Its a lazy afternoon on a supposedly busy Tuesday, so, I bunked my macro-economics lecture to sit back and relax and ponder over what really matters at this point of time. Of late, I am addicted to movies like a wasted young person is on crack. As any urban youth, I have multiple questions about my future and the path that lies ahead of me. Nowadays, the marketing efforts of all the programs are aimed towards two things, interest the audiences and make them believe that they can do it too. Whether this talent search really hones your skills or not, I really don't know, but I certainly know one thing, packaging certainly dupes the consumer of what lies within. All the fuss over Amit being selected as the Indian Idol marks the level of fervor and hidden dreams held by the people of a particular community, in this case, the Gorkhas of Siliguri. It is said that Hedonism really makes you plastic, but, the more we have, the more we want. Again, as they say in marketing, wants and needs are what the companies aim at, and with these shows, I just feel that how foolhardy we sometimes can be. Just two years back, when Fame Gurukul was doing its rounds, I overheard a group of young student saying "Kal maine Qazi ke liye 300 rupaiye ke votes diye re", meaning "I've spent 300 bucks just to vote for Qazi". Time and again, the "talent" of these winners have always been questioned, but amidst all this chaos, I realized one smart move by these telly giants.
Point Number one: Choose a person having a humble background. Mix it with pathos, and lo! the dish is red hot to garner oodles of sms'es and concerns.
Point Number two: Have these sporadic tiffs arranged between the judges so that it heats up the environment, as people love seeing famous personalities getting jacked.
Point Number three: Get them to sign record contracts that sensible people do not even mind looking at, but the hype and the way they are marketed appeals mostly to the masses, consisting mostly of lower and middle class homes. They see a winner in themselves, and the long queues during the auditions just goes to prove how instant shot of fame and success can put fool you in the rat-race. 15 minutes of fame is all you get and then, these winners have all the time in the world making petty appearances here and there to show that they are being heard.
Point Number four: We all love altercations and catfights. At the back of our flicking mind, we have this schadenfreude attitude that always draws our attention to the so-called "tamasha" in colloquial. This alone sells like hotcakes and thus, these celebrities do not mind mud-slinging as well. Interesting.
Given the situation, there is no stopping these television producers. Herd mentality is best followed on the silver screen, one apes some foreign show and others follow suit. I dread the day when there would be days sans "saas-bahu" (mother-in-law-daughter-in-law) soaps and full of glitzy and fabricated, lacklustre reality shows that seem unreal at the very thought of it. God bless India!
