‘It’s only human to be biased’

Veteran director and producer Mahesh Bhatt gives his take on the truth behind Indian reality shows.

Mahesh Bhatt sharing the reality behind the controversies of these reality shows as per his own experience himself as one of the judges of the reality show — Jjhoom India.

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How real are the reality shows?
Well, I don’t know about other shows but Jjhoom India is a condensed one-hour reality of three hours of shooting.

How did you come to be a judge?
My brother Mukesh told me to go and meet people from Sahara One and finally I was appointed as one of the judges.

Is there a need for transparency in the voting system?
I don’t think that is possible. And there is one thing to be kept in mind, the common man is more interested in the magic and not the trick of the magician.

But doesn’t it finally lead to the blame-game between channel and the contestant?
The blame-game is unavoidable.

And a boost to those TRPs?
I can’t comment on other such shows but as I said this show is all about reality, so the activities are broadcasted as they are.

Are reality shows really just ‘promotional series’?
Everyone associated with such shows is looking for publicity — judges, contestants, channel, guest artists, basically everyone. It has proved to be a fine platform when it comes to grabbing eyeballs.

Do judges confuse the public by being biased?
It’s only human to be biased. But I don’t think it will have any influence on public voting.

Everyone associated with such shows is looking for publicity — judges, contestants, channel, guest artists, basically everyone. It has proved to be a fine platform when it comes to grabbing eyeballs.