Tag Archives: Indian Idol

What makes a reality show work?

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With so many “Reality” shows in today’s time (both nationally & abroad) it’s very important to understand why and how a reality show clicks. There have been so many mega-successful shows in US/UK and their counterparts in India (and so many flops) that it is necessary to learn what works and what doesn’t. In this post we try to analyze deeply as to what are the different elements of a reality show and what should be taken care of while creating a new reality show.

Almost all of the reality shows in India or elsewhere are localized versions of already popular US or UK shows. Here are some of the shows which have worked (in India) and some which haven’t. We’ll then analyze all the aspects to understand what it takes to make a successful Reality Show:

  • Mega-successful shows-
    • Kaun Banega Crorepati (Who wants to be a millionaire)
    • Indian Idol (American Idol)
    • Dance India Dance (So you think you can dance)
    • Bigg Boss (Big Brother)
  • Successful Shows-
    • Fear Factor India (Fear Factor)
    • Jhalak Dikhla ja (Dancing with the stars)
    • Sa Re Ga Ma Pa
    • Boogie Woogie
    • Masterchef India (Masterchef US/Australia)
  • Flops-
    • Zor Ka Jhatka (Wipeout)
    • India’s Minute to Win it (Minute to Win it)
    • Survivor India

Contestants: No doubt contestants are single biggest asset of a reality show. Wrong selection of contestants can make or break the entire show. Contestants can be broadly categorized as- “Common man” and “Celebrities”. Depending upon the format of show creative team may decide to have common man or celebrities or a mix of both as contestants. For pure talent based shows like KBC, Dance India Dance, Indian Idol etc it’s  imperative to have common people as main contestants otherwise it looks too dramatic and unreal (remember how we feel when a celebrity wins 50 lacs in a KBC episode?). Celebrities as contestants work very well for reality shows in which drama quotient needs to be high. Questions have been raised about such reality shows being truly “real” but now audience have kind of understood that reality shows involve either good “editing” or good “drama” to look exciting on TV. Some such shows are Bigg Boss, Survivor India, Zor Ka Jhatka. Example of shows having combination of both “common man” and “celebrities” as contestants include Fear Factor (India) and Jhalak Dikhlaja.

Drama: Television is all about drama and not having any drama in a reality show is a sure shot way to kill it. An emotional story can become an important part of show’s success. KBC is known for creating dramatic situations based on a contestant’s profile or based on the question “What would you do if you win a Crore?“. Shows like Bigg Boss rely too much on drama which is demanded by its format. “Zor Ka Jhatka” couldn’t impress audience even with Shahrukh Khan because it lacked both good contestants and drama quotient. If you actually see original “Wipeout” it’s one hell of a funny show and it does it without SRK type host.

Host: Even though host is 3rd most important thing it indeed plays an important part in taking the show to next level i.e. from success to mega-success (like Amitabh in case of KBC), Khatron Ke Khiladi (with Akshay Kumar as host) or from utter failure to moderate success (Dus Ka Dum could have bombed badly if Salman wasn’t there). But in case a show lacks above 2 important characteristics chances of it failing increases- SRK could never save Zor Ka Jhatka and even KBC with SRK couldn’t attract audience as much as Big B. My tip: Get a host with good sense of humor or with lot of character- Raghu/Rajiv and Rannvijay are known for their tough/macho characters and they don’t need Akshay Kumar.

Plot: Borrowed or not, plot does play an important part in a reality show’s success. How? Well first thing is it identifies your target audience. KBC had a national appeal, Roadies & Bigg Boss have youth appeal, Dance India Dance is liked by a specific set of audience and so is Masterchef. Plot helps a production house lay its marketing plan and execute it. Beware! If top 3 things are not in place, plot will never help you win your audience.

Editing: Editing is an important part of any reality show, specially of those shows in which cameras roll continuously. In my opinion India’s Minute to Win it suffers from really bad editing as against its US counterpart. Dance India Dance is edited very well despite it being a talent reality show. There is always a connection between the contestants, Mithun da and 3 judges (Remo, Terence and Gita). Good editing is evident from a show which keeps you glued during the program, bad editing gives you enough reasons to switch :)

Connection: Well this is second last part of “what it takes to create a good reality show” but trust me, unless your audience feel “connected” with your show, you CAN NOT make it work. Connection happens if you get all of the above things “just” right for your show. There is no formula for this, it just happens!

Audience: Audience may include either studio audience or audience watching at home or both. In KBC, studio audience is well trained before shoot- they are told when to clap, how much to clap, when to laugh, who sits in front, who sits in background, what should be your facial expressions.. everything! It’s like a controlled backdrop scenario which is very important taking into consideration the plot of the show. In case of shows like Minute to Win it studio audience is supposed to be very energetic (which sadly doesn’t happen in Indian version). In talent based shows like DID or Indian Idol studio audience makes singing or dancing more enjoyable by clapping and dancing along with the contestants. Shows like Wipeout expect audience sitting at home to be their real audience and the host directly tries to talk to that audience. Audience is important because it makes or breaks your show- understand your audience!

These are the key elements of a reality show, there are many other like sound, camera, direction which are important but they are common to all TV shows.

Do you think there are other important aspects? Please comment..

Indian Idol is back again !!!

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Indian Idol… The name itself brings back lots of amazing moments that Indian Television audience has witnessed. It was a craze amongst all the sections of the society, right from kids to senior citizens. It started airing in India with the first season in 2004-2005. The last season i.e. Season 5 of this singing talent show was aired in 2010. The following year Sony had replaced it with another singing talent hunt show called the X Factor. The show had singers Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal along with film-maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali playing celebrity judges. But somehow the TRP’s of X Factor were not that impressive and did not create a lasting impression on the audience.

Indian Idol Season Six is preparing to hit the small screen in April on Sony Entertainment Television, just before the fifth IPL season kicks off. In fact, the auditions for the show will begin in February. So are you exited to have Indian Back on Television? Who can forget the winner of the first season of Indian Idol was Abhijeet Sawant, from Mumbai. Do you know who were the winners of Season 3 and Season 4 ? I know it’s a tuff one to answer. Don’t worry; here is the list of the winners from all the seasons of Indian Idol.

Season 1 - Abhijeet Sawant

Season 2 - Sandeep Acharya

Season 3 - Prashant Tamang

Season 4 - Sourabhee Debbarma

Season 5 – Sreeramchandra Mynampati

Season 6 –  Well, you will have to wait for it ;)

Indian Idol is incomplete without the amazing judges who have been the backbone of the show. But almost every season judges were replaced with a new one… except Mr Anu Malik. Yes, he is the only judge that has been in all the 5 seasons ;)

Will Mr Anu Malik be in the 6th season as well….? Speculations are high on the following singers – Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Sonu Nigam and Kumar Sanu. And the race to host his show is also on, with Hussain Kuwajerwala and Mini Mathur being considered as the clear favourites.

So get ready for your favorite Show on Television. Do let us know your favourite moments from the previous seasons and also about your all time favourite contestants ;)

Happy Singing ;) and Happy Viewing.

Is the Indian audience ready for “Ring Ka King”??

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Indians must have been familiar with the concept of Akhaada, and the Wrestling competitions, known as dangals, held in villages. But soon this will take the center stage and will soon come into your living rooms. Don’t worry, it’s totally safe ;) Colors channel has launched a new sports entertainment reality show called ‘Ring Ka King’. It consists of 30 wrestlers (Indian and international). Most of us have grown up watching WWF and TNA (Total Nonstop Action Wrestling). We are very well aware of the concept, but as this is a new show, let’s get to the details ;) The reality show is set to debut on Colors Network on January 28, 2012, and guess what; Harbhajan Singh has been signed on as goodwill ambassador.

“Ring Ka King” will spread over 13 weeks and will end just before the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches begin. (perfect timing) In the first four weeks, viewers will see some exciting matches that will crown a heavyweight champion and a tag team champion. And in the subsequent weeks, the champions will get a chance to save their title and fight against the other contenders, who will come their way and throw open challenges to claim their belt.

Well, you might say what’s new about this show!!!

Don’t you think that it’s kind of outdated content? No doubt that WWF and TNA were a huge hit, and also had some amazing wrestling stars that we all remember even today. But as time has gone by, the audience is aware that it’s all scripted and the fights are as good as fake. It will have the same drama, almost same action and stunts. So, why does Colors want to get back this old horse back in the limelight?. May be they are trying to promote the Indian Wrestles and trying to give them the exposure that they deserve. Also it might be an attempt to give the Indian wrestlers an International exposure.

So will you watch “Ring Ka King”? The show has been produced by Endemol, and no doubt that it has created shows like “Indian Idol“, “Bigg Boss” and “Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi“, but will “Ring Ka King” take them to the next level…. Well, only time will tell…. 13 weeks to be precise!

Bhumi Trivedi didn’t lie to judges in Indian Idol 5

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I was just going through the community site of Indian Idol, and i found that a guy called Aditya commented that

“Miss Bhoomi Trivedi told lie in auditions that she had mixed up a Gujarati Rap. Actually that song is from album Karmacy, named Blood brother. Check it out. I strictly hate lairs as an Idol. Don’t vote her for further journey in the same show, if you really want true Indian Idol. Thanks”.

It was then that i did a little bit of research from my side ,of course to validate the details as i have no personal grudges with Bhumi, and i found that the Gujarati Rap song  which she claimed to mix with a  song by Spice Girls was   in fact by  ”Karmacy”  named BLOOD BROTHERS ,but she didn’t lie , because she said i mixed up a gujrati rap with spice girl (If u wanna be my lover) and she did it brilliantly.

So Aditya my friend, please go through the videos of Karmacy and the audition ,and think twice before u speak.

Sunidhi Chauhan Speaks

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You are now  famous through a TV singing competition. Do you see any shadow of the earlier you in the contestants?
I do relate to with the contestants on Indian Idol. Some of them are nervous, some are confident. I see my shadow in every one of the shortlisted contestants as they go through a gamut of emotions — anxiety, fear, excitement, exhilaration — everything

Give us your advice for the budding talent.
1. Don’t show attitude — it will always rub people the wrong way. There is a fine line between arrogance and confidence.
2. Work Hard  and have faith. God never closes his eyes and your hard work will be recognised.
3. Be a good judge of your own strengths and weaknesses. Do not get disillusioned by false praise while at the same time don’t lose hope because of naysayers. Recognise what’s your singing strongpoint and chase it.
4. Never ever give up practice. Luckily, singing is something that can be practiced anywhere and everywhere — in the car, in the bathroom, at your workplace etc.
5. Once you taste success, do not let it get to your head. Don’t forget your roots. What you were before you became successful is as important as what you become after and the two should never differ.

How is the pay structure for the newcomers?Do you think they are exploited?
More than focusing on the apparent exploitation, let’s talk about the fact that they are given a platform. What could be more important than that? Opportunities such as these are not given enough importance and talent is not made use of to the maximum potential. We are quick to point out exploitation but we fail to understand that for success you need immense talent and immeasurable hard work. If you have these capabilities, no one can stop you or ill-treat you.

What do you like about reality talent shows?
The reach is fantastic! From holding auditions in various cities to organising bike trails to even the remotest parts of the country, Indian Idol has managed to tap into the far out recesses of the country as well. We reached out to the people who couldn’t reach us. There were no barriers at all. Believe me, this reality is REAL.

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