The 'C' Factor

What you see is what is shown. And, what you see doesn���t need much time or effort.
If you are a guy or a girl who has got back home after a hard day���s work, all you need to do is switch on the television. The show begins. You enjoy a cup of coffee. The show ends. You change the channel and hunt for something equally worthwhile.
Now, let���s get real and tell you the story of what you did not see.When you watched a celebrity performing a certain act in that particular reality show, what you did not witness was how much he or she had been paid as appearance money. The figures seesaw between reasonably moderate and unreasonably huge, and this, after some seriously hard bargaining between the celebrity and the production house. There might be cases when a celebrity says ���yes��� and follows it up with a ���no��� because of a sudden engagement. When that happens, all plans to proceed go awry.
To start with, a star who is spoken to might fail to accommodate the show because of a jam-packed diary. When actor Shakti Kapoor was approached by a production house for their show Bigg Boss, he refused the offer due to that reason. Says Shakti, ���When the show was going to go on the floor initially, they had come to me. At that time, I had some date problems as I was shooting for some of my upcoming films. But, now I am open to it. I have seen the show and I like it.���
Actor Apara Mehta, who is making an appearance on the show Comedy Circus on a popular channel, says, ���When the actors are asked to participate in a reality show for a long period, then it can become difficult.��� Mehta zeroes in on a major challenge that the producers face: in other words, that of star management in shows done on a huge scale.
Ravi Menon, EVP and GM of a leading television channel, remarks, ���Stars have become expensive. Also, their schedules are so tight that time is not a commodity. It is their prestige that may or may not come in the way. In the show Zara Nach Ke Dikha, there are 18 participants and two celebrity judges ��� Chunky Pandey and Malaika Arora Khan. So, managing the schedules of 20 people is a huge task. If someone is unavailable, instead of working on dates, we work around the format of the show.���
To pay but what to pay: that is the other big concern from time to time. One example is that of singer Mika Singh, who got an offer to enter the house of the Bigg Boss. But, what put an end to the negotiations was the package. ���I quoted Rs 1.5 crore, and they tried to settle it for Rs 75 lakhs. That isn���t viable for me since I have 40 shows during that period. Last year also, I was approached for the same show. I had asked for Rs 40 lakhs, but they wanted to pay a few lakhs. So, I refused,��� informs Mika. Hear Fazila Allana, who is a partner with a production house, ���There are no other problems than the moolah problem.��� She goes on, ���So far I have not come across any weird demands by actors like 19 glasses of milkshakes or something else. But, dates can be a bit of a hindrance, too.���
Does that mean that no star, or starlet, makes unreasonable demands? Of course, it doesn���t. As reported earlier, actress-singer Sherlyn Chopra���s publicist Dale Bhagwagar had said that the former had asked for Rs 3 crores to appear in Bigg Boss. Sherlyn also is supposed to have insisted that cameras should be there inside the washrooms so that she could flaunt her colourful innerwear collection!
That money is a major point of discussion is a perspective shared by many. ���Negotiation always takes place. It begins with producers or channelwallahs saying humarey paas budget nahi hai. But, fundamentally, even channels offer a big price to which actors cannot refuse unless time is a constraint,��� says actor Swapnil Joshi who was spotted in Mr and Miss TV that tested actors for their skills in singing, acting, dancing, stand up acts and the like.
Although Swapnil is of the view that ���actors cannot refuse���, that may not be the case with those for whom money and other conditions come first. Viewers might recall how actor Archana Puran Singh shook a leg with hubby Parmeet Sethi on Nach Baliye. But, Archana says that she never wants to do it again. ���If I were to do a reality show like Bigg Boss, I would ask for a crore a month and would not settle for anything less. But, the dancing jig is not for me. I never want to dance again on national TV,��� she explains.
Why producers need to do effective star management is obvious. What is equally important is the concern of many stars who understand the need for proper planning. Actor Rita Bhaduri, who will soon be seen on a saas-bahu reality dance show called Saas VS Bahu, believes that things can always be worked out. ���If the channel informs the stars a little in advance, everything falls in place. When I was approached for this I didn���t have time. But, I worked it out,��� says she.
Seen in a reality show for a while, actor Narayani Shastri says that she does not face date problems since she does one show at a time. Television and film producer Shrishti Arya joins in. ���It is a win-win situation. Reality shows are a hit with people, and they love watching them. Actors are willing to come on the show close to their film���s release many times. That ensures viewer ship for producers, and adds a glamour quotient to the show as well,��� says she.
No matter what the problems might be, what matters is the success rate of such reality shows. The fact is that people enjoy them, and most are hugely popular. Sweat makes money.