Jaaved Jaaferi reacts to sob stories on reality shows: ‘Feels fake, these shows become too contrived’

Jaaved Jaaferi has said that the reality shows these days appear scripted, and do not feel real. He also said that Boogie Woogie was the best show that happened in India. Boogie Woogie was a dance reality show in the 90s that had Jaaved on the judges’ panel alongside Naved Jaferi and Ravi Behl. (Also read: Meezaan dismisses perception that he has it easy, being Jaaved Jaaferi’s son)

Last year, Sonu Nigam had said in an interview that “sob stories” of contestants have become “marketing thing” for reality shows. However, he added that they are also working for the show. 

Asked to comment on Sonu’s statement, Jaaved told Indian Express, “There are pros and cons. I personally feel that the biggest pro is that the talent is getting an opportunity, a platform. The cons are that sometimes these shows become too contrived. All of them are looking the same. It (the sob stories) looks fake. “

He said that Boogie Woogie was “organic, real, from the heart and not scripted”. “In our show, it just happened. We didn’t know. It used to be a surprise. Whenever someone would narrate a story, our reactions would come naturally. We paid attention to it but knew that it was a show, a platform to showcase talent. So, just sob stories never became the only way to go about it. It was about talent. It was about hope and conquering disability… it was not a set up. I miss Boogie Woogie. It is the best show that happened in this country. It should come back but unfortunately, it is not in my hand,” he added.

Jaaved had called new reality shows “clinical”, in a 2020 interview to Deccan Herald. “Nowadays, reality shows sometimes seem to be a bit clinical and rehearsed, which was not the case earlier. They, however, still give a platform to aspiring artistes,” he had said.

Jaaved is set to return as the voice over artist for Takeshi’s Castle reboot on Amazon Prime Video. He is also set to work with Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty in a film directed by Samir Karnik. Esha Gupta, Zayed Khan and Saurabh will also be a part of the yet-to-be-titled film.