Reality shows are often opportunities to watch human nature unfold on television. Perhaps for the same reason, reality therapies, where dysfunctional personal lives are discussed in front of a rolling camera, are hugely popular among the masses.
Although effective counseling hugely depends on confidentiality, the makers of such shows believe that their approach can teach the public the benefits of therapy. However, the elephant in the room is the fact that when counseling and entertainment are banded together, it’s often a devil’s bargain.
Nevertheless, as long as the viewers are treated to such bizarre and sadistic entertainment for the sake of TRP rating, it doesn’t matter how the judges and therapists of such programs qualify to be in the show.
Incidentally, actor Khushboo recently landed herself in a soup for grabbing a participant by his collar during a reality show hosted by her. The show Nijangal, which is aired on a prominent Tamil channel, saw a rather aggressive side of the actor, who was seen shouting at the participant over a disagreement.
While it’s not sure whether the show was scripted, the actor has come under fire for her unruly behavior on television.
Now, veteran actress Ranjini has come out against Khushboo and such shows. The Chitram actor took to Facebook and condemned the shallowness of such shows, which exploit the innocence of the poor.
She wrote: ''It's so shameful that shows on so-called "counselling" is being aired on all channels in different languages. I have taken these clips from Nijangal, where actor Khushboo grabs the contestant's shirt and shouts...is this counselling? In fact, this amounts to bullying, abuse, assault, battery, sexual discrimination, exploitation and public nuisance...please people, don't fall prey to such shows, it is not helping you at all; instead, it degrades your entire family in public and the TV channels are making money out of you!
“I am very sad in stating that some actresses who host such programs are not at all qualified to give counselling to the poor contestants. Always seek counselling from organisations who are run by NGOs. It’s often offered free of charge before going to the courts. I sincerely hope that Khushboo apologizes to the contestant in public...'' (sic.)
Earlier, actor Geetha and Lakshmy Ramakrishnan had come under public wrath for disrespecting and insulting reality show contestants on television.
