One for the road

MTV's reality show, in its sixth season, continues to get top rating.

I magine a reality TV show scripted around youngsters, bikes, road trips and adventure travel, named Saat Saath? Sounds cheesy, doesn’t it? Better sense prevailed at MTV, and the programme was rechristened Roadies — now the longest-running reality show on Indian television. Not only this, in its sixth reason, Roadies is going to be the first reality show from India to be exported to other countries. If that wasn’t enough, the year-on-year growth has made it the flagship show for the channel and also one of its main revenue earners.

 

Reality shows have been TRP pullers on Indian television for a while now. Apart from a few saas-bahu soaps (that no longer seem to grab eyeballs), viewers in India have been devouring reality TV in copious quantities. Most of the shows, however, are song-and-dance talent hunt shows with some melodrama thrown in for good measure. So, in the midst of all the soap and run-of-the-mill reality shows, what has made Roadies so popular over the years?

According to Ashish Patil, general manager, content, MTV, it is the originality of the show that has worked so well. Roadies’ “baddie” and executive producer of the show, Raghu Ram, chuckles and says, “Most of the reality shows on TV are adaptations where you need to stick to a premeditated format. We don’t need to do that.” Ram, who according to many is also the star of the show, especially during the auditions, believes that it’s extremely difficult to fool viewers. Patil agrees, “Today’s audience can smell anything bad from a mile.”

Way back in 2002, it was Hero Honda which approached the channel to create something around their then newly launched bike, Karizma. Patil says the brief was pretty clichéd and they were asked to do something different, to think out of the box. Apart from Saat Saath, another title that was considered was Extreme, which was later shelved as it clashed with the name of a competitor’s bike.

When Roadies started, no one who was connected with it thought it would be so successful. Explaining the evolution of Roadies, Patil says that Roadies was more toned down in its early days, with far less politics, and fewer words that needed to be beeped. And it was only about the road trip and adventures that the participants encountered on the way. It wasn’t till the third season, that the channel realised that the show was gathering die-hard fans in large numbers and that, they were creating something special.

That the show is acquiring near-cult status with young people is obvious from its ever-increasing fan base. The Roadies community on social networking site Orkut, for example, has over 2.5 lakh members. The community, which was started by two ardent fans (two boys from Bhopal and Delhi, respectively), has now been hired by the channel in a creative capacity.

But the show has also drawn some criticism. Viewers, for instance, have questioned the use of profanities by Ram on the show (the beep doesn’t always help), his rudeness on-camera, and even choice of subjects like homosexuality that are often discussed. “We are giving a platform to the youth to voice their opinions about topics which might be considered taboo,” retorts Ram. There have also been complaints that there is far too much aggression on the show. “We look for people who are passionate and won’t be bogged down in any situation, so how can you expect saccharine sweet behaviour?” argues Ram. Interrupts Patil, “The show, contrary to what is believed, isn’t scripted at all.”

Many media analysts agree that the show has managed to create a niche for itself. What works in favour of Roadies is the target audience, which continues to increase with every passing year. So while , shows like Bigg Boss and Indian Idol stick to a format, at MTV, the team tries to introduce something new every year.

This year, for example, along with Ram, his twin brother, Rajiv, too is a part of the show. In the fourth season of the show, the channel introduced the concept of “bad man” Gulshan Grover who grilled contestants on the show, Ram has continued that concept and played the part in the fifth season. This year, both Ram and Rajiv will offer what they call “double trouble” for the contestants. “It was VJ Rannvijay’s idea of having two evil judges as opposed to just one and we thought, why not?” laughs Ram.

But behind all the fun, there’s intense research that goes on behind the scenes. And that explains how, apart from touching the right chord with the audience, the show is now looking at branding opportunities as well. Very soon, a helmet manufacturer will be launching a Roadies brand of helmets. Stationary from BILT is on the cards as well, and Archies is launching Roadies products in 18 categories. This is in addition to Roadies games which are available in the market as well. “Being a Roadie has now become a symbol,” says Ram, adding that the Roadie lingo — with terms like “tasks” and “vote-out” — is commonly heard in colleges today.

While Ram says that the trick has been to constantly re-invent and not stick to any theme or format, Patil says that the show gives the target audience what it wants. He promises more action in the ongoing season. “The last season,” laughs Patil, “will be like a cartoon show in comparison.” And there we were thinking that the earlier seasons were nasty enough.