Over 4 million viewers.
That’s the amount of people who tuned in to watch the first episode of Bigg Boss 2 on TV.
Over 11 million viewers.
That’s the amount of people who watched Bigg Boss 2 on its opening week.
Damn…
[Pic source: rediff.com]
I scoffed when the show first debuted. Well, now I am munching on a very tasteless humble pie. 11 million is no laughing matter.
*shakes head, goes to the kitchen, heaves a sigh, puts on blue jeans, submits visa to rude grey haired man, collects pension fund from bank, comes back to the lap-top, still shakes head*
I know it is bad manners to make fun of what people watch, but still… Bigg Boss? That too 11 freaking million viewers??? That’s like 11 million people I hope I’ll never be stuck in an elevator with, who’ll probably talk only about the previous night’s episode…
- did you see the nightie Payal wore? It was so horrendous!
- Sanjay is so funny, the way he makes tea and yawns…
- I think Raja has the hots for Sambhavna, because I think he was thinking about her the whole day…
- Watching the contestants go for their evening walk is so exciting and it makes my adrenalin rush! Such electrifying strides…
- I swear to God Rahul hums when he’s in the loo. Here, listen closer…
- Sanjay is so funny, the way he makes tea and yawns…
- I think Raja has the hots for Sambhavna, because I think he was thinking about her the whole day…
- Watching the contestants go for their evening walk is so exciting and it makes my adrenalin rush! Such electrifying strides…
- I swear to God Rahul hums when he’s in the loo. Here, listen closer…
Arrrrrgh!
To me, all that kinda translates as, “Hey! I don’t have a life. Woohoooo.”
But then again, I shouldn’t judge people. That’s a bad thing to do. A huge chunk of these 11 million viewers would probably call me crazy too if they saw the kinda stuff I watch on TV.
I am a sit-com addict, and talk-show hosts and stand-up comedians like Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen DeGeneres, Russell Peters, Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady etc. Put them all in a house à la Bigg Show, and that’d be something I would definitely not miss. Something like “The last Comic Standing” maybe, which is another favorite show of mine.
I love people who make me laugh. Not surprising that my IDOL and HERO is none other than the great, oh so great, HOMER SIMPSON!
And that’s exactly what I love. A bunch of people cracking me up with hilarious jokes and puns. Sometimes I love to see people get roasted. And then sometimes, I love to watch people get hurt!
Does that make me a bad person?
By pain, of course I don’t mean in that evil, sadistic, malefic, psycho kinda way. I love shows like “Whacked out sports” on AXN where they show people getting hurt for doing silly silly totally unnecessary stunts.
And this is exactly the reason why I try not to mock people who watch Bigg Boss, because having stayed away from home for a long time, I know from experience that many people find it strange too that I enjoy watching boxing matches, The Contender, football fans fight etc etc.
Suppose during a basketball match, two people fighting for the ball suddenly banged their heads against each other… I would laugh, while most people would show genuine concern. Of course I wouldn’t laugh if there’s blood and broken bones and brain pieces. Duh! I wouldn’t laugh if I witness a horrible car accident, or a bomb blast victim, or a guy on youTube executed by a masked man wielding an AK-47. Those are extremely gory and make me nauseous to the core.
But if a defender kicks the ball into the referee’s urrrmm… thingie by mistake, or Adam Sandler throws the ball at that same spot [The longest Yard] or a kid inflicts immense pain on two adults [Home Alone], I laugh my ass out.
Yet there are those who see no humor in all that. To them, we have a crude sense of humor, and to us, they have no sense of humor. I guess all of us have our own criteria for definition, and the problem is, all of us try to measure everything according to what we are.
I still remember so well back in IIMB when Peeyush threw the basketball at the pillar (post) after scoring a big basket, as a sign of intimidation to the opponents, when the ball rebounded and hit him square on the forehead! I laughed out so much I nearly pee’d, and yet all the others around me were giving me a dirty patronizing look for laughing at somebody’s “misfortune”.
That is why I am extremely careful over here. I’ve learnt that everybody’s different, and just because people laugh at this kind of stuff back in Mizoram doesn’t mean that people outside Mizoram do.
What caused this big difference between people from the North-east and other Indians? Is it because of our tribal background? Back in Engineering college, the exchange students from Rwanda too loveeeee to laugh at each other when one of them goes through a minor mishap during a football/basketball game. So how come those Rwandans and Mizos share the same sense of humor? The two would have not even met, even as microbes, during the period of Gondwanaland.
The question I’ve often been asked regarding this is, “How would you feel if you tripped clumsily while running after a football and people started laughing at you? You’ll feel bad naaa.” And my honest answer? “No, why the heck would I feel bad about it?”
Seriously. Why would I?
And like I mentioned earlier, all of us compare things based on what we are, and so that is why I am me and you are you and I am not you. Basic mathematics.
Enjoy Bigg Boss 2. Hyuk hyuk hyuk.
19 comments:
Bigg Boss?? Never heard of it.Even though I never get to see it, last big TV show I read about was 'Kasauti', prolly because of the big hit in Mizoram :)
Interesting write-up on humor! I've also noticed that in the middle of our conversations, the Mizo's out here would laugh out in unison when something funny (in our culture) is said whereas our Aussie friends are like...dead serious. Very amusing at times :)
Its a spin-off of the popular show in UK called Big Brother, whether people have to stay in a house together for a couple of days and get voted out by public and house members. The one who remains in the end wins.
But of course in UK the people who participate are common people but here in India, the participants are celebrities, after all, we definitely know how to worship celebrities here :)
Yes it is quite interesting to observe all the differences between different cultures when it comes to humor!
I can see there is a bright future fire reality programs in India :(
I am not sure that only Mizos would laugh at little injuries. Most people would, I suspect, then feel guilty or wonder if it were politically correct.
Was watching it few days back..because heard before that Diana Hayden was coming(Cant help this,but I love seeing all these beautiful girls..haha)..not a bad show..at least its making Shilpa Shetty getting richer..
Me too,I love Russel and Ellen..
Bigg Boss is the big talk of our office lunchtime. Got enough of it without having to take a peek. Let 'em enjoy it if they do, i refuse to punish myself.
Look at your name acronym on the previous blog.
Maybe it is the people who take everything seriously find it hard to laugh.
I have known and also known some people irrespective of ethnic background who find almost everything funny. I love to be in such company coz life becomes so much livelier and fun!! I once had a colleague who was like that. Even now when I call her we end up in splits laughing at even the smallest joke!! :D
Bigg Boss... never got back to watching it after the first one. Just not my kind of reality show.
I've had plenty of embarrassing moments but there's one scene that plays in my mind while i write this- This guy i was going out with a few yrs ago, he was playing football and got kicked in the groin. i shamelessly cackled away. Yeah... he wasn't the least bit amused. Liked your post. Tc
Chu Bigg Boss chu copy cat ani maw:-) I love Jack Black too. Letterman show pawh hi hmuhnawm ka ti.
Fiamthu hi a lo inang lo thei khawp mai..Ka fiamthu thawh a hnamdang an nuih tak mang loh hi a atam ta:-)
Chutiangain an nuihzat ka nuiti za miah lo..Nepolean Dynamite movie te kha ni ve lehtho.
Kan culture /world view/values vangte hi ania ng.Ofcourse, kanseilenna in ang loh vang te:-)
“How would you feel if you tripped clumsily while running after a football and people started laughing at you?"
I'd definitely laugh at myself :D Seriously, i can't stand people who can't laugh at themselves..
"The moment of truth"..another pathetic show.. :D
@ lekhni: Exactly what I was trying to convey. I think the definition of political correctness vary from culture to culture. Being brought up outside Mizoram, this is one of the main things that I observe which is very different when I go home.
@ toy soldier: I don't know why, but you strike to me as a person who loves to watch shows such as this and Kasauti etc... I dunno... maybe its the way you write your blog... strange but thats the preconceived notion I have about you :-)
@ mesjay: lolzzz love the acronym!!! You're the master (ermmm mistress I mean...) and no doubt what you came up with was très excellent.
I know exactly what you're talking about. It is soooo boring to hear others around us discuss about Bigg Boss! :) But thats life and we have to deal with all that too. hehehehe.
@ claytonia: When I think of all the guys who became my best friends in my journey through life, right from school to college to post-grad, I find that they (mallus, tams, bhongs etc) all share the same humor as I do! Isn't it mighty fun to be in such company? We laugh all the time, and life seems so much brighter. And yes, frankly I dont want to be in the company of those who are so serious about everything that the last time they laughed was 10 years ago. Thats creepy! :)
@ Eveline: Thanx for the visit again. Hehehe I can imagine you laughing away and the guy frowning upon you. lolz. Yeah I've been through such incidents many times in my life. Its quite awkward sometimes too :)
@ seki: I've heard a lot about Letterman, but I never got the chance to see him even once :( Dying to see him.
Seilenna chu a dik tho na in, kei hi ka seilenna chu khuuuuu lampang daih a nia, mahse engtinge ka sense of humor hi khiiiii lam nen a in ang si? :-P
@ Luliana: Exactly! I really don't know whats wrong if we laugh at ourselves if we do something clumsy? It's absolutely alright in my books. Funny though, that many people dont because I guess you know, they have this really big ego and think they're God or somthing, so its demeaning to their pride if they laugh at themselves or something like that... :)
Huiss! 11 million is too much da! Haha
die hard Russel's fan ka inti ve ngam. . .homer rocks. . .
"somebody's going to get hurt"
Thriana,ka blog ah Kasauti ka la ziak bawk lo..ka en ngai lo bawk
Min chhuah Vai tring trang eeee...
I thu sawi hi sut leh mai2 la.."sut" om zia sia m??:)
@ sercop: lolzzzzzz. "somebody gonna getta hurt real bad" zawk a lawm :D I too am a hardcore Russel Peters fan. Chop song bong! Fo fak lai! hehehe.
@ toy: i hmel hi a kasauti riau ka tia *BIG GRIN*
just jk. sut awmzia ka selo mami. a ei theih em? :-P
I agree with you totally. Wouldn't want to be stuck with THOSE 11 million people in an elevator. I'd say OVERLOAD, and stay off.
super fast date of blogs at misual :P
excellent post and nice read, as usual. have never watched Bigg Boss/Brother or any reality show but love, among others, That 70s Show which we watch at home every chance we get (downloaded from the web) - usually 5-6 episodes in one go. :)
Never heard of the show, though I did hear of Big brother. Hmmm. By the sound of it, I guess I can pass it up.
I think it's great to be able to laugh at oneself, and it does take the edge off any embarrassing situation. What is not ok, of course, is laughing at people's handicaps or shortcomings, unless they do it themselves. A friend of mine used to have "fat" jokes cracked at her expense all the time, and she, being a good sport, would laugh good-naturedly, but then, one day, she confessed that these jokes really made her feel low about herself, not to mention embarrassed. So I guess a little sensitivity is called for, na? My fav brand of humor is the the one Chandler displays so well in Friends.
I don't watch Bigg Boss... I totally enjoy stand-up comedy as well!
And you are so right about humor, all of us have different tastes and perceptions about it as well.
I still find most of the jokes on that comedy-show with Siddhu as the judge kind of lame, but I have friends who have been following it from the beginning and totally love it!
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