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“The participants’ journeys through the show keeps me hooked”
By Sania Balwa
Passions: Fictionalised reality, anyone?
Published on: Jan 6, 2023, 22:45:29 IST
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“The participants’ journeys through the show keeps me hooked”By Sania Balwa
The lockdown in 2020, the year that reality TV shows like Too Hot To Handle, Love is Blind and The Circle released, was timed perfectly for me to get acquainted with these shows.
They were funny and different. I liked seeing how the participants behaved. Their journeys through the show got me hooked enough to look them up after the show ended. Once I get hooked to a show, I have to watch it through. I loved the concept of The Circle—how to fool someone via social media!
And sometimes, these shows work as great background noise when I’m doing chores. It’s entertaining enough, yet not too serious.
I never thought I’d watch Big Boss OTT, a lockdown special. But, a friend who follows Bigg Boss and Splitsvilla religiously persuaded me to give it a try. Since it was just six weeks long at a time when nothing else was happening, I gave in. I even got hooked onto the regular seasons! My friend and I got really involved in the participants’ lives.
All this is reality TV in many ways, but it is also scripted because the producers put the participants in various situations to see how they will behave. Even so, it keeps us entertained.
Sania Balwa, 30, is a Mumbai-based hotelier who recently watched White Lotus and The Recruit.
“Reality shows can’t evoke the same emotions as fiction”
By Andrea Hooper
I tried to watch Too Hot To Handle and Big Boss last year, and failed. Reality TV shows are just not for people who like well-thought out shows or movies. And stalking reality TV stars on social media and decoding how much was true and how much was fabricated is not my cup of tea.
Yes, reality TV may work, especially those with great concepts like The Mole and The Circle. But I’d rather watch light fiction or stand-up comedy. Or something with an intriguing plot.
Some Western reality TV shows are just not relatable in India. Like Love Island, which is just people trying to sleep with each other, and Too Hot To Handle, where there’s a sex ban. I mean, it’s so easy to not have sex with a person!
Let’s not forget that reality shows are scripted. As much as they try, these shows can’t evoke the same emotions as a plot like that of Parasite or Love Actually.
There is so much else to watch: Docuseries like Harry and Meghan or Game of Thrones and its prequel; Euphoria, which is also a visual treat; You is brilliant for a rom-com with a serial killer twist. And then there are classics like Friends.
Reality TV is a way for people to become famous. Great! But I’d rather see some real acting skills on screen.
Andrea Hooper, 31, is a Delhi-based writer who loved Squid Games and recently watched Emily in Paris.
