Who's the Big Boss?

The second season of "Bigg Boss", the Indian version of the internationally acclaimed show "Big Brother", came to its 'jumbo' finale yesterday night. The show had 14 newsmakers including controversial names like Rahul Mahajan, Monica Bedi, Jade Goody and Sanjay Nirupam.

And Ashutosh Kaushik has been named the winner of Bigg Boss 2, a show that enthralled audiences across India and had become a topic for conversation and debate in colleges, workplaces and even roadside tea-stalls.

Ashutosh was one of the three finalists on the show along with Zulfi Syed, who is better known for his brush with Bollywood, and Raja Chaudhury, who tasted a bit of fame while dancing along side his now separated wife, television actress Shweta Tiwari.

I had a lot in my mind going over this show , yes I watched almost every episode each night after coming home..Infact, it was my daily dose of TV entertainment.
I had predicted most of the twist and turns and tried my instincts on most nominations and evictions...and I wanted to write my thoughts about this silly show. It did become a great topic of discussion during my lunch breaks with my lunch partners!

Now, that it is over, I wanted to put my thoughts of 100 days into one article.
Lo and behold, I read this today..the Shobha De 's article on this show and Mr.Rahul Mahajan in particular.
And I feel her words are imprints of my thoughts...all I wanted to say and write. She has summed up every bit of it...my take, my frustration, my wonderment...etc,etc.

Here it goes...

"Rahul Mahajan is an oddball. And that’s an understatement. And yet, he has the country rooting for him after his exit from a perverse reality show called Bigg Boss. Why perverse? Because it is next to impossible to figure out why anybody would watch a show that features a motley lot of losers competing for a crore of rupees at the end of the ordeal (their own and the viewers’). To win the hefty prize money, contestants are not required to possess even a modicum of knowledge/skill/intelligence/talent. They are picked for their notoriety quotient. Obviously, the canny producers believe the sleazier the track record, the more eyeballs they attract. And they may be right! The ghastly set reflects the overall tone of this manipulative show, which provides vicarious thrills to millions of addicts who wait for their daily fix at 10 p m.At different times, the show has hosted the likes of a gangster’s moll (Monica Bedi), an item girl (Sambhavana Seth), a man accused by his ex-wife of physical abuse (Raja Choudhary), an oily politician (Sanjay Nirupam) and of course, the ‘hero’ of the show — Rahul Mahajan. It can’t sink lower.

Mahajan’s popularity is what baffles the most. Either, the late Pramod Mahajan’s errant son is a master strategist, capable of shrewdly judging audience expectations and cleverly playing to the gallery, or he is a born (lady) killer, who successfully managed to fool the buxom ladies on the show into believing he was the man for them! Playing Krishna, may have been scripted, but eventually it was Rahul playing himself that got the TRPs soaring. Reportedly, bookies had Rs 80 crore riding on Rahul winning the show!
There is something vividly fascinating about Bad Boys. Sure. But here was a guy whose antecedents reek of the worst human traits imaginable. Caught half-dead in a drug-induced orgy with his murdered father’s confidant/secretary. Accused of violent behaviour by his battered bride of three months (divorced soon after). Known for his debauched and despicable reputation in social circles, today this same man is being propped up as a hero of some kind. Ever since his departure from the show, he has been in the papers and on TV channels giving lengthy interviews and discussing a future in Bollywood (as what? Mogambo’s successor?). While even such a crazy scenario is possible, what is shocking is the suggestion that Rahul could or should stand for elections. That he is being wooed by political parties... that he himself is playing hard to get (his sister Poonam is already in the fray).

Have we lost it completely? Next, Sanjeev Nanda will declare his candidacy. Sanjay Dutt has been courted and feted for a while, too. These are but a few examples of aspiring politicos with criminal records cashing in on their badnaami. It is not them, but us — their audience/supporters, whose collective judgement is in question. If disrepute is all it takes to make money, acquire fame and win TV shows/ elections, why bother with anything else?Ask urban, educated viewers of Bigg Boss why they watch it, and they will confess sheepishly that they are riveted by the inanity on display. They know they are being fooled, that most twists and turns are scripted, that the entire thing is rigged to boost ratings. That they are being made monkeys of. And yet...

Perhaps people watch such shows to feel better about themselves — “How would i have behaved in so-and-so’s place? Would i have said this... done that? Never! I would have taken a different route...” Vicarious thrills at their best! It makes one feel superior... instantly better about oneself. “Look at those idiots... God! What a bunch of jerks.” But the real jerks and losers are us. As I watched Rahul with a puke-green face mask (to improve his complexion!), swaggering around the set and talking about his ‘honesty’.... as i read his subsequent quotes charitably nominating a rival (Ashish) as the winner (“He really needs the money”), i had to doff my hat. This is pure ‘Dostana’. All Rahul has to do now, is seal it with a kiss a la Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham. This ma ka laadla can’t get any worse!"

Thanks Shobha De, I havent read your books yet but I like your articles...and this one is just too perfect to be edited or cropped...its just me , straight from the heart and into your words.