Yesteryear actor Ranjini is the latest person to pick up the cudgels against reality/talk shows where actors resolve people's personal problems. Ranjini put up a Facebook post with screenshots from Khushbu's TV show "Nijangal" which shows the anchor holding a man by the collar.
Ranjini says:
"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" being telecasted on Sun TV, where Actress Khusboo grabs the contestant's shirt and shouts.....is this counselling? Infact,this succumbs 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 declaring and stating that some actresses who host such programs are not at all qualified to give counselling to the poor contestants. Always seek counselling organisations who are often NGOs and its offered free of charge before going to the courts. I sincerely hope that Khusboo apologises to this contestant in public before she faces the courts."
Asked for her response, Khushbu, the anchor for "Nijangal" told The News Minute that she doesn't want to react to the comments: "I don't want to react to Sripriya. She is entitled to her opinion. I have a different thinking and attitude. I will not react to that. I have my respect for her as a senior and I will stay with that. "
Noting that that there are family courts and criminal laws to sort out issues, Sripriya had appealed to the actors to stay away from playing the judge. She further added that if the whole thing was about helping people, it should be done off camera and that a counselor or lawyer would be the apt person to do it.
— sripriya (@sripriya) November 26, 2016
if it's a platform of justice to those in misery lets do it without the camera.take them to the right person a lawyer or a counseller.ty
— sripriya (@sripriya) November 27, 2016
Khusbhu, however, sees it differently: "I know what I'm doing. Everybody has their own perceptions. I know I'm solving somebody's problems. And those who have a problem with this need to understand that we don't bring the people, they come to us."
Actor-director Lakshmy Ramakrishnan who hosts "Solvadhellam Unmai" has received criticism previously too. In September, the show had come under fire after a 45-year-man committed suicide after an episode aired in which he was outed as a paedophile. More recently, Lakshmy's show was parodied in a recent Tamil film "Kadavul Irukaan Kumaru" and the actor had taken exception to it.
Lakshmy's response to Sripriya's comments mirrors Khusbhu's: "I've explained myself enough times, Sripriya is free to state her opinion." In an earlier interview given to The News Minute, Lakshmy had said that she meets thousands of people who've benefited from her show and that she's 100% convinced about what she's doing.
Khusbhu says that the attention that these shows are receiving is proof of their wide reach: "Nobody will want to caricature a show unless it's successful. It's so successful and that's why they're talking about it or caricaturing it. I'd say thank you very much. People are watching the show, whether they like it or dislike it is their prerogative and they can decide."
The popular kangaroo courts of regional channels have come under flak from various quarters in recent times. Actor Geetha, who hosts a Telugu show in the same format, “Bathuku Jataka Bandi”, was condemned by LGBTQ activists after she insulted and threatened a queer couple on her show.
Is the melodrama in these shows orchestrated? How helpful are they to the public? Do they misguide people in the guise of doing good?
Critics of the shows have been asking these questions loudly ever since the "katta panchayat" TV courts became popular, but the actors who anchor them remain convinced about their work, arguing that everything happens with the consent of participants and that they're only helping people out.