For
beginners, Bigg Boss is an Indian
adaptation of the famous International Reality TV Show - Big Brother, a term which originated from George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The concept of the show is such that a bunch of
conflicting characters (lesser-known-TV-and-film actors) are made to stay with
each other in a house for 90-odd days. How they turn friends, bicker on petty
issues, get into ugly confrontations, form groups, play stupid, politicize the
developments and try to nominate one another to be eventually voted out by audience one by one till the last man standing form the crux of the show.
Season
after season, the show has been getting eyeballs. After the first few boring episodes
wherein the contestants manage to keep up the façade by taking politically-correct
stances, the audience begins to enjoy themselves watching the drama unfold
before their eyes as familiarity (and competition) starts breeding contempt and
the bunch of jokers come out of their shell and start baring their base selves. And we, as a voyeuristic audience, love that!. Don’t we?
So,
what kind of people makes it to the show? The makers of the show consider names
that will get them a good mix of entertainment, vulgarity, controversy,
romance, verbal-duels and well, lots of TRPs. Established celebrities usually
avoid reality shows. So, either those who haven’t been lucky enough to get
their ‘big break’ in the entertainment industry or ones who remain in focus for
all the wrong reasons usually make the cut. Some of them accept the offer from
the channel merely out of desperation while others come with calculated risks
hoping that the show will catapult their sagging careers to new and favorable
heights.
The
host of the show is played, surprisingly, very well by popular film-star Salman Khan. I think there couldn’t have been a
better choice. Though he plays the role of a buffer by showing the mirror to
the participants every now and then, he himself loses temper and behaves in a
quirky manner from time to time. Thus, his personality blurs into the format of
the show to the T.
Now,
what all happens in the show is not something that propelled me to write this
blog. Instead, what caught my fancy is the intention and hope with which the
participants agree to come on the show in the first place. If I am to put it succinctly,
I would say it is decent money, national exposure and possibility of lucrative projects
in future that drive them to join the show. So, what happens to the winners
eventually? What about the runner-ups? Does the show really boost their career
in any which way?
Contrary
to expectations, history has it that the show has done little to make
directionless careers head northwards. None of the winners from the previous
seven seasons has benefitted from the show and went on to make it big. Today,
as I write, the winner of Season-8, Gautam
Gulati, must be over the moon and somersaulting in his new-found glory (He
turned out to be the winner in the Grand Finale last night).
I
think what proves to be the nemesis for the contestants is the fact that they
get 'overexposed' on the show which is like a death knell for actors. I think
actors need to have an aura of enigma and mysticism in order to be successful
professionally. Once they get exposed to the death, they fall out of favor with
the audience for they have seen all the facets of their personalities. Spectators
tend to lose interest in the characters these actors play on-screen for they
know how the actors actually behave when they face certain situations in reality.
For example, if an actor (as a contestant on the reality show) is well-known
for breaking down under slightest of pressure or doesn't know how to take criticism/ antagonism
in their stride, he will never be convincing enough to pull off role of a
tough cop on-screen. By the same token, if another actor is notorious for being
a foul-mouthed guy, he would never be able to draw reverence from audience when
playing God in a mythical saga.
It
is indeed heart-breaking to see that even after struggling throughout the seasons and passing the litmus test,
winners’ careers do not get wings. I seriously hope that, unlike previous
victors, the winner of this season (Bigg Boss-8) goes on to succeed in life and
bags lucrative offers in the industry. Sadly enough, that hasn’t been the story
so far. They come out of obscurity to give fleeting public appearances only to
be slipped back into the abyss of oblivion and mediocrity. Alas!
