http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126529600101740427.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FEBRUARY 5, 2010 Reality Bites TV Shows in India Gulf the Chasm Between Rich and Poor By AMRIT DHILLON It isn't easy being rich when you're plucked from your cushy environment and plopped into a Mumbai slum. That's just part of the premise of the popular Indian reality show "Big Switch." "The stench was overwhelming," says Natasha Suri, a 25-year-old model and former Miss India. "There were goats and pigs, droppings, piles of stinking rubbish, mosquitoes, flies, unbearable heat, and 20 of us using the same toilet." UTV Bindaas Actress and model Pooja Mishra does some chores in a Mumbai slum. On the show, Ms. Suri is paired with Rekha Gaekwad, 18, who grew up in a slum in Mumbai. "These conditions are normal for us," says Ms. Gaekwad, "but [the rich participants] were agitated about every small thing. They couldn't bear to be out in the sun without their sunglasses." Ms. Suri and Ms. Gaekwad make up one of 10 such rich-and-poor pairs of 20-something adults for "Big Switch," a show produced by UTV Bindaas. All were made to live for two weeks in a north Mumbai slum, albeit in a dormitory built for the show, while cameras rolled. It is one of several new popular TV shows that capture the gulf between the rich and poor in India. "When you bring people from two clashing worlds together, it makes for great television," says UTV Bindaas chief executive, Zarina Mehta. The show marks a new direction for Indian TV, which in the past has steered clear of plots that focus on the poor in India. "Even if you have a driver as a main character, he always turns out later to be a prince," says media critic Parsa Venkateshwar Rao, who writes for the newspaper DNA. Not anymore. Today, writers and directors are embracing the world of the poor in books, film and television. And the stories they're telling are popular and critical successes. Aravind Adiga's best-selling portrayal of the rich-poor divide, "The White Tiger," won the Man Booker International prize for fiction last year. Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire" shocked many for its depiction of a wretched Mumbai slum, yet it has pulled in $377 million at the box office world-wide, according to the ticket-sales tracking Web site Boxofficemojo.com. Now comes "Big Switch," which began airing last October and ended last week. Nearly 26 million viewers tuned in every week. It's not the only reality show with a big audience: Every day, more than 42 million watched "Bigg Boss," the Indian version of "Big Brother," which aired from October 2009 to January 2010. Like the Western original, "Bigg Boss" throws a motley bunch of people into a house, cuts off contact with the outside world, and captures every day on film. But while the popularity of the Western reality TV shows tends to hinge on plot twists like hook-ups and infighting, in India, the draw is the sight of the rich cleaning up after themselves. "Reality shows work [in India] because maids, drivers and cooks love seeing the rich do their [house] work," says Rajesh Kamat, CEO of Viacom18, which produces "Bigg Boss." "In 'Bigg Boss,' [the rich] have to cook, wash up, do their beds, iron and clean the toilet. [The maids] enjoying seeing celebrities brought down to their own level." Ranjeeta Khajur, a maid in New Delhi, is transfixed at the sight of "Bigg Boss" inmates doing what her employer orders her to do every day. "I think 'Bigg Boss' is an education for the rich. It will make them realize how hard we work and treat people like me with more consideration," she says. The swap is the crux of the "Big Switch," too. The object is to win a prize of a million rupees (about $21,600). But the onus is on the rich contestants to earn the money for their slum partner by performing menial chores for points, while the poor contestants stand idly by. TV producers originally called the slum dwellers "slum buddies" until they realized that the poor participants all had big aspirations -- of careers as a chef, beautician or psychologist or of buying a home -- and they settled on "dreamers" instead. Ms. Mehta, the TV executive, recalls a scene she will never forget involving Siddhartha Khanna, 25, heir to a real-estate empire who admits he leaves his clothes where he drops them and has never cleared up a cup of tea. One of Mr. Khanna's tasks was to clean up cow dung with his bare hands, a chore he tackled without complaint. The points he earned -- which translated into 200,000 rupees ($4,350) -- would go toward helping his slum partner, Samir Pagare, set up an event-management company. View Full Image UTV Bindaas Siddhartha Khanna, heir to a real-estate empire, won the 'Big Switch' contest by doing such things as cleaning up cow dung with his hands. "I did it because I wanted to help Samir, to give him hope. I want this program to build bridges, to make young Indians realize they can do a lot to help the poor realize their dreams," says Mr. Khanna, who went on to win the contest for his partner. In India, the rich and poor rarely cross paths. More than 80% of people live on 20 rupees a day (43 U.S. cents) or less. Of the country's 1.17 billion population, less than 1% earns more than 85,000 rupees ($1,850) a month. On "Big Switch," many of the rich participants earn more than that. And some of the highest earners among the slum dwellers pulled in about 5,000 to 7,000 rupees ($109 to $152 a month). Slum dweller Abhishek Kushwah, 24, wants to be a chef. He grew up in Mumbai's Dharavi, India's largest slum, in one room with his parents and two brothers. They share a single toilet with 60 families. Says Mr. Kushwah. "I'd thought the super rich were lazy and selfish but my partner put in a lot of effort to help me." On the first day of shooting last October on the "Big Switch" set, the two sides viewed one another warily. Their first impressions were revealing. Most of the slum dwellers were overwhelmed at simply being addressed politely. "I never dreamed that the rich could be so nice," says Ms. Gaekwad. View Full Image UTV Bindaas Sunny Sara, a Mumbai nightclub owner, sells fruit in the show 'Big Switch.' The second reaction was shock. "Dreamer" Neelam Dumbre, 18, gasped when she heard her rich partner, Bindi Mehta, a researcher with a television news channel, talk about her closets full of outfits that cost 40,000 rupees (about $870) each. Another slum dweller was speechless when her rich counterpart showed her the 110 pairs of shoes she'd brought for the duration of the show. And then there was Sunny Sara, a 28-year-old nightclub owner in Mumbai, who unpacked 60 T-shirts. "I had no idea the rich were so rich," says Ms. Dumbre. "Slumdog Millionaire" inspired the creators of "Big Switch," but given the controversy that erupted in India over its graphic depiction of poverty, UTV Bindaas channel head Heather Gupta, a British national who moved to Mumbai six years ago, was determined to avoid any hint of "condescension or using the poor participants as circus freaks." "We're not blaming the rich for anything, but we want to jolt them into paying some attention to poverty," says Ms. Gupta. It is very easy in India, she adds, to become inured to the plight of the poor. Model and budding actor Adam Bedi, 26, says he was filled with admiration for the resilience, drive and resourcefulness of the slum dwellers. "They just get on with their lives without moaning about everything they haven't got," he says. "They really impressed me." Ms. Suri, the former beauty queen, described the experience as humbling. "These conditions are a daily reality for millions and yet, in their struggle to survive, they manage to be cheerful and dignified." The chasm between the two sides reopened on the last day of shooting in early December. The rich kids were impatient to get home, desperate for a hot bath and good food. The poor dragged their feet; the dormitory, bare as it was, was more spacious than any of the slums they had lived in. As everyone packed, declarations of undying friendship were made amid hugs, displays of genuine affection and exchanging of numbers. Two weeks later, back in their respective milieus, many of the participants say they talk to one another on the phone occasionally. But once the common link of being on the show has gone, what connection will remain, and for how long? Ms. Gaekwad has no illusions. "On the show the rich were great. But if I walk out on the road now and try to speak to a rich person, they won't respond," she says. —Amrit Dhillon is a writer based in India. ------------------------------------ -- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTMedia mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to [email protected], OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE Share media news, discuss journalism issues and network with media professionals across South Asia on this mailing list. Just write to [email protected] TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTMedia by sending a blank mail to [email protected] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTCaste: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
