Skeletons out

“Why not?” asks trade analyst Taran Adarsh,“Indian television is growing by leaps and bounds and so are the sensibilities of the Indian viewers. Reality shows are catching up in India in a big way and there is no reason why this show shouldn’t do well. The ‘reality’ factor will keep them hooked,because unlike other shows,there won’t

necessarily be any happy endings here. The unpredictability of this show will work in its favour.”

The whole premise of the show is based on getting people to answer truthfully to extremely personal questions about themselves. The veracity of the answers is determined by a polygraph,popularly known as a lie detector. The show starts out with relatively mild questions about cheating on exams and gets progressively tougher as participants are asked extremely personal questions about their marriage and their relationship with their family and friends. Viewer Gautam Pal,who’s an avid fan of the American original,says the whole pleasure can be summed up as schadenfreude — taking delight in the suffering of others. “It’s sadistic,I know,but it’s a very basic human instinct. It’s the same vicarious thrill we get from watching girls bitching at each other on MTV Splitsvilla. Here,you put yourself in the contestants place and try and imagine how you’ll fool the polygraph.”

Psychotherapist Seema Hingorrany says that the show will definitely find viewers,but she cites different reasons for it. “People love to watch other people spilling their secrets in public. There’s a sadistic thrill.”

But while there will be an audience,there’s no saying if there will be enough contestants for the show. “We’re not a very open society. Indian women particularly find it very difficult to let out intimate details of their lives.”

But Siddhartha Basu,whose Big Synergy is producing the show,is optimistic. “We’ve already shot the pilot episode and the feedback on that has been positive. As for doubts about whether people will open up before the camera,I can assure you that Indians have no qualms about being honest about themselves. We already have many volunteers to participate on the show — both celebrity and non-celebrity.” As for any backlash on its controversial content,Basu says that they’ve already taken precautions. “Our intention is not to hurt anyone. Our contestants have the option of leaving the show before it gets too uncomfortable or of changing their answers from the ones they gave to the polygraph machine. But we make sure that our contestants fully understand the implication of their participation and we sign an agreement with them in that regard.”

Get ready for some heartbreak then.