I am one of those who do not follow ‘reality’ shows. Even when the infamous racism row happened in the UK’s ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ show and was splashed across all news channels, my reaction was – ‘so what? its just another Bollywood masala in a UK setting’.
So when the star villian of the show, Jade Goody died recently, the adulation across UK revealed the power of such shows. She had become famous, rather infamous, during the controversial episodes of Big Brother. She was the villain. However, her fatal illness brought her back the lost respect – like the bad mother-in-law/sister-in-law in our movies who cry for forgiveness, in the arms of the heroine, just before dying.
Notwithstanding the millions she made by cashing in on her death (signing up lucrative deals with TV networks to allow them to film her last days – for her sons’ sake), she was praised by even the UK’s Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, as a ‘courageous woman’.
So when the star villian of the show, Jade Goody died recently, the adulation across UK revealed the power of such shows. She had become famous, rather infamous, during the controversial episodes of Big Brother. She was the villain. However, her fatal illness brought her back the lost respect – like the bad mother-in-law/sister-in-law in our movies who cry for forgiveness, in the arms of the heroine, just before dying.
Notwithstanding the millions she made by cashing in on her death (signing up lucrative deals with TV networks to allow them to film her last days – for her sons’ sake), she was praised by even the UK’s Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, as a ‘courageous woman’.
After all, nothing is more honourable than a honourable death. Life is all about reality, I mean reality shows.
