Judges, gangsters, cops- a thriller of reality show

NEW DELHI - Picture this: judges, murder convicts, notorious politicians, policemen, criminal lawyers and actors living under the same roof, breathing the same air for days on end. It’s about to happen - not in a court room - but on a TV reality show.

To be titled “The Real Boss”, it will be aired soon on STAR Plus and aims to reveal the truth behind real criminal cases, says Supreme Court lawyer Mithilesh Kumar Pandey who is the brain behind it.

“It will be the mother of all reality shows in India. A thriller which will reveal pure facts about many high profile criminal cases,” Pandey told IANS.

The concept is similar to the show “Bigg Boss”, which sees celebrities from various walks of life staying together till all but one is voted out.

“The participants will exchange their experiences and express their views. They will reveal their darkest secrets. They will lead a normal life in front of the camera for a period of three months,” said Pandey, adding he has already signed a contract with STAR Plus.

The duration of each episode will be half an hour and could be extended to one hour.

Besides Pandey himself, participants will include criminal lawyers Ram Jethmalani and K.T.S. Tulsi; convicted politicians Raja Bhaiya and Pappu Yadav; Uttar Pradesh politician D.P. Yadav; former Central Bureau of Investigation director Joginder Singh; retired apex court judge B.P. Singh; and former Patna High Court judge Nagender Rai.

Among others who have consented to be on the show are Geeta Gawli, daughter of mobboss-turned-politician Arun Gawli, Bihar politician Sadhu Yadav; Samajwadi party leader Abu Azmi; Bhojpuri actors Ravi Kishan and Manoj Tiwari; and southern actress Nagma.

“The house where these participants will stay will be very stylish and modernised. It will have a very contemporary gym for the contestants. The movements of the contestants will be tracked 24X7 by around 30 cameras,” Pandey said.

“You can expect exchanges of hot words and sharing of experiences about fake encounters, malpractices in politics to win elections among other things,” Pandey said. He has already completed shooting the promos of participants.

Pandey says he has been working on the project for a couple of years.

“I wanted to bring out the stories of real life heroes before the general public. This will help the masses understand the problems these people face during their time. The psychology, the trauma, the tension and all other human emotions will be relived by our participants,” he added.

Pandey says the money collected from the show will be used for the welfare of 400 children selected from across India. These children will then be taught by the NGO Citizen Watch and Resources Development Society.

(Kanu Sarda can be contacted at kanu.s@ians.in)