With Swayamvar, Mother Swap, 2011 brings new tidings

With Swayamvar, Mother Swap, 2011 brings new tidings

The small screen promises some big surprises in the New Year. Shah Rukh Khan makes a comeback in mid-January with Zor Ka Jhatka: Total Wipeout as its omnipresent and forever-jabbering host. What will impress the audience, however, is the scale of this show, which is the Indian version of Wipeout, one of the biggest and most hilarious game show of the world.

Several other channels are also planning to woo the viewers with their best in 2011. Mid January will see an Indian version of the controversial UK show Wife Swap, tentatively titled Mother Swap, on Sony TV. However, before we could even get over the much-hyped wedding between reality TV star Rahul Mahajan and Dimpy Ganguly and their public spat, Imagine announced yet another season of the Swayamwar series, Ratan Ka Rishta. This season has the girl-next-door television actor, Ratan Rajput as the ideal bride in search of the perfect husband.

Ashvini Yardi, programming head of Colors says, “2011 will see a lot more competitiveness and further fragmentation of the Indian television industry. With niche channels such as a recent 24 hour food channel, the game is going to get interesting. More foreign channels are also making their entry.”

However, since the more things change on Indian television, the more they remain the same, it’s best not to get the hopes high yet. Voyeuristic reality shows defined 2010, and 2011 is not likely to be any different. “In comparison to the West, this is just the beginning of the reality TV genre in India. After years of watching saas-bahu shows, the audience finally has something new to indulge in,” says Nikhil Gandhi, Business Head, UTV Bindass. Almost three years ago, UTV Bindass, a youth-oriented channel, made it’s presence felt. After dishing out no-holds-barred content like Emotional Atyachar, Big Switch and the Dadagiri series — the channel welcomes 2011 with Dadagiri 4 and Love Lock Up, starting on January 15 and January 10, respectively. While Dadagiri 4 is a known format, Love Lock Up revolves around complicated relationships — locked up inside a house for eight days, a couple will be expected to resolve their troubles. The controversial Emotional Atyachar too promises to return with a third season in 2011 to catch more suspected cheaters. So does MTV Roadies with their eighth season in January. Star Plus too will enter the field of reality shows with Wife Bina Life, starting in the first half of the year, that will dwell on how men take up household responsibilities while their wives will be away holidaying. Even popular English GEC channels like Star World and CBS will please the audience’s appetite for voyeuristic shows. Star World will air Bachelor Season 11 and Bachelorette Season 3 early 2011, while CBS will give a tough fight with the current season of America’s Next Top Model.

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