By Shailesh Kapoor
It’s been a thrilling fortnight for Indian cricket fans. Starting with the India-Pakistan game two Saturdays ago at Kolkata, they have been treated to three steroid-like doses of entertainment. Beating Pakistan is always a high for any Indian cricket viewer, but the electrifying end to the Bangladesh game matched some of the most exciting moments Indian cricket has witnessed over the years.
As if that was not exhilarating enough, the team backed it up with another adrenaline-packed performance this Sunday, beating Australia. Taking the chase deep into the last three overs, the team relied on the genius of a young star, who announced himself yet again at the world stage that night, this time in a way that was tough for even the most cynical to ignore.
By the time you read this, the ratings for the first two of these three games will be out. It is certain that the India-Pakistan game will set a new BARC record, beating the India-Pakistan Asia Cup game earlier this year. And if India reach the final, the India-England final this Sunday is highly likely to beat that record, even if the India-Australia game doesn’t manage to.
T20 Cricket, thus, has turned out to be reality television of the purest form. It’s unscripted (though some may debate this fact) and it’s edge-of-the-seat. This World Cup, in particular, may have brought many new and lapsed viewers to cricket, what with all the entertainment surrounding these three (and potentially two more) India games.
This fortnight of cricket’s mega success has a lesson or two for reality television. The games that won our hearts have been characterised by elements most reality shows should aspire to have, if they have to acquire cult status and blockbuster viewership.
There are four such things, in particular: Unscripted entertainment, fast-paced action that keeps you glued to the TV, a robust format and fan following.
Most Indian reality shows today are either overtly scripted, or are unscripted but engineered or programmed to unfold in a certain way. For example, by giving a particular task or creating a particular situation, you force the participants or jury or host to react in a certain way. About a decade ago, this worked, because reality television was new to India and most viewers didn’t really have much of an understanding of formats. As time has passed, they have become educated reality television viewers, perfectly capable of sniffing out the fixes. There may be not such thing as “it’s scripted but will appear unscripted to the viewers†anymore.
The pace of action in the recent India games, especially the last six overs in the Australia game, will put even the best of reality television to shame. The idea of time is redefined every decade, I guess. What was one hour a decade ago may seem like 75 minutes now. Hence, you need to give more in less time, to avoid falling into the boredom trap. Yet, reality formats have, if anything, slowed down in their execution pace over these years, often with the temptation of getting more episodes on-air.
The importance of a robust format cannot be overstated. A format was created for a reason, and it has elements that make it work. “Adapting to India†may be prudent, but chipping and chopping it endlessly can take away from the essence of it.
And finally, reality shows that have survived, or will survive in the future, are the ones that can manage to create fan bases for its cast, be it jury, host or participants. Early seasons of Dance India Dance are perhaps the best example of this. As is MTV Roadies. But these are rare exceptions in a long list of fan-less reality shows.
The T20 World Cup will be over this Sunday. The next one is a long four years away. It is highly unlikely that the success of this World Cup will boost viewership of other cricket formats in India. But there is enough to learn from it nevertheless, especially for reality television producers.