If you are controversial and have made rounds of the prison and courts, you surely have one sure shot source to earn money. Reality shows. Television seems to accommodate oddballs, wannabes and fringe-sitters, and give them an image makeover in the socio-cultural space. Should channels and viewers say no finally, Divya Kaushik asks
Where will you find people charged with crimes like passport forgery, domestic violence, casting couch and even murder and kidnapping, dancing arms in arms, chatting like best buddies and sharing a recipeIJ Probably, in your own living rooms, on the so-called idiot box. The small screen has given adequate platform and opportunities to people with dubious background (or to put it bluntly criminal backgrounds). Examples are many: Monica Bedi, Aman Verma, Seema Parihar, Rahul Mahajan and the recent addition to the list is Vindu Dara Singh. The son of popular actor Dara Singh was unable to create any benchmark with his work in Bollywood but he got some share of fame as a winner of Bigg Boss season 3 and now we will remember him for having links with the bookies in IPl spot fixing case. No matter how serious the charges Vindu is facing at present, he knows that rehabilitation waits him on TV, where he can cry how he was framed and that he really was innocent.
The charges that make him so unpopular today might make him the highest TRP puller for the channels in the years to come. May be, we can see him return in the future seasons of Bigg Boss sharing gyaan on how his bad karmas have helped him evolve as a human being! And again we will watch him walk away smiling with the trophy and prize money in some other channel.
let’s take more examples. Rahul Mahajan, who faced the charges of domestic violence and was also a part of drug abuse case, still emerged as the most sought-after by reality show producers and channels. Shows like Bigg Boss on Colors in 2008, Rahul Dulhaniya le Jayega on NDTV Imagine in 2010, Comedy Circus on Sony in 2011 and Nach Baliye in 2013 on Star Plus not only gave Rahul a chance to clean his stained image but also encouraged others who come with a questionable background to be a part of celebrity hood.
It was a big news when Monica Bedi announced her comeback in Sanjay leela Bhansali’s debut TV production Saraswatichandra on Star Plus. In fact, it was one of the promotional spins for the channel. And the actress who was arrested in 2002 along with Abu Salem by the lisbon police for entering Portugal with forged documents, was more than happy to make a return to acting as a modern vamp in the serial. Who would have thought that someone who was convicted by the Indian Court for passport forgery and with cases under section 420 (cheating), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and section 12 of the Passport Act for procuring a passport on a fictitious name, would be an ideal fit for a known serial on TV. It matters little that her acting chops are rather lean in the show.
In case you want more such stories, you need not look at many shows across the channels. Bigg Boss stands as an ideal example. The show is known for the participation of people with criminal records. Seema Parihar, Shakti Kapoor (involved in casting couch case) have all been a part of the show. And let’s not forget the popular hosts of the reality show — Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan. The former is serving his jail term already and the latter is preparing for his hearing. Need we say moreIJ
We wonder how many times the channels would think of how parents will introduce these characters to growing children who are aware of everything in a digital society. New concepts and promoting talent is looked forward to on television, but is it fair to be promoting those who come with stained backgroundsIJ Just because some planner thinks they make for a clutter breakerIJ