Masters of reality (TV)

Karanmdashthatrsquos the oneword answerrdquo the three reply in unison The context is that Karan Johar is the industry powerbroker with amorphous powers of persuasionmdashcharm a direct connection to every legacy family in the film industry every Bollymatriarchrsquos favourite son and a producer with a finger in every entertainment pieThe question was Why would Riddhima Kapoor Sahni choose a reality show to make her screen debut Why would eternal Delhi IT girl and business person Kalyani Saha Chawla Or artistphilanthropist Shalini PassiPiciStockThose being questioned are Aneesha Baig Manu Maharishi and Naomi Datta social alchemists behind some of the most watched reality shows They have worked alone and together on Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives FLBW The Tribe and Follow Kar Lo Yaar FKLYDatta was Creative Director for FKLY which follows influencer Uorfi Javed and was produced by SOL productions for Amazon Prime For FLBW Datta serves as Creative Producer while Maharishi is show runner Baig heads Non Fiction at Dharmatic Entertainment the stable churning these shows out We meet them at their Veera Desai Road office between the mastication of The Tribe Maharishi Creative Director Datta Creative Producer and launch of season three of FLBW Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood WivesWhile the Bollywood wives are real life friends Delhi society mavens only know each other socially which is where the masala of Season 3 liesThis is momentous because it has lured Riddhima who has steadfastly avoided the family business and two other society mavens who do not need a boost in profile They are not digital content creators taking their lives global from LA like the Gen Z of The Tribe nor do they need to lubricate the filmy ecosystem for the benefit of offspring or spousesWhat is the draw of such intimacy with the camera for both the participants and the audience is what we are hoping these alchemists will tell us ldquoShalini is a seeker of experiencesrdquo Maharishi tells us She grew up in Delhi and knew of art connoisseur Passi and had told her team even five years ago that if they were to work on any project involving Delhirsquos social scene they must get Passi ldquoShersquos one of a kind You have to watch her Just see her Insta feed Just see itrdquo Maharishi and Baig a former journalist urges us and stop us thereThe Tribersquos appeal is in the gumption of desi content creators punching above their weight trying to make a career out of a Reelinspiring lifestyle in LARiddhima is straight and unapologetic in the vein of Maheep the same chutzpah that draws us to Uorfi Alanna Panday Alaviaa Jaaferi angel investor Hardik Zaveri ldquoAlaviaa says lsquoYa I could have done movies but I didnrsquot want torsquohelliprdquo Datta tells us Alfia Jafry starts off sweet and shaky at Alannarsquos wedding brunch but surprises everyone with how she holds her ground in the infamous ldquoroomrdquo fight in the mansion on Mulholland Drive Hardik legitimately lives the Entourage life while shooting on location in California he pointed at a hill in Joshua Tree National Park and casually remarked how he owned it and believes that the lives of global desis such as him are aspirational to become a business modelIf there is a formula itrsquos this A mix of personalities unapologetic about rarified existence living in an exotic habitat like LA or somewhere untouched by natural elements like south DelhiMumbai or BandraJuhu a shared net friendship in the case of Wives family in the case of Uorfi creative hustle in the case of CollabTribe and Uorfi and a few landmark events to steer these narrativesA still from Follow Kar Lo YaarldquoThatrsquos when the flavour comes outrdquo says Datta ldquoWe spend a lot of time getting people comfortable to have the camera rolling at them all the timerdquo says Baig ldquoand have hours and hours of footagerdquoThe choicest of minutes from hundreds of hours of footage make five hours of a seasonrsquos eight to 10 episodes And this is Maharishirsquos spellmdashto catch a change of expression a gesture a dip in voice and carry it across episodes to tie a narrative about the ebbs and flows of a relationship And so Maheep talks about her husband actor Sanjayrsquos infidelity early in their marriage and following episodes show the tone and strength of their marriage since Seema starts the series drifting off but still a satellite in the SalimSalma Khan clan then transforming into a Sajdeh and the latest rushes show her asking her son whether he resents herBhavanarsquos star is rising on a different horizon but in tandem with her daughter Ananyarsquos Maharishi spends days and weeks picking and threading these small sparks into a story of an episode And in the coming season they tell us Bhavana who is usually the fencesitter will surprise us all No spilling of wine goes unnoticedldquoWe are constantly texting each other while shooting lsquopan into thisrsquo lsquodid you catch thatrsquo lsquoare we getting our first fightrsquordquo says Maharishi At the end of each shoot they ask each other ldquoKuch milardquoDatta and Baigrsquos training as journalists gives them the agility to pivot as the story changes to just set the stage and trust the drama to play out To know that facts are stranger than fiction ldquoI would loathe put words into anyonersquos mouthrdquo says Baig ldquoWe get tired of telling people that the show is absolutely unscriptedrdquo So the friendships imploding facelifts and fights about rooms and within families are totally realldquoWe show them I think for the first time on Indian TV talking about menopauserdquo says Datta ldquoWe often jokehelliprdquo ldquoThat if this was a fiction showrdquo intercepts Baig ldquoWe would win awards for social responsibilityhelliprdquo and they all laughWhen we ask why anyone would want their lives splayed such ldquobecause itrsquos fun Because they really are friends And because Karan askedrdquo are the answers Itrsquos an experience and some like Passi are ldquocollectors of experiencesrdquo What they may not be saying and what every journalist knows is the human need to be seen An actor is happy to be seen as a character but reality TV feeds hubrisAnd is the viewer experience only voyeuristic Yes and no There is great curiosity about universes of privilege and seeing human trials play out thereThe economic research paper lsquoThe Rise of the Billionaire Rajrsquo outlines the current wealth and income inequality in Indiamdashthe top 1 per cent holds 40 per cent of the wealth And that the income share of th top one per cent is among the very highest in the world higher than even the USBut there is also something resembling an anthropological expedition when looking into the lives of Gen Z trying to make a living of having fun Alannarsquos hardnosed attention to the spreadsheet the meticulous detail to the importance of an ldquoaesthetic feedrdquo how they always know how to behave in front of a camera How an important life event such as a wedding and baby shower can exist in two realms simultaneously Online as a business opportunity with paid partnerships and privately with loved onesldquoWersquore sociologists guysrdquo says Datta