First it was in Sa Re Ga Ma - the music competition on Zee. And now, on Indian Idol II. I am not much of a TV watcher; but in recent times, thanks to mom, we had got to watching these two competitions. I don't necessarily understand or relate to the hoopla associated with the contestants. For instance, what is a 17-year-old youngster's claim to fame except that he took part in a music competition and was one of the last two left in the race? But what I don't understand even further is the melodrama that seems to have become a part and parcel of these reality shows.
On one of the episodes of Sa Re Ga Ma, Ismail Durbar's protege was almost voted out of the show. Durbar, feigning anger, said he was walking out of the show. He, of course, didn't - his disciple remained in the show, while some other contestant, Nihira, got to leave that day. But a lot of drama followed this small stage act - in the very next episode the remaining three contestants proclaimed that they were going to quit the show in protest against Nihira being voted out. A lot of chaos reigned in the studios for a while and angry words were exchanged between the audience & mentors, mentors & participants and everybody who mattered or didn't matter. Eventually, the mood quietened and the programme continued. Result - sympathy was roused for one of the "bad" singers remaining in the fray, Debojit, who eventually ended up becoming the "voice of India", securing over 3 crore votes from the North-East.
It was déjà vu all over on the Indian Idol show this week - Amey Date, one of the hot favourites to win the show, was voted out while Anuj, the weak link, remained safe. Soon after Amey's name was announced, Sonu Nigam got up from his seat. Speaking on behalf of all the judges he stated that the judges wouldn't be part of the decision. And then again chaos reigned in the studios - suddenly everybody was shouting at the top of one's voice, walking out and generally making a lot of noise. Fervent pleas from Amey or the hosts of the show did little to temper the situation. The judges who walked away to the green room were finally "persuaded" to return to the stage, and finally Amey spoke sensibly to quieten the crowd.
What I don't get is this - The format for the show - that in the gala rounds people will have the right to decide who remains in the competition and who doesn't - was not decided by the public. So, why is it that suddenly the people become enemy and statements such as "Viewer's don't know how to vote or I guess, I am expecting too much from the Indian audiences" thrown at them? I agree no rule/law/government is really infallible. But once the verdict is in, shouldn't one accept the same? And the errors in the format, whatever they are, should be examined and corrected from the next possible moment, which in this case will probably be the next season of the show. I fully understand voicing one's protest against a verdict, and I have nothing against that. I can understand one being upset over a good talent like Amey being voted out. But if this is the format that was decided upon isn't it ethical that one abides by it until changes are done to the same formally? Also, how right is it for the contestant who continues to remain in the show? For instance, even as the drama unfolded Anuj just stood next to Amey rather uneasily, bearing all the humiliation, for not one person had a good word to say about him; in fact, in all the gala rounds so far the judges never had anything nice to say to him - one wonders why the "known judges" picked him in the first place. Yet, the fact is that the public loves him and are continuing to vote for him. But what about his feelings? How de-motivating must it be for him? Does anyone ever consider this?
I also fail to understand why all these so-called reality shows that depend on public voting are increasingly becoming region-centric. Contestants are asked to speak in their mother tongue (especially seen on Sa Re Ga Ma) and ask their "region" people to vote for them. Votes are counted on region basis. And suddenly it becomes one region against another. Why should a simple singing competition be turned into a fracas between regions?
Frankly, sometimes these shows tire me out - when a competition is not viewed as just that and turns into a battlefield, and emotions run high and too much unnecessary hype is created around each contestant. Somehow, I believe the fun element is completely taken away from all of these shows - for the participants as well as the viewers.
On one of the episodes of Sa Re Ga Ma, Ismail Durbar's protege was almost voted out of the show. Durbar, feigning anger, said he was walking out of the show. He, of course, didn't - his disciple remained in the show, while some other contestant, Nihira, got to leave that day. But a lot of drama followed this small stage act - in the very next episode the remaining three contestants proclaimed that they were going to quit the show in protest against Nihira being voted out. A lot of chaos reigned in the studios for a while and angry words were exchanged between the audience & mentors, mentors & participants and everybody who mattered or didn't matter. Eventually, the mood quietened and the programme continued. Result - sympathy was roused for one of the "bad" singers remaining in the fray, Debojit, who eventually ended up becoming the "voice of India", securing over 3 crore votes from the North-East.
It was déjà vu all over on the Indian Idol show this week - Amey Date, one of the hot favourites to win the show, was voted out while Anuj, the weak link, remained safe. Soon after Amey's name was announced, Sonu Nigam got up from his seat. Speaking on behalf of all the judges he stated that the judges wouldn't be part of the decision. And then again chaos reigned in the studios - suddenly everybody was shouting at the top of one's voice, walking out and generally making a lot of noise. Fervent pleas from Amey or the hosts of the show did little to temper the situation. The judges who walked away to the green room were finally "persuaded" to return to the stage, and finally Amey spoke sensibly to quieten the crowd.
What I don't get is this - The format for the show - that in the gala rounds people will have the right to decide who remains in the competition and who doesn't - was not decided by the public. So, why is it that suddenly the people become enemy and statements such as "Viewer's don't know how to vote or I guess, I am expecting too much from the Indian audiences" thrown at them? I agree no rule/law/government is really infallible. But once the verdict is in, shouldn't one accept the same? And the errors in the format, whatever they are, should be examined and corrected from the next possible moment, which in this case will probably be the next season of the show. I fully understand voicing one's protest against a verdict, and I have nothing against that. I can understand one being upset over a good talent like Amey being voted out. But if this is the format that was decided upon isn't it ethical that one abides by it until changes are done to the same formally? Also, how right is it for the contestant who continues to remain in the show? For instance, even as the drama unfolded Anuj just stood next to Amey rather uneasily, bearing all the humiliation, for not one person had a good word to say about him; in fact, in all the gala rounds so far the judges never had anything nice to say to him - one wonders why the "known judges" picked him in the first place. Yet, the fact is that the public loves him and are continuing to vote for him. But what about his feelings? How de-motivating must it be for him? Does anyone ever consider this?
I also fail to understand why all these so-called reality shows that depend on public voting are increasingly becoming region-centric. Contestants are asked to speak in their mother tongue (especially seen on Sa Re Ga Ma) and ask their "region" people to vote for them. Votes are counted on region basis. And suddenly it becomes one region against another. Why should a simple singing competition be turned into a fracas between regions?
Frankly, sometimes these shows tire me out - when a competition is not viewed as just that and turns into a battlefield, and emotions run high and too much unnecessary hype is created around each contestant. Somehow, I believe the fun element is completely taken away from all of these shows - for the participants as well as the viewers.
8 comments:
Quite apart from the melodrama and the contriving of emotions (which are staple elements of "reality shows" anyway), the voting format in Indian Idol is flawed anyway. If viewers were asked at the end of each round to vote out a particular contestant, the results would have been much fairer. Instead, in the greed to make money through SMSes, voters are encouraged to vote repeatedly for all the contestants they like - which leads to a completely random mishmash of results.
[jabberwock] You are bang on about the voting format - it truly is completely flawed. I do believe a lot of it is to do with commercial reasons - some kind of a business deal between the channel and the mobile companies, obviously. If people were just asked to vote out a particular contestant, where will the 3-crore-plus (assuming that is true) SMS (and the money that equates to) come from? :)
Thanks for visiting...
You are right. Asking viewers to choose the best singer is pretty stupid. Not that they are not discerning enough. But various other factors come into picture which mess up the selection, and more often than not, the good ones are sent away due to some absolutely silly reasons. But once they have made the decision to let the voters decide, then they should stick to it.
I don't watch either of these shows, because, as a singer myself, I feel terrible when a good singer is eliminated. But what you said about Amey is true, I almost felt sorry for him!
[shruthi] You are right - it is very painful to see a good singer eliminated. I felt very sorry for Amey as well. And I fear the same fate is in store for Karunya, which is truly sad, for I think he is the best singer left in the fray. Oh well!
Emma, all I know about these shows is what I read here. And I am glad it is like this.
[mridula] I can tell you this - you are not really missing anything by not watching these shows :).
I have not watched any of these shows. But they seem to resemble 'American Idol', which I didnt watch either, but heard my friends discussing seriously. Public voting, and judges who could be extremely rude...., Are our TV shows copying this? We had perfectly good music shows on TV years ago. Why these??
First time on your blog. Have been going through your other articles as well. I like the easy flow of words, and appreciate your feelings concerning the other issues you have dealt with.
[anu] Thanks for visiting and the kind words. Indian Idol is the "Indian" version of the American Idol, and hence the format remains the same, including public voting and extremely rude and insensitive judges. You are right - we had perfectly good music shows earlier; I remember one that was on Doordarshan, and had the support of the likes of Lata Mangeshkar. Not sure what happened to those, however.
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