New Delhi: With its new show Tamasha Ghar, Pakistan’s diving headlong into the money-making, viewership-driven entertainment giant that’s reality TV. Audiences who can’t resist the lure of seeing celebrities slug it out before the camera have already spotted Tamasha Ghar’s similarities with India’s Bigg Boss.
Ever since Bigg Boss, an adaptation of the Netherlands’ Big Brother, was released in 2006, viewers have been hooked. And the producers of Tamasha Ghar are probably banking on creating a similar craze. The reality show, featuring celebrities as they bicker over household chores, has become the talk of the town in Pakistan four days after it aired on ARY Digital.
You know the drill
Every day at 9 pm, viewers tune in to see popular celebrities forced to live together in a luxurious house and participate in games and challenges. Filled with endless drama, controversy, and entertainment, each rendition of Tamasha Ghar gives viewers a voyeuristic thrill.
Actors Aamna Malick, Umer Aalam, Maira Khan, Humaira Asghar, Mareeha Safdar, Saeeda Imtiaz, and Saim Ali are the contestants in Tamasha Ghar. Others who have thrown their hat into the ring are TV host Aadi Adeal Amjad, comedian Rauf Lala, choreographer Nigah Je, model Faiza Khan, fitness trainer Sehr Beg, and singer Nouman Javaid.
Viewers have already picked sides and are starting to become heavily involved in the show.
Adnan Siddiqui, a Pakistani actor, producer, and model, is the host and judge of the show. Indians might recall him as playing the role of Anand Sabharwal opposite Sridevi in the Bollywood film Mom (2017).
The fresh element in Tamasha Ghar is that, unlike Salman Khan who hosts Bigg Boss from the outside, in this show, Adnan Siddiqui lives with the contests in the house.
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Social media can’t help it
As it goes with most things, netizens can’t help but draw a comparison between Bigg Boss and Tamasha Ghar. A flurry of memes have also taken over the internet, describing the similarities between the two shows.
Viewers have pointed out the similar sets, mannerisms, and outfit choices of Adnan Siddiqui as that of Bigg Boss and Salman Khan.
Big boss lover After seeing Tamasha Ghar #TamashaGhar #ARY pic.twitter.com/PlT3bxCClx
— ghal ghal ??✨ (@SycoLarki) August 20, 2022
However, fans are still enjoying the show for all the ‘tamasha’ it’s bringing.
Pakistan’s reality TV landscape
Tamasha Ghar, though, isn’t Pakistan’s first foray into the big bad world of commercial entertainment.
Pakistani reality TV has been catching up with the global entertainment industry. In 2012, Foodistan, where Indian and Pakistani chefs were at loggerheads, competing against one another, gathered a lot of attention.
“Now the world’s greatest rivalry is going to get spicier,” said co-host Ira Dubey in one of the early episodes of the show. Foodistan failed to sustain interest when a top Pakistani chef on the show quit the contest early and even threatened to sue it as he felt the judges were biased toward India.
Now, despite the backlash over Tamasha Ghar’s similarity to Bigg Boss, it’s keeping Pakistani viewers glued to their TVs.
(Edited by Humra Laeeq)