‘Sach Ka Saamna’ under government scanner, channel remains mum
July 23rd, 2009 - 3:35 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) STAR Plus is maintaining a no-comment stance over its controversial reality show “Sach Ka Saamna” that got high viewership ratings but is now under the government scanner after being hotly debated in parliament for its content.
“We would not like to comment on the issue as of now,” an official from STAR Plus told IANS Thursday, a day after the issue figured prominently in the upper house of parliament.
Samajwadi Party MP Kamal Akhtar raised questions regarding the show’s content in the Rajya Sabha and said the show that featured “unreasonable questions about a person’s bedroom life” was against Indian culture.
Later, the ministry of information and broadcasting also issued a showcause notice to the channel for violating the programming code of the Cable TV Network Act of 1995.
STAR Plus has to respond to the notice latest by Monday.
Siddharth Basu, head of BIG Synergy Adlabs that is producing the show, said in response:
“I would not like to comment on the issue raised in parliament.”
“I have the highest regard for the institution and its members and I am sure things will be well considered and due process will be followed,” Basu said in an SMS message to IANS.
Based on the American show “The Moment of Truth”, “Sach Ka Saamna” features contestants who have to answer 21 questions about their lives after undergoing a polygraph test that determines if an answer is true. A contestant with the perfect score gets to walk away with a prize money of Rs.10 million.
Celebrities like former cricketer Vinod Kambli and actress Urvashi Dholakia have already featured on the show and made some brave revelations.
For instance, Urvashi was asked if she was thrown out of college for teenage pregnancy. Though she said no, the question itself raised many eyebrows.
The premiere episode of the show, aired July 15, had received a stupendous response in terms of its Television Rating Points (TRPs) that stood at 3.4 percent as against 1.6 percent registered by the first episode of “Iss Jungle Se…” on Sony TV, according to data provided by television viewership tracker Audience Measurement and Analytics (aMap).
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni has called a meeting with the broadcaster’s bodies Indian Broadcasting Federation and News Broadcasters Association Thursday to discuss the issue.
- Meerut man wins Rs.5 mn on 'Sach Ka Saamna' (With Images) - Mar 28, 2012
- 'Sacch Ka Saamna' set for season 2, host not yet decided - Nov 22, 2009
- Court upholds government notice on TV reality show - Sep 30, 2011
- Pamela boosts 'Bigg Boss 4' TRPs - Nov 18, 2010
- No 'bedroom talk' on TV - are policymakers playing spoilsport? - Jul 25, 2009
- 'Uncomfortable truth' beats 'jungle adventure' on TV - Jul 23, 2009
- Political blade on Sach Ka Saamna - Jul 23, 2009
- Amitabh's 'KBC 2010' beats all in TRP race - Oct 12, 2010
- Rural backdrops, reality shows rocked small screen (Flashback 2009) - Dec 21, 2009
- No moral policing: Court dismisses plea against 'Sach Ka Saamna' - Jul 29, 2009
- TV shows need strict censorship: MP Kamal Akhtar - Jul 23, 2009
- Pleas against 'Sach ka Saamna' referred to division bench - Jul 24, 2009
- Truth can't harm, court says; dismisses plea against 'Sach Ka Saamna' (Lead) - Jul 29, 2009
- Court asked to ban 'Sach Ka Samna' - Jul 23, 2009
- New channel Life OK launched, Madhuri to be sutradhaar - Dec 18, 2011
Tags: adlabs, cable tv network, cricketer, house of parliament, indian culture, ministry of information, moment of truth, perfect score, polygraph test, premiere episode, programming code, rajya sabha, saamna, Samajwadi Party, siddharth, sure things, teenage pregnancy, upper house of parliament, urvashi, viewership