This week Daisy’s exploring India, a nation obsessed by the small screen - from hard-hitting talk shows to countless talent shows and soap operas. In a country of 1.2 billion people, where almost every household rich or poor has a television, there’s no lack of choice with a staggering 800 channels.
But India is caught in a titanic struggle between modernisation and ancient tradition – and it’s a battle that is being played out on the country’s television screens.
To get to the heart of this large and eclectic nation, Daisy is getting involved in some of its biggest TV shows.
From the oldest and most traditional art forms to Bollywood, dance is a huge part of Indian culture and Daisy manages to blag an audition for one of the region’s biggest dance shows, Dance Maharashtra Dance. After stunning the judges into silence with her freestyle dance moves, Daisy’s offered a guest spot on the show and sent straight into training with India’s answer to Louis Spence.
There she meets seven-year-old Jeet Das, who became an overnight sensation after wowing judges and audiences on Dance India Dance. It’s a fast-track to fame and fortune that leads thousands of hopeful child stars to audition each year. In a country ridden with poverty, these television shows offer more than just fifteen minutes of fame.
Daisy is introduced to a world of pain by the Warriors of Goja, a Sikh group who are bringing their form of martial arts, known as Gatka, to thrilled and appalled audiences on reality TV. From eating glass to being smashed with sledgehammers and even run over by cars, it’s not for the faint-hearted – and Daisy gets the chance to become the first ever female Goja Warrior as she joins them on stage for a stunt that would horrify British Health and Safety officials.
One of last year’s smash hits on Indian TV wasn’t a talent search or a scripted drama, it was Truth Alone Prevails, a no holds barred talk show tackling the biggest issues affec
