Day 1: The camaraderie was contagious with everyone beaming and smiling all around, the laughter was spontaneous and instant. Everyone was happy. Some would break into song; a few would flirt outrageously or worse, blow kisses to the crores of viewers. I am sure their families must have been squirming with embarrassment. That’s Bigg Boss for you.
Day 5: The glamour begins to wear off and realisation hits them — sixty odd cameras tracking their every move and over five crore viewers watching them, and they, in turn, have to manoeuvre the mood swings of the other housemates. It is inevitable that a sense of exasperation begins to creep into the once-happy Bigg Boss family.
Day 10: The cracks begin to show. They appear puffy-eyed and annoyed and with every passing day the masks slowly slip off, smiles turn to snarls, niceties give way to sarcasm. The backbiting and complaining started. Soon they will be at each other’s throats. The audience cheers for more.
The idea of sixteen-odd celebrities being locked up together in an apartment for a hundred days was an interesting concept as it disrupted the mindset of an audience who were fed predictable mega serials and lacklustre reality shows. Here, they could peep into other people’s living rooms. But before you dismiss Bigg Boss as mindless, there are a plethora of life lessons to be learned from this show. Let’s look at five of them:
1) You need massive emotional maturity to be with strangers: Your ability to navigate through complex emotional issues is paramount. Too much kindness can be construed as weakness, not enough would be seen as meanness. Maintaining the balance is important.
2) Social Intelligence is a must: One has to be extremely alert to see how one’s actions or words are being perceived by others. You should have the ability to notice subtle variations in other’s behaviour and react accordingly.
3) Sharpen those interpersonal skills: Strangers from different walks of life, everyone fiercely competitive, stay under one roof. You must know how to manage conflicts and deal with hidden agendas whilst keeping your unconscious biases and prejudices at bay.
4) Trust yourself to be assertive: One cannot afford to be submissive as it will show you in a bad light. At the same time, you cannot be seen as aggressive. So a win-win approach is essential: soft words and a strong argument mode would convey a high self-worth and a no-nonsense attitude.
5) Be empathic: This means being understanding and unconditionally accepting others with all their shortcomings. It is important that you share limited resources so that no one feels short-changed by your actions and feels the need to talk about you.
