Move Over, Real Housewives

I have been very open about some of my more cringe-worthy entertainment obsessions from Glee to Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and recently, my obsession with Bollywood films. My newest addiction, however, definitely takes the cake when it comes to guilty pleasures, because this time, I actually feel guilty.

Last year, Netflix released an original reality TV show centered around the lives of the wives of four Bollywood actors (Sanjay Kapoor, Sohail Khan, Samir Soni, and Chunky Pandey) and last week, I discovered it on my Netflix recommendations. As someone who has avoided shows like Keeping Up With the Kardashians and all of the Real Housewives incarnations, it is surprising, even to me, that I binge watched the entire first season of Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives straight through.

On paper, this show goes against everything I stand for. From glorifying celebrity culture to forcing drama for ratings to being produced by Karan Johar, a man who I consider to be very much like an Indian Perez Hilton (despite being a very good filmmaker), this show should have been an instant "three strikes- you're out" in my mind. But one episode in particular caught my attention, making me take a chance on the entire series.

The final episode in the season featured the most famous Bollywood wife of the present day, Gauri Khan, and her husband, the "King of Bollywood" and my personal favorite actor, Shah Rukh Khan. And being the simple person that I am, once I saw King Khan's name in the description, I clicked on the show. And while the show itself is not groundbreaking by any means, my American standards of reality television definitely allowed me to accept it for what it is: the ultimate cringe binge.

What Makes it Cringe-worthy and What Makes it Binge-worthy?

One of the cringiest things about the show is the fact that it tries so hard to convince its viewers that the lives of the Bollywood Wives are just like ours even in the midst of the glamour. It feels like the harder it tries, the more it does the exact opposite. Like most mothers aren't travelling to Paris so that their daughter can take part in the prestigious and exclusive Le Bal fashion show. And most everyday middle-aged women can't just call up movie producers and directors for career advice. But this show tries to present these things in a way that seems normal to its middle-class audience. And when a reality show about uncommon people living uncommon lives takes itself too seriously in that way, it amps up the cringe factor on an already cringe-worthy concept.

But like most reality shows, when you approach it in a way that doesn't take it too seriously, it becomes easy to get sucked into the superficial drama and the over-the-top personalities of the stars. From watching Bhavana interact with her kooky husband to watching Maheep try to assert herself as the main character of the group to watching the producer, Karan Johar, instigate drama between the four women, it provides a fair amount of mindless entertainment. And honestly, with how intense life has been lately, it's nice to have something to get lost in that takes us away from the chaos for a little bit.

Indian vs. American Celebrity Culture

When you're bored and your life is lowkey falling apart, it's amazing how therapeutic it can be to watch four middle-aged women arguing about the most low-stakes situations, like the Royal Family drama and whether friends should diffuse tension between their other friends in minor arguments. And luckily for me, this show has a lot of that. However, that kind of thing doesn't seem to be everyone's cup of tea.

In fact, the above clip from the show is one of the most disliked videos I have ever seen on YouTube. With the ratio of likes to dislikes being nearly 1 to 4, it's clear to see that many Indians don't find this kind of pointless drama entertaining. And many made their opinions known in the comments of the video. One comment, which was made by user joint of cyanide, summed up many people's feelings simply:

"Netflix: Wanna see rich, unsuccessful, unknown celebrity wives of semi-successful actors fight with each other for 3 minutes?

People: InTeReStInG"

As someone who has watched several American celebrities be famous simply for being famous, I found this comment and others like it to be a bit harsh, but honestly, I can't say I don't understand it. These are the exact same feelings that I have for celebrities like the Kardashian/Jenner clan. The irony though, is that this same argument could have been on a show like Keeping Up With the Kardashians word for word and many Americans (and non-Americans) would eat it up. So what makes these women different from the Kardashians?

My best answer to this question is that the Kardashians are American. And Americans as a whole are not extremely critical of drama-filled reality shows. This can be seen by the fact that Keeping Up With the Kardashians has twenty seasons or that there have been seven different versions of the Real Housewives and almost as many versions of Love & Hip Hop. And I would even go so far as to say that Americans as a whole are not extremely critical of celebrities in general and have allowed celebrity culture to thrive, paving the way for American celebrities to infiltrate everything from Only Fans to politics (this is a major generalization and of course, does not apply to every single American).

Based on the reception of Bollywood Wives, that seems to be where Indian culture differs from American culture. Being the wife of a Bollywood actor for many Indians isn't enough to make these women's lives worth following. And the public desires more than just shallow drama, at least from their fellow Indian celebrities.

And maybe this is the same reason why I am more entertained by the Bollywood Wives than I am by the Kardashians. When the Kardashians are paraded in front of the world arguing about their rich celebrity problems that only other rich celebrities can relate to and that more common people just convince themselves they can relate to, it makes me as a fellow American look bad. Because the world looks at these celebrities and assumes that this is what American culture looks like. And for Indian people, this is probably what many of them think when they see these four women discussing things like how hard it is to be trolled for benefiting from the nepotism of the Indian movie industry. But as a non-Indian, this show doesn't have a direct affect on how the world sees me, so it's easier for me to be more forgiving.

To Binge or Not to Binge?

Overall, when I watched this show, I was surprised by how normal the Bollywood wives are. And by normal, I mean as normal as four rich celebrity wives can be. I went into it expecting that these four women, being non-westerners, would somehow be more in touch with reality and more relatable than American celebrities typically are. But just like American celebrities, they seem to exist in a world that is so far removed from mine and probably, from the majority of Indians as well.

So is this show worth watching? Well, that's subjective. Obviously I enjoyed it or else I wouldn't have consumed every episode like a drug addict. But it's definitely not for everyone, and that's okay.

With the insane number of negative reviews the show has received, it's unlikely that it will be renewed for a second season. But if you're thinking about watching the first season and don't know whether you should or not, all I can say is that if you can find enjoyment in the Real Housewives, then you can find enjoyment in the Bollywood Wives as well.

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