A Life Less Ordinary

Desi Girls is based on the concept where eight glamorous divas are transplanted to a Punjab village,where they are expected to lead a rough and demanding village life. The contestants,handpicked for the show,include: Sambhavna Seth,Monica Bedi,Kashmera Shah,Roshni Chopra,Aushima Sawhney,Rucha Gujarati,Ishitta Arun and Anmol Singh. The visit itself turned out to be a hurried affair,with scribes herded through dusty gullies,occasionally allowed a peek into the houses where the contestants were put up with families. Adding to the sense of unreality,most members of the families were missing in action. Those who were around remained quiet. The only thing that caught one’s attention were the freshly painted walls,windows adorned with village motifs and interestingly,cows named after the contestants.

“These eight girls have been placed in pairs with four real families. They have to compete with each other,adapt to village life,perform tasks and win over the villagers in order to save themselves from gaon nikala (the ouster) and take home the title and crown of Desi Girl,” says Nikhil Madhok,vice-president,Marketing and Communications,Imagine TV. While the show is inspired by A Simple Life,where two wealthy,young socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie do low-paying,manual jobs,Madhok says the Indian show has an extra twist of reality. “We didn’t want to simply adapt A Simple Life,with contestants travelling from one village to another without elimination or competition,” he adds.

Television research showed that ratings shoot up whenever a marriage is aired on prime time shows,an indicator that was exploited in the reality show Rakhi Ka Swayamwar,says Madhok. “Similarly,rural India is a popular theme in a majority of TV shows,and we weaved it in Desi Girl,” he adds. Punjab was zeroed in because it was already a saleable brand. After scouting a couple of villages across the region,the panchayat of Sialba Majri was found to be enthusiastic and forthcoming. “We wanted a place that was located at a reasonable distance from the city. Once in,we had to do the wiring,the art work and paint to make it visually appealing,” he adds. The show will be telecast thrice a week on Friday,Saturday and Sunday.

Next,Madhok introduces the show’s anchor Rohit Roy and the decked-up contestants,the latter indulging in chasing some fowl around for our benefit. “I still smell of cow dung,” says Aushima Sawhney,laughing,while learning to tackle chipped nails and extremely bad hair days. “Imagine living without a salon and a hair dresser,baking cow dung cakes and milking cows. Here is a little tip,cows will only respond if you come dressed in salwar-kameez,” she says,narrating the anecdote of being cold-shouldered when she tried to milk a cow wearing a little dress. For Monica Bedi,the villagers are the real heroes while “we are mere entertainers”. Talk to Kashmera Shah and she will tell you how she had to wake up at 3.30 am,at a time she usually hits the bed in Mumbai. “That is when the cows are milked. The first week,I was homesick and I terribly missed my bai who brought me my bed tea,” she jokes. “We have milked cows,chased hens,cleaned the house,collected the fodder,cooked food,baked cow dung cakes…we can’t get desi-er than this,” adds Ishitta Arun. As for Sambhavna Seth,she is happy that she has finally learnt to converse fluently in Punjabi.

How real is this reality? Check it out this May 21,when it goes on air on Imagine at 9 pm.