How do you make a sellable “reality” show on Indian Television?
Take some young, eager to please, plastic girls and some self obsessed loser guys; Create some love stories and hate stories amongst them; Put some controversies, fights, drama and invariably include the concept of “Marriage”; And you have a popular show!!
I’m talking about the mindless show called Lux Perfect Bride on Star Plus. Let me tell you; despite my feelings about the show I still have to watch it thanks to my mom and sister. Appalled with having to watch such idiotic stuff, my mind started generating compromising explanation for going through this torture. You see, after a certain degree of torture, human mind starts accepting it; be it torturous job, torturous spouse or a torturous TV show:) The compromising explanation says why to watch smart shows of Discoveries, AXNs and Music Channels all the time; I should watch some crap also for the sake of balancing and for the sheer joy of criticizing and ridiculing!!
Concept:
I did explain the so called concept of the show in first paragraph but, let me elaborate that further. As the name suggests, the show is about finding out a “perfect bride(s)”. Your common sense would guess that the guys will be hunting for the perfect brides for them but No; it’s their mothers who are selecting the girls for their sons. That way, the show should have been called “Perfect Bahu (Daughter-in-law)” because guys on the show are shown as mindless creatures who can not take decisions and need help of their mothers for selecting wives. :)
My Views:
Despite being a Marriage show, girls and guys are given least opportunities to interact and know each other. Girls are not living with the guys i.e. prospective grooms but their Mothers!! Why is that? Are girls there to find out a husband or a mother in law? Few will argue that Indian Marriages are more about families than individuals. Agreed, if that’s the case, what about the girls’ families? Why haven’t they been included in the selection process of their prospective son in laws’? Only groom’s family has the right for selection?
This is the most sexist show on the Indian television, it’s even worse than the MTV Spitsvilla. There, only guys were judging girls but here, their mothers as well are judging the girls!!!
Let’s see how contestants of the show are.
Kunwars: Yes, this is how the guys are addressed on the show, as if they belong to some bloody royal families!! One look at them and any sane person would think; do they even deserve a “Perfect Bride” they are hunting for? No looks, no manners, no skills, no decency; there is nothing special about them at all. Who the hell are they to judge some girls on superficial criteria when all of them are mamma’s boys with no brains to make decisions? What are their achievements in life to be able to gain power to select/reject girls? No Answer!
Mammmijis: This is how guys’ mothers are addressed. These elderly ladies throw their ample weight around like some star mothers and are the most ridiculous characters of the show. Most of them are dumb, full of themselves, consider their sons as a gift to this world and all the girls on planet. All they want is a Kaam Karnewali ladki for their prized Kuwar. They are at wrong place; they should hunt for a maid instead!
Kanyas: The Girls!! I think they can star in the Indian version of “Desperate Housewives” which will be called “Desperate Kanyas”. Most of them seem hugely artificial with their frantic attempts to please Mammmijis and Kuwars. I wonder if they have any self respect and why they are allowing themselves to be judged by a bunch of losers. But Alas!! Nowadays, people are willing to go to any extent for publicity and footage. We have seen artificial marriages (read Rakhi Sawant) on TV, compared to that, this bride hunting seem like a mild farce.
I don’t think anybody on the show is there for the genuine spouse hunting. They are there just to enjoy their short stint of publicity. Nobody will take such an important decision of life based on this frivolity. The show seems scripted and participants try to act well but end up acting like some C grade movie actors.
I remember a quote by Neha Dhupia (remember her?): “Only Sex or Shahrukh Khan sells in India!” That’s wrong!! The quote should be modified as “Only Marriages or Shahrukh Khan sells in India!” Marriage stories are everywhere, each TV show is about people getting married, about to get married or willing/unwilling to get married. Indians just want to know who is marrying whom and what happens after that. Star Plus has realized this mentality and has cooked up a marriage dish which people want to taste. That’s called a smart marketing strategy.
Strictly avoidable. If at all you are subjected to this torture (like me), take it as a comedy show and laugh on it. :)
Vaibhavi