milk the cow every morning like villagers do for their everyday needs," adds Kejriwal. Earlier also, elements of rural India have found place in reality shows such as "Chak De - Shehar Di Kudiyan Te Galli De Gunde", which had city girls competing with small town boys on the dance floor. But a full-fledged reality show based out of a village is a first-time concept in India. Desi Girl, to be hosted by popular actor Rohit Roy, will see glamour girls like Sambhavna Seth, Kashmera Shah, Roshni Chopra, Monica Bedi, Anmol Singh, Rucha Gujarati, Ishitta Arun and Aushima Sawhney. These girls were chosen on the basis of their popularity, lifestyle and public image, says Kejriwal. "Our first preference was to get those girls who would be gung-ho and game for living in a village in such heat. Not everybody can last in these situations. So we got those who were happy being in a village. Then we wanted known celebrities, who are neither meek nor aggressive. Thirdly, we wanted those who have a glamorous image in the public eye and lead comfortable lifestyles in a city like Mumbai. "The basic idea was to show a collision of two worlds — Mumbai and a small village in Punjab," she adds. Apparently, the villagers were extremely receptive and warm to the idea of hosting a reality show with these celebrities in their space. "People in Punjab
are known for being bade dilwale (large hearted). They are
fairly less conservative than a village in Bihar or Rajasthan. After
conducting a recce in most places, we found Punjab as a natural
choice. They were very warm and are excited about having to share
their homes with celebrities," says Kejriwal. The show will begin
in mid May. — IANS
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