stars among us
(c) Puja Goyal
Publication: Bangalore Mirror
High TRP ratings, instant audience connection and good moolahs; reality TV is the next big thing in Indian TV; after Soaps of course, that is. Bangalore now has its share of reality celebrities whose lives have changed and so has their approach to life, work, and people.
"I was attending last year's CULLAH (Mount Carmel's inter- collegiate band and western dance competition), when people at the Channel V stall spotted me. They asked me if I could perform for a video with them, which I did. I realized later that it was an audition," says Sucheta as she recounts how she got into the channel's Campus Star. A second year student of biotechnology at Maharani Lakshami Ammanni College for Women, the 19-year-old is a part of the TV search for the "coolest guy and girl on Indian campuses".
20- year- old Racheal Ninan, from Mount Carmels, is also on the Channel V contest. Both are currently taking their college exams in Bangalore.As Senior Tax Assistant at the Income Tax department, Suprabha SR is an unlikely reality TV candidate. She is presently participating in Comedy Khiladigalu on Zee Kannada, "My friends saw a newspaper ad announcing the auditions for the best stand- up comedian and urged me to apply. I auditioned and was selected amongst 3000 people".
R T Nagar's Roopal Tyagi is an aspiring actress who came to know of 9x's dance talent hunt Yeh hai Jalwa through her model coordinators and now features on it.
While reality TV has been around for a while, it's not the most comfortable environment to be in for most. Especially the moving to Mumbai bit. "I was apprehensive about how living in Mumbai would be like because I had never been on my own before this. All of us were put under one roof and I thought we might have problems, but we didn’t. Everyone was very nice. I was a bit uncomfortable in front of the camera initially and remained cocooned for a while," says Sucheta. "It's been two weeks into Comedy Khiladigalu now. There were very few women who auditioned for the show. The Bangalore audition had only four. I went wide-eyed like a young girl. I never realized how big this was till I saw it on TV. I thought it would be like a stage show but it was different," says Suprabha
Since reality shows are a shot at instant recognition, they have also become a means for some to further their goals.
"I feel reality shows give us a platform to the future. We are able to reach out to the audience and when they like us, we have the production houses offering us work. I am in talks with some producers right now," explains Roopal who is part of Hussain Kuwajerwala's team of aspiring actors and models, Kal Ke Kalakar on the show.
Sucheta is philosophical about prospects of reality TV contestants in the long run. "Some people get lucky to be noticed by influential people but the others I guess get on with their lives." Adds Suprabha, who at time moonlights as a radio presenter, "I realized that comedy is a lot of hard work only after coming on the show. There are second chances on the radio but not on the television. This medium has changed my perspective. If you are bad, you are out."
Despite its harsh realities, the contestants have a lot of support and advice coming from everywhere. "My colleagues support me a lot. Even people on the sets are encouraging. However, sometimes, people advice more than what is necessary. The other day, this lady came up to me and said; 'you have a gap in your teeth better get it filled up. It won't look nice on TV'," laughs Suprabha.
Reality TV is not entirely real either. It does work with a little bit of tweaking. "We do rehearse and the act is planned. We are given a theme and we plan according to that. We work on a choreographed format," says Roopal. "Most of the show is spontaneous. But they do tell us how we have to present ourselves as we are raw and need direction," adds, Suprabha. "They hired a professional choreographer to train us twice because we needed help. But we performed in one take..." reflects Sucheta.
Most are dealing with recognition TV is bringing them. "It has been a learning experience and I got to make lots of friends. One time, I was really homesick and my fellow contestants Jaspreet called his folks up and made them speak to me. My parents are very happy and proud of me because no such thing has happened in our family or their friends circle. Once at a public restroom, a girl was chatting with her friends about me, and praising me without realizing that I was around. She recognized me later and said she would tell her "moholaa" that she had met me," says Sucheta.
For some, old contact from school and college have now resumed interactions; it has also resulted in new contacts. "I abandoned my 12th board exams for the show. Now, old school friends' call up to say they saw me on TV and promise to vote for me," says Roopal.
Publication: Bangalore Mirror
High TRP ratings, instant audience connection and good moolahs; reality TV is the next big thing in Indian TV; after Soaps of course, that is. Bangalore now has its share of reality celebrities whose lives have changed and so has their approach to life, work, and people.
"I was attending last year's CULLAH (Mount Carmel's inter- collegiate band and western dance competition), when people at the Channel V stall spotted me. They asked me if I could perform for a video with them, which I did. I realized later that it was an audition," says Sucheta as she recounts how she got into the channel's Campus Star. A second year student of biotechnology at Maharani Lakshami Ammanni College for Women, the 19-year-old is a part of the TV search for the "coolest guy and girl on Indian campuses".
20- year- old Racheal Ninan, from Mount Carmels, is also on the Channel V contest. Both are currently taking their college exams in Bangalore.As Senior Tax Assistant at the Income Tax department, Suprabha SR is an unlikely reality TV candidate. She is presently participating in Comedy Khiladigalu on Zee Kannada, "My friends saw a newspaper ad announcing the auditions for the best stand- up comedian and urged me to apply. I auditioned and was selected amongst 3000 people".
R T Nagar's Roopal Tyagi is an aspiring actress who came to know of 9x's dance talent hunt Yeh hai Jalwa through her model coordinators and now features on it.
While reality TV has been around for a while, it's not the most comfortable environment to be in for most. Especially the moving to Mumbai bit. "I was apprehensive about how living in Mumbai would be like because I had never been on my own before this. All of us were put under one roof and I thought we might have problems, but we didn’t. Everyone was very nice. I was a bit uncomfortable in front of the camera initially and remained cocooned for a while," says Sucheta. "It's been two weeks into Comedy Khiladigalu now. There were very few women who auditioned for the show. The Bangalore audition had only four. I went wide-eyed like a young girl. I never realized how big this was till I saw it on TV. I thought it would be like a stage show but it was different," says Suprabha
Since reality shows are a shot at instant recognition, they have also become a means for some to further their goals.
"I feel reality shows give us a platform to the future. We are able to reach out to the audience and when they like us, we have the production houses offering us work. I am in talks with some producers right now," explains Roopal who is part of Hussain Kuwajerwala's team of aspiring actors and models, Kal Ke Kalakar on the show.
Sucheta is philosophical about prospects of reality TV contestants in the long run. "Some people get lucky to be noticed by influential people but the others I guess get on with their lives." Adds Suprabha, who at time moonlights as a radio presenter, "I realized that comedy is a lot of hard work only after coming on the show. There are second chances on the radio but not on the television. This medium has changed my perspective. If you are bad, you are out."
Despite its harsh realities, the contestants have a lot of support and advice coming from everywhere. "My colleagues support me a lot. Even people on the sets are encouraging. However, sometimes, people advice more than what is necessary. The other day, this lady came up to me and said; 'you have a gap in your teeth better get it filled up. It won't look nice on TV'," laughs Suprabha.
Reality TV is not entirely real either. It does work with a little bit of tweaking. "We do rehearse and the act is planned. We are given a theme and we plan according to that. We work on a choreographed format," says Roopal. "Most of the show is spontaneous. But they do tell us how we have to present ourselves as we are raw and need direction," adds, Suprabha. "They hired a professional choreographer to train us twice because we needed help. But we performed in one take..." reflects Sucheta.
Most are dealing with recognition TV is bringing them. "It has been a learning experience and I got to make lots of friends. One time, I was really homesick and my fellow contestants Jaspreet called his folks up and made them speak to me. My parents are very happy and proud of me because no such thing has happened in our family or their friends circle. Once at a public restroom, a girl was chatting with her friends about me, and praising me without realizing that I was around. She recognized me later and said she would tell her "moholaa" that she had met me," says Sucheta.
For some, old contact from school and college have now resumed interactions; it has also resulted in new contacts. "I abandoned my 12th board exams for the show. Now, old school friends' call up to say they saw me on TV and promise to vote for me," says Roopal.
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