Who wore what, who danced with whom, what banter and jokes were shared on the sets and who shed some tears — this is precisely what trends on social media just before any new episode of a reality show is aired. Social media posts talking about any contestant’s brilliant performance or talent would be few and far between, and often the last to go viral. So, when singer Abhijeet Sawant, the winner of the first season of the singing reality show Indian Idol, commented recently that “in Hindi reality shows, the tragic and sad stories of contestants are redeemed. The focus is only on that”, it seems he was pointing at something clearly evident in reality shows on TV for the last few years.

The debate around ‘are reality shows scripted’ or ‘do they coach participants to manipulate emotions on screen’ is not new. However, Abhijeet’s comments surely drew attention to this all over again. Also, over the years, it is not just dance and singing reality shows that rely heavily on drama, the trend is often seen in a game show (like Kaun Banega Crorepati) or celeb reality shows (like Nach Baliye).

In 2018, Nishant Kaushik, an aspirant on a singing reality show, tweeted, “I met two interesting aspirants: one med rep from an Indian village I don’t remember the name of, who dragged his right foot in a broken slipper. And another, who was blind in both eyes. And then I saw the crew make a merciless meal of both of these kind souls. First the vultures came with their mic and cameras to the blind man, who said he had a scene’s role in Slumdog Millionaire. They first asked him to give a little speech about the history and status of his blindness, how does it feel to be blind, and what have you. Then they asked about his family. He said he had a mother who was now dead, leaving him orphaned and all by himself. Sudden twinkle in crew’s eyes because they now had meaty content for a camera shot. They probed him in several ways on ‘what brings you here’. When none of his responses flew, they drafted a ‘response’ on his behalf and read it out. Roughly, ‘I miss my mother and I wish she were here to see me, but I hope that when I sing tonight she can hear me up there’. They made him repeat this even as his voice trembled (sic).”

Among those who commented on the thread was former singing reality show host Mini Mathur. “This sucks. I wasn’t part of the 2012 season but I know most of what he has articulated is known to happen on reality tv. One of the reasons I bowed out. This incessant need to create false emotion. RIP Organic, pure TV (sic),” she tweeted.

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In a recent interview with us (above), when Sonu Nigam — who’s been a judge in singing reality shows like Indian Idol and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa — was asked about his take on shows often dramatising sob stories to move the audience to tears, he told us, “If they (sob stories) weren’t working, it would not be happening so often on reality shows. It is a marketing thing, and people are not fools.”

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Abhijeet Sawant says, “Even when I did Indian Idol, there would be times when a contestant would be given preference and gain the audience’s vote, because he/she had a story that was ‘more emotional’ than the rest. It does affect your morale and confidence, but you have to keep telling yourself that at the end of the day it is talent that matters and you have no option but to focus on your talent.” He adds, “Reality shows are the best platform for fresh talent, and at no point should the focus shift from performances and talent to the background of the contestant. I am sure there are other ways to add more drama to reality shows.”

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On the Facebook page of Humans of Bombay, a post by actress Sanya Malhotra read, “So I applied for the dance (Dance India Dance) reality show and got to the top 100. But before I could move beyond that stage, I got rejected because my backstory wasn’t strong enough. That’s when I started doubting myself — I thought maybe I wasn’t meant to perform at all.”

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Those who work on some of these reality shows blame the change in reality show formats and excessive focus on drama on the TRP race. “Earlier, they’d primarily focus on the contestants’ talent, but over the years, as more reality shows started coming up, these shows needed something extra to gain the audience attention. To make the show more relatable, the contestants’ background was featured. However, when the drama began to fetch TRPs, some shows began adding more of it — be it through contestants or even judges — and that’s how the focus shifted from talent to drama in these reality shows,” says a source from a production house on condition of anonymity.

However, producers argue that the focus has always been, and still is, on talent. “I think the audience is smart enough to choose the right talent. No amount of sob stories can make a contestant win a reality show. If somebody is emerging as a winner from these shows, it is purely because of talent and not because of their background or how many sympathy votes they got on the show,” says producer Ranjeet Thakur, who has been associated with the production of different TV reality shows like Dance Plus and Dil Hai Hindustani.

On condition of anonymity,a member from a production house of a leading singing reality show tells us, “Sob stories or drama through judges are an essential part of any reality show, therefore it is incorporated, but as makers we also try to make sure that genuine talent wins.”