Reality TV Shows in India

The reality television craze has not only hit America, but the entire world and India is no exception. The first reality show in India was on Channel V and was a “making of the band” show and it opened the door for these reality shows:

Big Boss
Big Boss is the Indian version of America’s “Big Brother.” The show features fourteen celebrities who live in the same house for three months and have all their movements filmed. As in “Big Brother,” the houseguests have to perform certain tasks. But, in Big Boss, the houseguests “gamble” on their tasks, gaining money if they win but losing money if they fail at the task. One houseguest is taken into the Confession Room each week to nominate two houseguests to evict then the viewers vote.

There was controversy in season 1 as Salil Ankola was ordered by the Mumbai High Court to leave the house due to an agreement with Balaji Telefilms in which he agreed he would not participate in a show that competed against them. He was replaced by Deepak Tijori.

Roadies
Roadies is a very popular MTV India reality show that is now in its fifth season. The show features 13 contestants who are chosen by judges Raghu Ram (the executive producer of the show) and VJ Nikhil Chinappa after a round of auditions. There is drama and high energy on the show as the contestants race from one destination to another, performing tasks along the way. Contestants are eliminated along the way until there is one Roadie, who wins the grand prize of Rs 500,000. This season, the show went international, visiting such destinations as Bangkok and Malaysia.

On the Job 2
On the Job 2 is the second season of the MTV India show “On the Job.” This show features contestants battling it out by performing 13 unusual jobs (such as a jingle composer, promo producer, and a visual merchandiser) to win an internship in Dubai. The tagline of the show is “Jobs your parents won’t understand.” The show is hosted by Roadies 5.0 contestant Bani and just judges are journalist Pritish Nandy and VJ Nikhil Chinappa.

Splitsvilla
Another MTV India series, Splitsvilla, is India’s first romance reality show. It features two guys (from Roadies 4.0 and Roadies 5.0) hunting for love and they have 20 girls from which to choose! The contestants live in a villa in beautiful Goa. They go on dates and mingle at parties, with the girls using their wits and sexiness to try to win the hearts of one of the guys. The girls have to perform tasks on each episode and those that don’t measure up are eliminated. The tagline for the show is “Where Love is War.”

Ek Se Badhkar Ek
Ek Se Badhkar Ek is a Hindi television reality show that features 16 stars from the music and television world. The contestants pair up then must perform both a song and dance routine. The contestants are judged by singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya and choreographer/director Ahmed Khan. The show is hosted by Ravi Kishan. The viewers vote for their favorites and each week a team is eliminated based on viewer votes and judging. The winner is named Sabse Badkar Jodi.

Scooty Teen Diva India
From 1,500 girls ages 13 to 18, only 15 were chosen for the chance to be named Scooty Teen Diva India International 2008. Drs. Purnima Mhatre and Niti Desai teach the girls about skin care and nutrition while Deanne Pandey is in charge of their physical workouts. Achala Sachdev is on hand to show the girls how to walk the runway while Sabira Merchant helps them work on their personalities.

The show is hosted by VJ Cyrus Sahukar and Anaitha Nair. The jury panel is made up of fashion designer Rocky S., dancer/choreographer Shiamak Davar, actress Prachi Desai, actress Dipannita Sharma, and VJ Sophie Choudhary.

Indian Idol
Indian Idol is based on the popular UK show “Pop Idol” which also inspired “American Idol.” The show searched for the hottest young singing talent in the country. Much like the American version, the series has produced many in the top 14 position who have gone on to fame despite not winning. Rahul Saxena from Season 1 was offered a song in a new film Om Shanti Om and Amit Tandon got work on a new serial. Season 2’s Panna Gill has done stage shows and has recently released a solo album, as many Indian Idol contestants have. Suhit Gosain from Season 3 appeared in a KitKat candy bar advertisement.

Jodi Number One
Jodi Number One is an Indian reality dance show on the STAR Vijay channel. It features both dance duos – often television stars, but sometimes real life couples - competing against each other. Judges Kala, Prashanth, and Ramya Krishnan choose two of the finalists while the viewing public gets to choose the third. The winners take home 10 lakhs in prize money.

The show covers not only the couples dancing, but their lifestyles, families, friends, and all the effort they put into the competition to win.

Jhalak Dikhlaja
Jhalak Dikhlaja is based on the popular show “Strictly Come Dancing” from which America’s “Dancing with the Stars” was derived. Celebrities compete while doing such dances as the salsa, jazz, and cha cha. There was a bit of controversy surrounding the show in Season 2 when actress Mallika Sherawat refused to be a judge due to a scheduling conflict. The producers offered her more money to judge only six episodes, but Sherawat felt that would be cheating the audiences (because she wouldn’t be there for the final round) and still refused the offer.

Mr. & Ms. TV
Mr. & Ms. TV is a popular Hindi reality show that seeks to find the best Hindi television stars. The six female and six male celebrity contestants are paired up then compete in challenges that include dancing, dubbing, and acting. The judges are Sonali Bendre and Madhur Bhandarkar. The pair with the lowest scores by the judges is eliminated while the winner pair is named Mr. & Ms. TV.

Nach Baliye
Nach Baliye is another celebrity dance reality show. The celebrities are often television stars who are allowed to show another side of themselves by dancing. Each week consists of rounds such as the introductory round, the village dance round, the comedy dance round, and the romantic dance round.

The Great Indian Laughter Challenge
This show searched for India’s funniest stand-up comedian, but almost all that appear on this show enjoy a surge in popularity. The judges are Shekhar Suman and Navjyot Singh Siddhu. After the first two seasons, The Great Indian Laughter Champions featured the top performers from the first two seasons. The first female comedian to be featured on the show was Aarti Kandpal.

Ustaadon Ka Ustaad
Ustaadon Ka Ustaad is a Hindi reality talent show that showcases talent from other channels. Stars from shows such as Indian Idol, Jhalak Dikhlaja, Nach Baliye, and Laughter Challenge compete against each other in singing, dancing, and comedy routines. The winner is named the Champion of Champions.

Voice of India
Voice of India offers a platform where hopefuls can realize their singing dreams. Like Indian Idol, it auditions singers from all over the country. The judges are all bigwigs in the Indian music industry - Alka Yagnik, Jatin Pandit, Lalit Pandit, Abhijeet and Aadesh Srivastava. The show is hosted by Shaan as each week the contestants go through emotions such as tension and joy, trying to become the voice of India. The winner receives a contract with Big Music as well as a Chevrolet automobile.

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