Married on prime time

Be it a brash in-your-face Rakhi Sawant acting coy to find her ideal match or the ‘common’ girl Rumpa Roy finding her perfect groom, reality TV has come a long way in 2009. India has always had a system of arranged marriages and when it is replicated on TV with intense drama and catfights it is bound to grab eyeballs. TRPs of Rakhi ka Swayamvar and Perfect Bride too vouch for the fact. Matchmaking has been around forever but seeing it on TV pushes up curiosity levels. Perfect Bride winner Hitesh Chauhan agrees, “People were initially sceptical about the show especially when Rakhi Sawant’s swayamvar turned out to be a sham. But the audience, especially joint families, loved our show’s concept.” However, Perfect Bride Rumpa feels these shows reflect the cosmopolitan lifestyle where grooms are searched online. Rakhi Sawant believes it was her badluck that she did not find her life partner. “If an ordinary girl can havean arranged marriage, a celeb like me, with traditional values tried for itthrough my Swayamvar,” says Rakhi. The audience too got itsfair share of entertainment with the participants competing to survive in theshow, with dances and games. “Some contestants in Perfect Bride werethere to use it as a platform to perform on national television but in the endit was the people serious about getting married who stayed on,” saysHitesh. Love, tears, break-ups too happened in these shows.Rakhi’s agony consisted of the contestants who were not up to the mark.She selected the wrong one, “It is the channel's job to find you theguy,” she feels. But in Hitesh and Rumpa’s case true love happenedand they tied the knot on television. “I am the happiest person as thewhole nation was guest at my wedding,” says a happily married Rumpa.If 2009 belonged to perfect brides and swayamvars, what will be next?Well, starting January we will see Rahul Mahajan having his very own swayamvarand YRF’s Rishta.com, so be ready for more masala in 2010.