Getting real

I s it rigged? That's one of the questions posed whenever fights break out or unexpected contestants get out of reality contests.

Excerpts from a conversation with Rannvijay and Raghu (winner and crew member of MTV Roadies respectively), Abhijeet Sawant (Indian Idol Season One winner), Sandeep Sachdev (winner Biggest Loser Jeetega and Neha Bhasin (former band member of Viva, courtesy Channel [V] Popstars) Anything to get in Raghu: One guy came in on the first day of the group discussion for Roadies. He was blind. We thought how will he take part in the show?

Roadies is about adventure and tasks. But we liked his spirit and selected him. In the second round, both Nikhil Chinapa and I figured something was wrong. Nikhil went close to him and he stopped talking... when spoken to, he turned his eyes towards us.

We called an eye specialist and did a test on camera.. he was completely normal! We kicked him out of the show. In Jaipur, he came again! Naghma: He tried again? Raghu: Yeah. He said he was a theatre artist and had done it for effect. That's how far people go to get in. Losing it Sandeep Sachdev: I had a simple logic - the top three people will either be deserving ones, or those who don't deserve at all would win. We made sure we had our groups, and created such a situation where the best three would go in the final. Naghma: So there's grouping. Sandeep: You know how it happens. We tell each other that we're with you. Just before the final elimination, we say, ‘Sorry yaar.' We play these games. I had reached the elimination and I knew that I'd be out. I convinced others on the show that ‘Boss, today it's me.. tomorrow it's going to be you. Either you support me or you'll be out soon.' It worked for me. Rannvijay: And then you showed them the exit.

Fine tuning Abhijeet Sawant: We used to fight over song selection. You know like.. he's taken a better song. We didn't say anything to each other on the faces, but behind their back, we would complain, ‘Sir, he is doing like this..' Amit (Sana) was my roommate, when only four contestants were left. He suddenly became serious. He started practising throughout the day Even in . the night, I'd be sleeping, and he'd be sitting next to me rehearsing his song.. the rest of them also came to see his practice.

Roadies is about adventure and tasks. But we liked his spirit and selected him. In the second round, both Nikhil Chinapa and I figured something was wrong. Nikhil went close to him and he stopped talking... when spoken to, he turned his eyes towards us.

We called an eye specialist and did a test on camera.. he was completely normal! We kicked him out of the show. In Jaipur, he came again! Naghma: He tried again? Raghu: Yeah. He said he was a theatre artist and had done it for effect. That's how far people go to get in. Losing it Sandeep Sachdev: I had a simple logic - the top three people will either be deserving ones, or those who don't deserve at all would win. We made sure we had our groups, and created such a situation where the best three would go in the final. Naghma: So there's grouping. Sandeep: You know how it happens. We tell each other that we're with you. Just before the final elimination, we say, ‘Sorry yaar.' We play these games. I had reached the elimination and I knew that I'd be out. I convinced others on the show that ‘Boss, today it's me.. tomorrow it's going to be you. Either you support me or you'll be out soon.' It worked for me. Rannvijay: And then you showed them the exit.

Fine tuning Abhijeet Sawant: We used to fight over song selection. You know like.. he's taken a better song. We didn't say anything to each other on the faces, but behind their back, we would complain, ‘Sir, he is doing like this..' Amit (Sana) was my roommate, when only four contestants were left. He suddenly became serious. He started practising throughout the day Even in . the night, I'd be sleeping, and he'd be sitting next to me rehearsing his song.. the rest of them also came to see his practice.