If someone tells you that everything you watch on-screen is real, know that they’re lying. Glamour, no matter how fabulous it looks, has a lot of layers to it. So it can easily come with some lying or well, hiding some of the truth. Even reality shows have little to no reality to them. Don’t tell me this surprises you. If it does, a backstage manager from an Indian Reality TV Show shared all the tea in a Reddit AMA.
It is as real as it gets:
1. On celebrities who come to promote their work.
“I was told by a celebrity myself that he loves belittling people and putting them down as a way to release frustration before the camera starts rolling. Other times it’s a celeb being needlessly annoyed about useless things. This actor known for being a great dancer wasted 30-40 minutes, and personally made sure all the camera angles showed his seat in the best possible way and shouted at the camera man to zoom in properly for his reactions.”
2. On the schedule of the shows.
“Depends on the show and how long everyone takes to arrive. But we usually shoot two episodes from 7-12 am. Celebrities sometimes only come for 30 minutes. Loads of re-cuts and different camera angles are used to make it seem like they were there longer in that rare case.”
3. On safety measures for the participants.
“There is pretty less safety. Apparently, they should be grateful for the opportunity. The show I work for, spent ₹30,000 on a stupid stand but didn’t spend any money for a contestants’ safety. But that’s how the budget is allotted, I feel powerless. Channel gives their sympathies, and there is no compensation if a participant is injured.”
4. On the role of audiences in choosing a winner.
“Voting earns revenue, trust and goodwill. But we do all sorts of things to make the audience have a favorite though! If there is a contestant who is a serious competition, the team makes them go though hell. Last minute song changes, bad camera angles, less fake audience cheers, subtle editing and most importantly, a bad place to practice.”
5. On how real ‘dedicated performances’ for guests are.
“They are demanded by the show, we even allot them the songs. Once, we also had a star dissatisfied because he wasn’t getting enough attention, and demanded a kid to say he was a huge fan after the performance. But we edited it to make it seem like it was before it.”
6. On what happens if the TRP of the show falls.
“They get a sad story ASAP. It is mostly the first thing that comes to their mind. They sometimes replace judges, make them appear more emotional, increase drama, improve editing, etc.”
7. On mentors, Puneet and Dharmesh.
“Puneet is really grounded and amazing. Dharmesh flashes a lot, but is still friendly.”
8. Finally, the person named a show that is less manipulated (from the rest).
Rising Star.
We knew that some things were understandably staged, but this is a lot to handle.
