Marijuana abuse on reality shows, alleges participant

Alcohol abuse also rampant in reality shows claim participants

Alcohol abuse also rampant in reality shows claim participantsu00a0


"They used to drink and do drugs till 4 in the morning," alleges a livid Pooja Misrra. The VJ-actress is referring to her co-contestants on Big Switch. The reality show features 10 rich 'kids' who move to a slum where they live with 10 slum-dwellers dubbed 'dreamers'. The rich 'kids' perform menial tasks, which win points for the dreamers. "Siddartha Khanna and Adam Bedi would carry wads of cash to win friends in the crew, so they could call home. They would spend night after night drinking and rolling up spliffs in front of the gullible slum children!" alleges Misrra.

Pooja Misrra, a contestant of Big Switch, alleges that contestants are into substance and alcohol abuse

Clinical psychotherapist Seema Hingorrany is shocked to hear this. "If this has happened, it is a very bad influence, not just on the slum-dwellers but on anyone watching the show. It's on national television."





Grass is greener on other shows too

A source states that in Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao, a reality show in which celebrities had to survive in the jungle, some of the contestants allegedly smoked marijuana and were sometimes even served alcohol. "They'd have drinks from their water bottles. Some of them even smoked pot. It probably made them more interesting on camera," says the source. When contacted, Nivedith Alva, series producer for the show, rubbishes the claims. He states: "No such thing ever happened on the show. Whoever has said that is talking nonsense."

Booze on camera

Rumour has it that even Bigg Boss provided some of its contestants in prior seasons with a peg a day, to keep them happy, even though it wasn't allowed on the show. But Seema Hingorrany who was on the consulting panel of Bigg Boss 1 and 2 denies any knowledge about this. "As long as I was there, whenever I spoke to the contestants in the confession room or otherwise, I never felt they were under the influence. But then I wasn't there for 24 hours and the production house doesn't tell us everything." Reality show veteran, Rakhi Sawant, however, alleges that alcohol is consumed on reality shows.

About Big Switch, Misrra alleges, "While shooting for his video diaries, in which contestants talk aboutu00a0 the others, Siddhartha was always drunk."u00a0

Rakhi Sawant, Bigg Boss, Rakhi ka Swayamwar, Pati Patni Aur Woh
Yes, alcohol abuse does happen on some reality shows. I have heard about it, I have seen it. The channel or production houses do it for TRPs. They serve alcohol mixed with soft drinks so that the contestants talk more, do 'alag harkatein'. Mere saath hua bhi hai.u00a0

Sufi Malhotra, Roadies 6u00a0
No, there never was any alcohol or substance abuse on Roadies, not to my knowledge at least. I never indulged in anything but I don't know if the other contestants did so in private. But I don't remember slurred speech or any other tellu00e2u0080u0093tale signs of abuse.u00a0u00a0

Gurmeet Kaur aka palak, Roadies 6 and Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao
No, no such thing happened on any of the shows that I was on. Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao provided cigarettes to contestants who wanted them, but never any alcohol or drugs. I have heard rumours about other shows but I can't comment.

The Other Side

Vaibhav Mody of Endemol, the producers of Big Switch denies these allegations. "The contestants, be it the dreamers or the rich kids, were never allowed outside the shooting area so the question of drinking or substance abuse doesn't arise." Mody sees the accusations as a loser's means to vent steam. Mody adds, "We make shows for entertainment and this show was pro-social in that it had a nice underlying theme. No alcohol or drug abuse ever occurred on the sets."u00a0u00a0u00a0 Siddhartha Khanna, who has been accused of smoking marijuana on Big Switch says. "I'm an athlete, why would I abuse my own body?" Khanna, the son of a Delhi-based builder, adds that he has almost entirely stopped drinking alcohol after an attack of jaundice four-five years ago. As for bribing the crew to make calls home, Khanna admits that he did repeatedly ask for a chance to speak to his father but was reminded of his contract in which it was clearly stated that he wouldn't be allowed phone calls or access to the Internet.

MTV's New Reality Show

MTV's american wing has launched a new reality show called Jersey Shore that within a week of airing has become quite popular. it is high on drama with a cast member leaving early on, another being assaulted and the producers allegedly receiving threats for portraying italian-americans in poor light.