Pixelated privates, Brazilian waxing, vulgar questions and now enemas…reality television is hitting new lows with every passing season

Mansi Choksi & Sharmila Ganesan-Ram | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; April 15, 2012)

 

When Taranjit Kaur Raina could not name the First Lady of America during a general knowledge task on MTV’s reality show Roadies, her partner’s response was to unzip his jeans. Vinay Abhishek slumped his head, walked fatalistically towards a wooden cabin and allowed a plastic tube to be inserted into his anus. What followed was a montage of tortured facial expressions, teeth-clenching, squeals and Abhishek scurrying to the bathroom. “Enema is a medical procedure to pump in a liquid that will clean up the intestines. Indigestion ka sara saamaan bahar nikal aata hai,” the show’s host Ranvvijay Singh says, nonchalantly chewing gum.

Enema could soon also be a procedure that television audiences get used to, given the increasingly indigestible nature of reality shows. From pixelated vital organs and Brazilian waxing to spanking and licking chilli sauce off skimpily clad women, the world of reality TV is busy creating new lows for itself with every passing season.

“I am appalled by reality shows in general,” says Arunabh Kumar, whose collective ‘The Viral Fever’ did a hilarious spoof of the Roadies auditions on Youtube. Called Rowdies, it shows a lookalike of Raghu Ram barking pointlessly at a contestant who, unlike the ones in the original show, knows his answers. More >