New Delhi: While Aamir Khan's television debut 'Satyamev Jayate' got a thumbs up from the film industry and a large number of viewers, but there are a set of people who believe that the show is overrated.
First episode of Aamir's chat show ‘Satyamev Jayate’ raised the issue of female foeticide in our country. Media reports claim that Aamir Khan is being paid Rs 3 crore per episode for hosting the show. Is ‘Satyamev Jayate’ only a profit making venture for the television channel as well as Aamir Khan? Probably not, Aamir is one of the most successful Bollywood actors today. If this was only about making money, he could have easily chosen to anchor a reality show or a game show.
Salman Khan was paid more than Rs 2 crore for the each episode of his popular game show ‘Dus Ka Dum’. Hrithik Roshan earned Rs 2 crore per episode for being a judge on a reality show titled ‘Just Dance’. Amitabh Bachchan struck a Rs 150 crore deal for hosting three seasons of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’. All these shows just concentrate on entertaining people and work as a promotional vehicle for all the upcoming films.
In such a scenario, Aamir Khan has at least come up with a show that brings social issues in the limelight. During a recent interview Aamir Khan said, “I am no one to bring change or solve anything neither can the government. One person cannot improve this or bring solution. I can only keep the issue in front of everyone. The only solution is each and everyone should say I will not do that.”
Female foeticide is definitely not a new topic and there is nothing new that Aamir Khan said on ‘Satyamev Jayate’. Then why is everyone going gaga over the show? Many people have this question in mind.
When everyone knows about the issue, then why have no steps been taken against it? Why have the doctors not been punished for sex detection of babies, why after seven years of the sting operation none of the cases has been decided? The only reply is, we prefer being ignorant as that’s the most convenient thing to do. Aamir Khan can’t eradicate the social evils by just a few episodes. May be it is not a social service in anyway, but the show grabs your attention, makes you think and talk about the issue.
Rati Sinha (name changed), a media professional says that she felt ashamed of herself after watching the show. She confessed, “Soon after my sister found out that she was pregnant, she consumed some medicines to assure that it’s a baby boy. She also went to a small town close to Delhi to find out the sex of the baby through ultrasound. Thankfully, it was a boy and she didn’t opt for abortion. I was never in favor of this, but preferred not interfering. Aamir’s show made me feel guilty for letting this happen in front of me. I will be glad if god blesses me with a daughter.”
Official site of the show crashed soon after the show was over. Aamir Khan was also flooded with emotional messages. This is an indication enough of the reach and impact of ‘Satyamev Jayate’. Aamir is treating the show like a campaign. Special screenings of the show are being organized in villages. He also plans to write articles and do radio interviews to reach out to maximum number of people.
The first episode of ‘Satyamev Jayate’ was extremely high on emotional drama. Be it the audience members, guests or the host, everyone had tears in their eyes throughout the show. As Aamir is a known actor, many believe that he was faking it on the show for higher TRPs. Even if that is true, does that really matter? The message he is trying to put across is much more important than his fake tears. If he can even save a few lives with his effort, it’s worth it. ####
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