The women in the previous seasons of Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives are well-connected fringe players in the Hindi film industry. (File)
In the first episode of Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives Season three, a hitherto unknown, 50-something Delhiite Shalini Passi, descended a magnificent staircase in a flowing cream-and-golden gown that highlighted a spectacular décolletage. Adorned with glittering, Cleopatra-esque headgear, she brandished a pair of bejewelled daggers, whirling them around with dramatic flourish. The occasion was The Mash Ball, where guests were invited to come dressed as a painting. Passi’s Instagram bio describes her as an art collector but her posts seem to be an ode to herself, suggesting her raison d’être is donning a range of wildly exaggerated outfits. Her attempt at looking picturesque far outpaced her co-actors whose gaudy travesties reminded me of Oscar Wilde’s description of a socialite a century ago, that her clothes looked like “they’d been designed in a rage and worn in a tempest”.
For some context, the women in the previous seasons of Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives are well-connected fringe players in the Hindi film industry. The reflected glory from their illustrious and famous relatives ensures doors open; and, a rarefied circle of friends that sustained each other’s enterprises in fashion and jewellery moved on to getting their own reality show. In the current season, to spice things up a notch, these Mumbai divas have been pitted against three doyennes of Delhi society, equally eager to recast themselves as paragons of style. Neither side succeeds, aesthetically. But the worlds of haute noblesse and haute bourgeoisie lie far apart. It’s precisely this kind of garish, over-the-top garb that transports the masses into the realm of amazed, ineffable glamour. Over coiffed and overwrought they might be, but these striving A-listers understand that when you’re playing to the social media gallery, projecting an image is the price of belonging. While it’s easy to sneer at the cringe-y banality on display, it’s this privileged coterie that’s having the last laugh; exposure comes with fantastic financial rewards.
Take for instance, Passi, who has a million followers on Instagram. A quick conversation with a friend who specialises in social-media engagement reveals that paid posts and brand endorsements could easily net her Rs 10 lakh a month. A doctor or a banker with a degree from IIM and 10 years experience would consider himself lucky to be earning anything remotely close. There’s a reason Kim Kardashian was invited to the Ambani wedding; reels of their splashy event, full of movie stars and business moguls would reach 360 million people, building their myth in different corners of the globe. The advertising game has irrevocably changed. All the women on Fabulous Lives… are successful in emulating the Kardashian model, albeit in a smaller way. It’s interesting to note, that in India not all that long ago, reality stars were considered downmarket wannabes. Now, that voyeurism is such a lucrative business opportunity, everyone’s ready to hurl their secrets into the void.
Reality TV is compelling when there are on-camera meltdowns, aggressive competitive behaviour and loud, physical confrontations. I enjoyed Selling Sunset, about real estate agents, that has a cast of unbelievably hot girls who sell multi-million dollar homes in LA. As someone prone to lounging around and gazing dreamily into the distance, I would sit up erect, gobsmacked at their boundless, professional energy, even their ability to squabble with each other. I can see why Shark Tank, for aspiring entrepreneurs, is similarly inspirational. But watching Fabulous Lives… leaves one thinking the director has cynically accepted that it is only the superficial that matters, and if he throws in enough bling, he needn’t bother about heft. The cast is utterly devoid of culture or charm and its expletives-laden dialogues are jarring to hear. The lack of star power of the cast is made up by peppering the show with appearances by Karan Johar and Ranbir Kapoor. Dull mediocrity, however, is enough. Fabulous Lives … is trending at no 2 on Netflix India.
Is it that celebrity alone ordains cultural worth now? More than ever, people in India want to be rich and when they’re not — they watch the rich as the gatekeepers of an enchanted kingdom, they may only dare to dream about. It is worth noting though, the brute truth seldom looks as good as an embellished narrative. At one point, Passi declares, “I like things more than people because they don’t talk back.” It seems as if she’s lived her life through facts which were unpleasant, so she created a fiction. Ironically, it took reality TV to showcase her fantasy.
The writer is director, Hutkay Films
