Reality shows have long been accused of being scripted, with social media users often questioning the authenticity of the emotional journeys and sob stories showcased on screen. Now, choreographer and reality show judge Geeta Kapur has called out the misconceptions surrounding the genre, urging people to be a part of reality shows to truly understand the world behind them and discover the truth for themselves.
Geeta Kapur on reality shows
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Geeta opened up about the perception many people hold about reality shows and the assumptions surrounding their authenticity.
“They (critics) need to take part in it because how much can you go out there and tell people, how can you script a dance. You can’t script a dance. You can choreograph a dance, you can present a personality. You need to present to people and tell them ‘This kid has come and what is special about this child’,” Geeta tells us.
She continues, “You can sit down and conceptualise how to present somebody, which means you are scripting something… So, it’s a planned way of presenting a talent to the audience. When you say scripted, are the judges talking scripted lines? As far as I am concerned, I will never even touch a line that is given to me that says what I have to say about somebody.”
“I can’t do it, and I won’t do it. My entire team on Super Dancer and Sony knows this. So, when people came and say, ‘it is scripted, all the rona dhona’… Then they should come on the show, sit down, and watch the show. I can guarantee you that you will be emotionally swayed at times, and will go back saying that ‘damn, I thought this was all scripted’, but it’s not,” adds Geeta, who is presently seen judging the season 5 of dance reality show, India’s Best Dancer.
Talking about it further, Geeta mentions, “You can’t script somebody’s stories. You can plan how a child is presented to the audience. I really want to put an end to these people who keep thinking that these shows are scripted, or judges or judgments. The judgments are definitely not scripted. The judges are not scripted, but there is definitely a planned way of presenting artists on the show.”
On coming back on TV
Geeta is back on the small screen as a judge on India’s Best Dancer, which has the theme ‘India Wala Dance’. Apart from Geeta, other judges include Jaaved Jaaferi, Karisma Kapoor, and Terence Lewis. The show went live on May 9 on Sony Entertainment Television and Sony LIV.
Opening up about season five of the show, Geeta shares, “We are tapping into all the Bollywood songs and the Bollywood styles that we had not tapped into earlier. Before this, we used to concentrate on all the quirky, different kinds of styles that were coming. So, this time we decided to revive Bollywood.”
“Bollywood is part of our culture. We are proud to present Bollywood to the world, and why don’t we celebrate it? So we are celebrating Bollywood in every way possible… We’re trying to tap into songs that have been missing for a long time, the older songs, with a new take. We’re trying not to use too many new songs because everybody is hearing them,” she adds.
