|
TV Stars | Hindi | Telugu | Tamil | Kannada | Bengali | Marathi | Malayalam |
Should public voting be s****ped? |
![]() |
Views: 1970
|
Thread Tools | Rate Thread |
TV Stars | Hindi Shows | Telugu Shows | Tamil Shows | Kannada Shows | Bengali Shows | Marathi Shows | Malayalam Shows |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
Reality shows keep multiplying every year but what's common between most of them is that they often produce undeserving winners. This then leads to the speculation that reality shows are rigged. The channel and the producer are not perturbed with this allegation and shrug it off with 'it's the janta who decides the winner.'
It therefore appears that reality shows are not meant to be fair. The scales are now tilting heavily on the side of the unfair. And it's just not the common janta but contestants too are using loopholes in the regulations and garnering votes for themselves. Some participants even go to the extent of distributing SIM cards to their family, friends and the public too. This first came to light when a star couple participating in a dance reality show distributed SIM cards to strangers on the street. Ekta Kapoor was allegedly instrumental in Prachi Desai winning Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 2 and now she's accused of throwing her weight behind Anita Hasnandani, who is a mentor in Dancing Queen. ![]() When Harshdeep won music reality show Junoon, judge Anand Raj Anand termed Harshdeep's win as a good PR exercise. "I don't deny that I asked my family and friends to vote for me. But isn't this a part of every reality show? However, I never went out of my way to garner votes at the expense of my singing. If that were the case then I wouldn't have won the show," Harshdeep defended herself then. In another instance, a L'il Champs' contestant's father chided how his daughter could be eliminated when he'd spend over Rs.75, 000 in garnering SMS votes. Amidst such clutter, won't it be fair to s**** public voting? Abhijeet Bhattacharya disagrees, "Most of the contestants come from humble backgrounds. They don't have the money to issue SIM cards. These children hardly get a penny. As for Harshdeep, I hardly watched Junoon, but I think she was the rightful winner." ![]() ![]() In fact it has been alleged now that some politicians are playing an active role in reality shows by lending regional support to a contestant who speaks their language. Mumbai's Vaishali Made triumphed in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009. The Shiv Sena and MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) were pretty vocal in supporting the Marathi girl. Shouldn't art be devoid of politics? "It's all part of a larger game. I consider it totally crass. Family and friends are fine but it's disgusting to see politicians appealing for votes. They come with large number of followers who vote for their contestant. I doubt whether they really back a contestant or they are trying to score political goals. Elections aren't too far away." said Saroj Khan. The one who is most disappointed is the deserving candidate who misses out to the popular lot. One such talent is Meiyang Chang, who the janta didn't deem fit to be Indian Idol. ![]() It doesn't matter what judges, contestants or critics say but it's all part of public opinion. It's important to know what importance does public voting, in particularly SMSes, hold for a channel. Is it a major source of revenue? A channel insider says, "SMS voting has never been a great source of income. It is there because most formats demand it. I'd like to point out that over the years SMS voting has declined and it will continue to decline further. Viewership is fragmented and besides Rs.6 per SMS is too costly. In future, we'll have to come up with other cheaper means of technology." Shouldn't one be allowed to send just one SMS? Often you find people sending multiple SMSes from one number. "Perhaps, this is something which can be done. We have auditors in our reality shows that monitor every SMS. I don't know the exact number but there is a limit to numbers of SMSes from one mobile phone. The moment it crosses that line, their votes are rejected," the insider adds. If the public vote doesn't count for much revenue can't it be s****ped? Our source explains, "Such a practice shows your viewership. Caste votes are not ideally right but it also enables to reach out to remote corners of the country. The success of Prashant Tamang and Amit Paul is a classic example. As I said earlier, it's the format which demands SMS voting. You can't have an Indian Idol without public voting." disagrees with Abhijeet. " |