What's so special about the Roadies?
Packed with pulsating stunts and tough guy acts, MTV's weekly reality show Roadies has managed to hook millions of Indians, from college goers to school kids to housewives.
Five years after it came into being, MTV Hero Honda Roadies has proved to be one of the most popular programmes on Indian television today and thousands across the country send entries to participate in the adventure show.
"I relish the show. You cannot predict what is going to happen next. Every episode treats you to new adventure," said Kalpana Bajaj, a Delhi-based housewife who has been following it for the last three years. "And the best part is that it is in Hindi. Had it been in English, I might not have enjoyed it so much."
According to TAM (Television Audience Measurement) data of February 2008, MTV commanded the highest audience share among all music channels during the telecast of the first episode of Roadies 5.0, the fifth edition of the show, telecast March 22.
This year 13 contestants were selected after being auditioned for attitude, tolerance and patience. The selected Roadies are given bikes to travel on a pre-decided route and assigned difficult physical or rational tasks. A vote-out takes place at the end of the show and whoever survives till the end is declared winner. And of course it's all captured on camera.
The winner is rewarded a cash prize of Rs 500,000 and a bike.
"Roadies has a cult following today and the fact that it has at least equalled the popularity of Bakra is an achievement in itself," Rannvijay Singh, the host of the show, said on phone from Mumbai. Rannvijay, who sees himself as a confidant on the show where the physical and mental calibre of a person is tested, is a winner of the first season of the show.
The show started in 2003 with seven contestants biking across the country to win a bike and is raging on even though it costs about one tenth the cost of other reality shows. Among the general entertainment channels (GECs), MTV succeeded over the big boys like Zee TV, STAR Plus and Sony with a share of 9.83 points. And much of this is credited to Roadies.
The show has kept many youngsters and older bikers glued to the tv. However, the current participants have been given tasks that are more embarrasing than pulsating or tough guy acts. You hear the word “roadies”, and the first thing that your mind conjures up is the image of a “biker” who loves to hit the road, and experiences what the journey offers.
now what is the roadies spirit? To my mind, a true roadie is like any other guy or gal except for the fact that he or she has sound common sense and is smart enough to tackle the challenges that he or she comes across with determination and innovation.
i guess a true roadie is someone who is another ordinary guy or gal who calls upon his or her potential and comes across sure and true in what he or she does. Whether the roadie is able to fulfil the task or not, the commitment the roadie puts to the task, the effort the roadie takes, it should be 100%. If it results in success, it is all the more sweeter. The roadie is not a loner at the same time the roadie needn’t be overly jovial. The roadie may not be brash, yet he is assertive. The roadie need not go out there looking to pick up a fight, yet if need be, he should stand his ground. So it is not purely about physical strength. The roadie need not go bitching or badmouthing all and sundry, yet if required the roadie is bold enough to be frank and forthright in speech and actions. So it is not only about back stabbing either. For him, a mistake is a mistake, done and over with. He doesn’t have hang-ups or regrets and goes on with his life. He for sure learns from his mistakes and gets a better understanding of life. The roadie is someone who is innovative, has original thinking and can come up with solutions when the need arises. To give an example, in the water test, everyone held the hose with the palms facing outwards, ashuthosh was the only guy who adopted a pull up/chin up position. Here he watched, grasped what is required and adopted the best possible mode to get the optimum results. Simply put, a roadie is someone who is ordinary, understanding, with more than a fair share of the uncommon common sense, tough and determined to achieve what he has set out to do. A roadie is a true soul.
to my mind, the tasks set for the roadies, be it the money task or be it the immunity task, should be such that it brings out glimpses of these qualities in them. The image of a roadie that the mind conjures up is that of a tough determined strong survivor. But the ladyboy task given did not require any of these abilities, it merely requires a person to dress up as a “nineja” and look sassy. If the show was anything about a bunch of kids being taken out on an excursion, true i would agree that it is about giving them a chance to let their hair down and have fun. I. If you were to say its about them not being embarrassed etc, hey, they have come to this international stage, they had already crossed that bench mark in the strip sms. Since they already had two image shattering tasks , the ladyboy dancing was once more a repetition of the same theme. So as a task it was neither innovative or challenging. True, it gave us something to laugh at and that was sheer entertaintment for us, but nothing revealing about the qualities of the bunch of people before us.