Captive reality TV has often brought into focus ethics, autonomy, authenticity and voyeurism and questioned the thin line between what is curated fact and what is curated fiction. The format — in which a group of contestants are confined in a space and made to live a life far from the ordinary, under camera surveillance — is a social experiment which often raises philosophical questions. Worldwide, the format is one of the most successful reality TV sub-genres, with India being no exception — Bigg Boss, the desi adaptation of Big Brother, has had 18 regular seasons and three OTT editions, with the next season slated for July. Based on Fear Factor, Khatron Ke Khiladi has aced 14 seasons.
Not all global captive reality TV formats have found takers in India though. Both Survivor India (based on the eponymous international series) and Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao — the Hindi TV take on I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! — bowed out after one season apiece.
The Traitors, however, looks like it is in the game for the long haul. The high-stakes captive reality show — which has had hyper successful formats in the UK and US — launched the first season of its Indian version, to stream on Amazon Prime Video, at Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai on Friday. t2 was present in the house.
Hosted by filmmaker-producer and bona fide master of ceremonies Karan Johar, The Traitors — as the name suggests — has its foundation in deception, betrayal, mind games and manipulation, with 20 well-known to moderately popular faces, being locked up in a mansion. Three of them, without the knowledge of the others, will be picked as ‘traitors’ and every night, their task will be to ‘murder’ one of the contestants as part of the elimination process. The aim of the contestants — which the show refers to as ‘players’ — will be to identify the traitors, after placing the suspects in a ‘circle of shaque’, before the next murder takes place.
“Yahan trust is rare, betrayal everywhere,” was how Karan Johar chose to introduce The Traitors, which has its roots in the Dutch series De Verraders. Dressed top to toe in House of Masaba couture and jewellery, it was Karan’s choker — with the word ‘Nirvair’ — that caught one’s eye immediately. A Punjabi word, Nirvair in Sikhism translates to ‘without hate/ without enmity,’ which, perhaps, is pretty telling, especially when Karan was asked why he had chosen to host the show. “Traitors have been happening to me all my life. Who else can host a show called The Traitors?!” laughed the man popularly known as KJo, who, however, given the format of the show, has to maintain a stoic and stand-offish stance with the players. “I didn’t realise it initially, but being distant and cold proved to be tough and overbearing. It was difficult to maintain that visage, it got to me after a point,” said Karan, who also emphasised on how The Traitors has the ability to enthrall and engage like few other reality shows. “I watched the UK and US versions (before hosting the Indian edition) and I was mesmerised by the sheer craziness of this supremely clever format,” he said. “In many reality shows, one gets the feeling of them being fraudulent and inauthentic. In The Traitors, the players are authentic and raw and show their real emotions.”
“The Traitors is truly an immersive experience that helps you understand the human psyche,” added Nikhil Madhok, head of originals, Prime Video, India. Madhok also spoke about how each of the 20 players had been picked for their “strong emotional quotient”, an essential pre-requisite — and perhaps even an armour — to survive in The Traitors.
And then came the moment of the afternoon, with the players being unveiled on stage, removing their physical masks — for the metaphorical masks, we will need to wait for the show — and introducing themselves. Unlike many other reality shows where the number of unknown faces easily trump the celebrity count, it is to Prime Video’s credit that they have managed to bring together a bunch with pretty solid cred. That includes actors Karan Kundra, Jasmine Bhasin, Elnaaz Nourozi, Ashish Vidyarthi, Lakshmi Manchu, Jannat Zubair and Sudhanshu Panday. The influencer/ content creator roster boasts Uorfi Javed, Apoorva Makhija, Sufi Motiwala, Purav Jha and Sahil Salathia. Casting director Mukesh Chhabra, stand-up comic Harsh Gujral and entrepreneur Raj Kundra are also on the list as are the aunt-niece pair of Maheep Kapoor and Anshula Kapoor as well as rapper Raftaar. Rounding off the score are poker player Nikita Luther and tarot reader Janvee Gaurr.
Some of the fun moments of the reveal came via Raj Kundra who, looking directly at Karan Johar, by then seated in the FROW, said that he would use his “nepo husband card” in the game. Kundra, of course, is married to actor Shilpa Shetty. Sufi Motiwala, who rates celebrity outfits on his Instagram handle (and often tears them to ‘shreds’), when asked about what his strategy for the game would be, quipped in his trademark manner: “If Paris Hilton and Rakhi Sawant had a love child... that is what I bring to the show.” Ahem!
Rounding off the launch, Karan spoke about how, true to the nature of the show and in its aftermath, he had grown a tad distrustful of people. “Maheep is one of my closest friends, but I really don’t trust her any more,” said a serious Karan, tongue firmly in cheek, of course.
The Traitors premieres on Amazon Prime Video on June 12, with new episodes dropping every Thursday at 8pm.
