R eality shows have become passé. That is a reason hardly excite viewers these days, a reason why television channels are forced to exploring new pastures to stay in the race. From singing, dancing, acting and comedy, the channels have moved on to exploit the reality content in real-life relationships, thus bringing in that extra dose of tension, tears, smiles and squabbles. The result has been shows meant to choose the best couple, best housewife et al. It seems more drama is in the offing as Kairali TV launches ‘Amma Ammayiamma’, a new reality show to select the best mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair! Prasad Nooranad directs the show to be airedMonday to Thursday at 9.30 p.m., from October 22.Actor Surabhi is the anchor. Prasad, also the producer of ‘Veettamma’ (Kairali TV), has directed serials such as ‘Nombarappoovu’ and ‘Bhamini Tholkkarilla’ for Asianet and ‘Randaamathoral’ and ‘Koottukari’ for Surya TV. More from the director on his new show…
On the in-laws…
Reality shows based on real-life relationships are popular these days when compared to music or dance-based reality shows. So, we attempted to focus on the mother-in-law – daughter-in-law relationship, which is considered the most fragile of relationships. Endless serials, comic skits and soaps based on their conflicts have always gone well with the audience.
The response
Once we announced the show, there were hundreds of enquiries. But, when the auditions were conducted, the turn-out was much below than what we had expected. Then we understood the difficult situation we were in – that it is not easy to bring a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law on the same platform!
The format
We chose 19 pairs after the auditions held across the State. Three pairs will be eliminated in the first stage. The remaining will fight it out for the title. There will be different rounds to test their compatibility. Like a family round, which brings together all members of the family, hypothetical situations, counselling sessions, dance and drama.
Judging panel
Actors Sukumari, Mallika Sukumaran and Lakshmipriya form the permanent panel of judges. Certain episodes will also have celebrity judges and their mother-in-laws.
Expectations
The contestants belong to different strata of society and there are some interesting candidates as well. There is a lot of excitement and some are all set to share their experiences. That is a bit worrying, since we don’t know what will be the repercussion. We are expecting some action on the sets!
