Dadagiri


Dadagiri is an Indian reality show that premiered on Bindass in 2008.

History

In its first season, called Dadagiri: Beat the Bullies premiered in 2008, contestants were selected every week and would compete for a prize money of Rs. 50,000. It was hosted by Akash Beri and had 3 "bullies": Vishal as "The Beast", Srman as "The Mindstein", and Esha as "The Goddess" and Quaiser Jamal as Juicy The Chef. Contestants were required to complete physical and mental challenges, as well as endure abuse by the show's "bullies". According to a former contestant, the show was about 70% scripted and 30% improvised.
The second season premiered in 2009 and featured 12 contenders competing for a prize of Rs. 1,000,000. It became the highest-rated program among Indian youth TV channels in that year. It had 2 bullies; Vishal returned as "The Beast" for the second season, and Sonalli Sehgall replaced Esha as "The Goddess".
The third season premiered in 2010, D3 Commando Force: Dadagiri Against Terrorism, also had cash prize.
The fourth and final season premiered in 2011, titled Dadagiri: The Revenge of the Sexes, featured two groups divided by gender. The male team was led by Vishal as "The Beast" and the female team by Shaurya as "The Goddess".

Slapping incident

Actors and hosts are supposed to bully one another, but violence was never agreed upon. In one episode in 2008, "Esha, the Goddess" slapped a contestant named Ravi Bhatia in an unscripted physical attack. He immediately slapped her back. The incident resulted in the male host and several other members of the crew physically assaulting Bhatia while he repeatedly asked "How can she slap?" with the crew appearing to be slow in breaking them up.
Threats of violence were later made against Bhatia's sister and mother by the host Akash Beri and crew. A video of the incident was leaked and widely shown on Indian television. The video also went viral on the Internet. Bhatia subsequently sent a legal notice to the producers and asked for a public apology.