They came, they saw, they changed…yes, some conquered too but most talent hunt contestants end up diverting from their goal, their focus; some others find success in something else; still some others undergo a Cinderella-like transformation and last but not the least, some attain mini-celebrityhood. Be it an Abhijeet Sawant, Prajakta Shukre or Sanchita Bhattacharya, almost all of them joined talent hunts/reality shows as shaky, simple nervous participants. But a glance at them, and chances are you will be left with an open mouth! Most of them are unrecognizable as signs of fame, popularity and a bit of prosperity sits pretty on their once-slim waistlines, some of them even sport a smug look with of course that celebrity swagger and have a glued-to-their-mobile-phone stance… TellyChakkar tries to map the way reality show participants have changed and find out if that change has helped them for the better or worse. Jack/Jane of all trades They participated in a singing contest but their looks and performing abilities opened doors for them in acting in serials/films or other reality shows. When they participated in talent hunts their objective was to prove their mettle in a particular field – be it singing, acting or dancing. Once they got the taste of success and fame, the objective changed. From trying to become a singer, dancer or actor or all rolled into one, the objective changed to becoming a ‘celebrity’ first. Look at how most of them have changed their track midway after not being able to taste the success as easily as they expected. Twinkle Bajpai had participated in Sa Re Ga Ma to become a singer, but after picking up fights with judges in the contest and not being able to win it, she moved to acting. Brief stints in and Betiyaan followed after which participated on Kaun Jeetega Bollywood Ka Ticket aired on 9X. More chaos later, she returned to the just-concluded Mega Challenge but couldn’t find success there as well. Meiyang Chang started off as a contestant in Indian Idol, then went on to host it followed by some ads with Juhi Chawla, and now he is acting in a Yash Raj movie! Abhijeet won Indian Idol, went on to do dance reality shows, movies (Lottery) and now has ventured into politics and recently had a brush with stand-up comedy! But there are participants like Antara Mitra, who recently played a small role in Koi Aane Ko Hai. She says, “I am not quitting singing and joining acting, full time. Koi Aane Ko Hai was a very good opportunity that came my way. It was just 15 days work and since it came at a time when I did not have too many shows at hand, I took it up. I am still very much into singing. Recently I sang Koel kuke kuke for Life Partner and also the title song for Bipasha Basu in All the Best.” There are, of course, others like a Monali Thakur, Debojit Saha (save for a Bigg Boss) and Toshi who have stuck to music, but in most cases they would rather put their fingers into as many pies as possible. Whether it’s the lure of money, fame and exposure or the desire to make the most of every possible given opportunity, we don’t know but most contestants seem to be happy trying their hand at different things. Have attitude, will show it If despite trying everything, things have not worked for them then they probably have to blame themselves for it and their attitude, something these reality TV participants could do without. It’s also may be because they see their so-called ‘mentors’ showing off an attitude and getting away with it. They don’t realize its talent and hard-work and not ‘bombastic statements’, that would take them a long way. Be it Amit Sana, Toshi, Prajakta or Twinkle all of them have picked up fights with judges of the shows for frivolous reasons. While in a few cases they had a reason, otherwise it was mostly to gain more footage or even if it meant some negative publicity. A Vinit Singh of Sa Re Ga Ma may be a few inches off the ground but he already thinks he’s God’s gift to the industry, so much so that he doesn’t think twice before taking off on his own ‘I-me-myself mentor’, Himesh Reshammiya, at every given opportunity. Like guru, like chela. Apart from few like Debojit who continued to remain humble, most reality show contestants have developed a celebrity like attitude which doesn’t seem to be doing any good to their careers. Change is the name of the game Whether it’s to self promote or to be able to stay in the game and on top of the viewer’s minds, very often we see gawky teenage participants metamorphosing into bling-bling celebrities, sporting coloured hair, spaghetti tops and done-up faces, not to forget the pouting lips.