Mika Singh calls sob stories on reality shows ‘genuine’, those who criticise them are ‘not approached to judge them’

Singer Mika Singh, who has judged a few reality shows, believes that the trend of contestants sharing their sad stories has been going on for the past 20 years and it is all "genuine".

Singers Sonu Nigam and Abhijeet Sawant have earlier raised the issue of how sob stories of contestants are milked by the makers of reality shows for TRPs. Singer Mika Singh, however, feels that those who are targeting reality shows are the ones who are not being approached to judge them.

In a recent interview, Mika defended the reality shows saying the personal stories of the contestants make the audience connect with them better. “Look, people connect with such stories because all of us come across them in real life. The tears and emotions are genuine. It’s disappointing to see people who once judged reality shows talk badly about them today. They have also witnessed it during their seasons,” Mika told ETimes.

He added that this trend has been going on for the past 20 years and it is all “genuine”. Mika said, “It’s genuine and that’s why it is called reality. Problem ye hai ki jo log judge kar chuke hain aur dekha hai ye saara, aaj woh uske baare mein bol rahe hain. (The problem is that people who’ve judged reality shows and have seen all of this happen are the ones talking about it now). That’s wrong. Just because I am not approached to judge a reality show, I should not badmouth reality shows. Having said that, it’s the talent that takes you places.”

Mika recently won the singing reality show Indian Pro Music League (IPML). He had also judged the singing reality shows, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and The Voice India.

Earlier, Sonu Nigam, who has been a judge on Indian Idol, X-Factor India and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, had called the sob stories of contestants a “marketing” gimmick. “If they weren’t working (sob stories), it would not be happening so often on reality shows. In the deepest corner of my heart, I feel sob stories are working. It is a marketing thing, and people are not fools. Their hearts are in the right place,” Sonu Nigam told ETimes in an interview.

Abhijeet Sawant, who won the first season of Indian Idol, compared national musical reality shows like Indian Idol to their regional counterparts. He said while the regional reality shows focus on a contestant’s talent, Hindi TV reality shows are always focused on the tragic and sad stories of the contestants.

However, after getting embroiled in many controversies this year, the singing reality show, Indian Idol 12 is nearing its grand finale. Titled ‘The Greatest Grand Finale Ever’, it will air from noon till midnight on August 15. For the first time in the history of Indian television, a show will run for 12 hours. The contestants who are competing for the trophy are Pawandeep Rajan, Arunita Kanjilal, Nihal Tauro, Mohd Danish, Shanmukhapriya and Sayli Kamble.

Source: Read Full Article