Were you secretly happy when your father beat up his second wife?

I am addicted to Sach Ka Saamna. Initially I was skeptical, but with sms-es from friends after  11 pm (“watch sach ka saamna”), I’ve become a regular. Initially I felt there’s no voyeuristic fun to be had with the secrets of an unknown Indian – I mean if you got Amar Singh on the show to admit whether he’s been in a relationship with XYZ, it’s be far more interesting. Or so I thought.

But Sach Ka Saamna gets these ordinary people and politely tries its best to destroy that person’s relationship with his/her family and the world at large. The contestants play on till they lie, knowing they’ll lose the money they came for but the truth became too much to justify the money. Or they just run away with a few lakhs rather than doing the full monty of 21 questions for a crore. If someone goes that far some day and then commits suicide, I won’t be surprised.

The set, sounds and anchoring of SKS seems very similar to that of Kaun Banega Crorepati. Like KBC, the purpose of SKS is to make money. If KBC was middle class India’s way of saying we’re no longer apologetic about wealth, SKS does away with KBC’s reluctant excuse of knowledge as a harbinger of wealth. Sach Ka Saamna is about making money for your best kept secrets, for simply providing millions of viewers the voyeuristic pleasure of knowing whether you’re cheating on your husband. SKS tries to say we’re out to make money by hook or crook.

That is not to take away from the power of that show to show the mirror to an Indian family. There’s something to be said about a show which gets an about-to-be-married woman in an executive job and asks her, in front of her separated parents, “Were you secretly happy when your father beat up his second wife?” I can imagine family members aross India looking at each other, or looking away, and saying nothing, as though an outsider was revealing their secrets.

And so I’m hooked. My only complain is that the show is too slow. I’d just be happy knowing the person, and let’s go past the questions like a rapid fire round. It wouldn’t matter much if I missed the show because I can read the questions on Sach Ka Saamna’s Facebook page. Samples:

Questions that one Zara has successfully answered, with her mother, estranged father, sister and fiancee Imran in the audience:

1. Have you ever used your looks to get work done easily?
2. While out with your boyfriend have you ever worn a burqa just to avoid getting caught?
3. Have you ever secretly been through any of your boss’ personal documents?
4. Do you feel inferior to your sister Sara for being less educated than her?
5. Have you ever tried to convince someone other than Imran to leave his fiancée and marry you?
6. Have you spent a week away with Imran without your parents’ knowledge?
7. Have you ever quit a job in fear of being confronted about your credentials?
8. Do you love your father inspite of him physically abusing your mother?
9. Were you secretly happy when your father beat up his second wife?
10. Would you accept another man in your mother’s life?
11. Have you ever been in a relationship with two men at the same time?
12. Have you lied to Imran about the extent of your physical intimacy with your ex-boyfriends?
13. Have you cheated on Imran since your engagement?
14. Do you regret getting engaged to Imran?
15. Would you leave Imran if you feel that he is trying to control your life?
16. Do you truly love Imran? (Yes, she said, and the polygraph test said yes.)

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