BABES TO BELLES

In many ways,the show is a departure from the normal song-and-dance reality shows overcrowding the television space at the moment. For example,the show is set in a real village in the heartland of Punjab. The contestants actually try and connect with the village folk to win them over. And even the villagers are not coached actors,they are normal Indians living a disparate life from the contestants. “A reality show should connect with the audience. Not a show like Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao shot in some jungle for no reason. Desi Girl will have things like village romance,grandmotherly advice,village Romeos,contestants discussing gender equality with the village folk etc. to connect with the audience.”

A formal press conference was held in an abandoned village square at Sialba Majri where the contestants spoke about their experiences whilst shooting for the show. Aushima Sawhney said,“There is no parlour or hairdresser in the village. It’s difficult to wake up at 4 am or 5 am every day to milk the cows.” Sawhney recalled trying to milk her cow on the first day in vain when the housewife of her place told her to wear a salwar-kameez instead of her dress. “After that,the cow suddenly became more receptive towards me,” she guffawed. Bedi said that she took up the show because it gave her the chance to reconnect with her ancestors. “I had to leave Punjab when I was only eight months old. I feel more connection and love for the villagers of Majri because of my Punjabi roots.” Seth said that the show has helped her to speak Punjabi fluently and that she’s trying to get friendly with the cows of her family. “We’ve named the docile cow after my partner Monica while the angry cow is called Sambhavna,” she said.

On choosing Sialba Majri to host the show from the lakhs of villages in the country,Madhok said that his team travelled to villages in four states,namely Gujarat,Uttar Pradesh,Maharashtra and Punjab before choosing Majri. “We got permission from the panchayat here and the village is just an hour from the city in case we have any emergencies. Also,viewers connect with the fields of Punjab,thanks to Yash Raj movies,” Madhok said. He also informed that the winner will receive a cash prize,although the amount has yet to be fixed. “We also want to improve the infrastructure of the village so we’ll make a contribution to the panchayat as well,” he added. He also said that the channel contributes monetarily when contestants win a particular challenge. “For example,the winner of the chicken catching challenge helped her family win a bull,” Madhok said.

The channel and BBC started work on the show in December 2009. Close to 200 technicians have been at work in the village setting up the show. This is the second time BBC is collaborating with Imagine TV after last year’s Pati Patni Aur Woh,which was an Indianised version of its show Baby Borrowers.

Desi truths
Priyanko Sarkar chats up villagers at Sialba Majri and uncovers their side of the story
It would be foolhardy to assume that the 3000-odd villagers of Sialba Majri are disinterested bystanders when a reality show is being shot in the background of their own homes. Contrary to what the channel authorities believe,they have been making mental notes throughout the shooting and gossiping about little else whenever they meet.
A walk through two of the houses where the contestants live shows that the contestants must have adapted well to the situation. There are two wooden beds with bedspreads,table-fans,a mirror stand and a kitchen with all the usual utensils in place. When asked if the contestants actually live here for all the 24 hours,the housewife of Kashmera Shah’s home nodded fiercely,saying the contestants had been staying with her for two months now. When asked if the generators in her home belonged to her or to the channel,she refused to answer and ran inside. Manvender,an auto mechanic meets his group of friends every evening to discuss the latest goings-on in the village. He drops a bomb when he opens the conversation saying,“There have been a lot of fights on the show,some downright ugly ones as well. The biggest fight happened during Monica Bedi’s voteout. What happens is that the contestants vote against each other. The two contestants with the most votes have to face the panchayat. Monica Bedi was voted along with Ishitta Arun and the panchayat decided to eliminate Ishitta. But the other participants threatened to walk out of the show if Ishitta went. In the end,the finalists had their way and Monica was sent packing from the show.” This is contrary to what the contestants gushingly said about them bonding with each other.
Manvender’s groupies also debunked Imagine’s Nikhil Madhok statement about Sialba Majri being chosen for its rustic Punjabi appeal. “This is quite a popular location for shooting movies and teleserials. Over the years,apart from a lot of Punjabi music videos and serials,a few Hindi daily soaps were also shot here some time back. Parts of many recent movies like Singh Is Kinng,Veer-Zaara,The Hero and Kisaan have been shot here. Some parts of international movies like West Is West and Train To Pakistan were also filmed here,” Manvender said.
Rajvir,another resident of the village,said that most of the episodes had already been shot and that the finalists of the show are Ishitta Arun,Kashmera Shah and Roshni Chopra. “We even saw the tasks assigned to them the other day. Ishitta had a dhol strapped to her and was running through the village. Kashmera had to make rotis for everyone while Roshni is given the task of lighting the village with a torch,” he said. Manvender said that some of the tasks were quite amusing. He said just because Chopra’s name means light,the channel must’ve thought of the task for her.
The villagers are hoping that the show brings prosperity to their village and makes it a popular destination. The guys admit that watching the contestants from television in flesh was a little disconcerting in the beginning but they’ve been quite sporting. “The contestants have made cowdung cakes,something which I have never done,” Rajvir said admiringly. All may not be lost for the girls after all.