Talent hunts - The inside story


Indian TV has been evolving since a long time. From the message-centric Doordarshan serials to the Saas Bahu tearjerkers. But now the flavour of the season seems to be Talent hunt shows : the ones which advertise their mission to be "find the real hidden talent". Some of them are shows like Indian Idol, Fame Gurukul, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa challenge.

These talent shows are the top TRP grossers. They play to the gallery by spicing up the proceedings of the show. So a deeper look into why these shows succeeded.

Indian Idol:

The concept of Indian idol ,borrowed from the American Idol, succeeded because more than the singing,the family background of the contestants were focussed on. And people also had a say in the proceedings of the show ( interactive via SMS). The grand finale was between 2 people: one who was from a middle class family ( always shown to be very humble, god-fearing) & the others was a story of ugly duckling transformed into a swan .. ( from the village fields to the metro stage). The judges being famous personalities also added to the glamour of the show. The second season of the show sprung up some singers who were substandard compared to the participants of the first season.

Fame Gurukul:

Fame Gurukul was an extension of Indial Idol. The singers, of mediocre talent, put all their acting talents to the fore. Staying away from parents, their fickle attitude ,advertisement gimmicks , their foolish schemes to win the event. The audience would have loved to have a winner from strife-torn Kashmir, and Sony manipulated the Jodi to be a Boy-Girl Jodi. Whew.. And the audience were provided with their daily dose of humor,melodrama.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa:

Befor long, this show was producing some of the greatest talents of our indian music industry like Shreya Ghoshal, Kunal Ganjawala. But with the introduction of the new show format, the show has been on a steady downhill in the Quality front. The constant quarrels between the judges ( sometimes i thought school kids were well behaved), bragging about their achievements. And the contestants appeal to the audience of their regions. Talk about Divide & Rule Policy.

The sponsors of these winners, bind them to such contracts, and give them good exposure, even thought there are truly deserving persons who r not honoured. But what happens to them after th contract is over?They r left alone in this world of cut-throat competition. They stay at the top only when they deserve the popularity & handle the fame in a humble way.

Dedicated to the deserving talent :)