When tears come rolling down... and ratings go zooming up

It was the grand finale of Dance India Dance Li’l Masters. Though not a supporter of kids performing on any ‘under pressure’ show, I have to confess this one had some exceptional talent to boot. But what disturbed me was the last part of the finale. The host had just announced the winner and all the runners-up burst into pitiable tears. My heart went out to them as they sobbed at their loss. A dam had burst. It seemed like a release, a release of pent up emotions, stress and tension. With this outburst it was evident the kids had been under severe stress for long. The great expectations from their loved ones and how they had let them down was so obvious. And oh I forgot to mention these were all aged between eight and 12. Had they let their parents down or had their parents let them down is for us to mull over. I have yet to see a gloomier visual. And for sure this finale will pump up the ratings for the channel…but at what cost? But again, crying on camera has become a part and parcel of every reality show. Chhote Ustaad in its very first episode had kids and their parents crying at the drop of a hat. One father from Pakistan was so emotional about his daughter getting a chance to sing in India, that he spent precious footage on just sniffing and wiping his moist eyes. Then of course, we have seen eliminated contestants of Idol exercising their tear glands every time they have failed to make it to the next round. But tears and TRPs are a deadly combination. The women weeping buckets in fiction shows will vouch for this. And this takes me to yet another reality show of which the promos are on air. Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is back with another season. I recently caught a glimpse of the teaser. A middle-aged one legged singer crooned in his honeyed voice. In fact so moved was one of the judges with his rendition that he went up on stage and sat at his feet. So what is disturbing about this? It is the fact that instead of highlighting his talent the channel had focused on his physical disability for obvious reasons! But that’s television, anything goes to pump up your show. Read more...