Indian Theatre Journal - Reality Television in South Asia: Performance, Negotiation, Imagination, Aug 2022

As performance reality television shows have become popular in Nepal, singers, musicians and dancers from the various communist parties’ cultural groups have begun to take part in them and draw on them for artistic inspiration. Yet reality shows are also closely associated with neo-liberal capitalism, and these artists’ participation has thus been criticized by some on the political left. This article examines the resulting interaction of aesthetics and values when communist artists, reality show expectations and cultural criticism meet. I draw on twenty years’ engagement with Nepal’s music industry as a performer and ethnographer, and in-person and online fieldwork with communist cultural groups between 2012 and 2021. I focus on artists associated with the far-left party known officially as the Communist Party of Nepal and informally as Biplav’s CPN; a party that emerged from the former CPN (Maoist). Outlining points of articulation and conflict between the values of these Maoist artists and of commercial music and dance competition reality shows, I argue that as communists living in late capitalism, these artists strive to use reality shows as platforms and as sources of artistic inspiration to shape reality and inspire others towards their dreams of creating a more egalitarian society.

This article focuses on reality television shows featuring solo female Bihu performance: the music and dance form associated with the Assamese New Year’s festival. These shows cultivate a sense of ‘reality’ by incorporating scenes of finalists on location in their homes. Often depicting hardworking village girls conducting daily chores, these scenes narrate the journey from anonymity to celebrity stardom, highlighting the ability of contestants to embody certain idealized values associated with Assamese womanhood. While judges began embedding these values into Bihu stage competitions in the early 1980s, the scrutiny of individual contestants by celebrity judges has increased since the advent of reality TV Bihu shows in the early 2000s. The success female contestants are able to achieve depends, in part, on their ability to convincingly portray a ‘rural’ sensibility while maintaining an air of respectability, both as part of Bihu performance and during question-and-answer sessions. Drawing on the author’s experience as a guest judge in two seasons of Bihu Rānī (‘Bihu Queen’), as well as on interviews with judges, producers, hosts, contestants and session musicians, the article examines how female performers navigate neo-liberal models of competitive performance while maintaining values and beliefs associated with collective ritual performance.

This article explores the ways Tamil-language dance reality competition show Maanada Mayilada (The Deer Dances and the Peacock Dances) (MM) interacts with and partially subverts the gender norms of Tamil cinema. While the structure of MM supports and promotes female contestants, the choreography tends to reinforce the gender stereotypes found in the larger industry. The show, consisting of male/female song-and-dance sequences, privileges women in a way the larger film industry does not. The choreographers are all male, and they conceptualize the dances, select and edit the music, and compose the movements for the contestants and backup dancers. The performances are then evaluated and scored by a panel of female actors and choreographers led by Kala Master. They sometimes praise dancers and choreographers for breaking gender stereotypes and at other times admonish them to work within them. MM positions women in such a way that it does not default to their objectification and exploitation as is common in the reality show genre.

Coke Studio Pakistan is a decade-long music reality show featuring collaborations between pop, classical and local folk musicians. Sponsored by Coca-Cola and displaying a state-of-the-art production, it aims to bring local and old-school musicians and repertories to the Pakistani urban youth while disseminating a positive image of Pakistan. This occurs in the context of the efforts of Pakistani entrepreneurs and artists towards their insertion into the global market while overcoming the country’s negative international reputation due to religious violence. This article analyses Coke Studio Pakistan under the lens of neo-liberal nationalism, characterizing it as a nation-branding effort that uses music to make a representation of Pakistan that complies with Coca-Cola’s corporate goals and with the agendas of a sector of Pakistani artists. A quantitative and network analysis of the show reveals which artists, genres, regions and cultural groups the show privileges or overlooks. A qualitative study of the show’s communicational strategy and of the discourses of its creators and sponsors complements the quantitative analysis. This article explores the complexities of a nationalist model of multicultural citizenship promoted by the private sector, including issues of cultural representation, corporate agendas, class relationships, responsiveness to audiences’ demands and international politics.