To hit or not to hit

I am stunned by the tendency towards violence in some roadies! Raghu Ram, co-selector and creator of MTV Roadies, talks of his take on fights among cast members in the show...

I am stunned by the tendency towards violence in some roadies! When casting for the show, Rajiv and I knew that we had selected some interesting personalities. I could see clashes happening even at that stage. But I never imagined that it would escalate to this level, with Palak attacking Tamanna and Pradeep bullying Devarshi. Now that puts me and the team in a big dilemma.

On one side is our commitment to shoot exactly what happens and to show it, pretty or not. We do not judge. On the other hand is my aversion to any kind of bullying.

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But to get real behaviour out of the cast members, it is essential that the crew become “invisible” to them. There can be no interference.

When Jade Goody bullied Shilpa Shetty in Big Brother, there was a huge uproar. They had no tools to put an end to it, but we do. Rannvijay interacts with the roadies in each episode. Before they move on from Udaipur, he warns them against violent behaviour. But not before another violent incident. Palak VS Tamanna, round 2.

I wish it had not happened. But we made our decision. Apart from breaking our biggest rule and talking to the roadies off-camera to warn them against hitting each other, we would show their group dynamics entirely, including the ugly bullying. We know people might hate us. We’re ok with it…