Roadies X1- Ride For Respect / Drama with thrill

By Dhwani Mody

For those who like living on the edge, Roadies is back with its latest edition. The youth-oriented TV reality show has completed a decade, but it continues to enjoy the popularity and zeal among the youth.The show commenced on January 25 with the auditions taking place in major cities across the country but it was only last month that the actual journey for the contestants began. Aspirants were first divided into groups and after an administered group discussion between the various applicants, they were cut down to a few who faced the judges in a personal interview. Only 12 contestants were shortlisted, to experience the journey of Roadies X1:Ride For Respect. The current season looks promising as the format has been given a new twist. This season has introduced bidding system, a first in the history of Roadies.
The bottom two teams face elimination challenge, where they bid on their partners. The team which loses the bet, obviously, is eliminated. But, there are no vote-outs this season. As the show is known to thrive on bitter politics and mind games between participants in a bid to last the tenure, this new twist in the format surely is interesting. Another change is that the tasks performed this season are in pairs.
The tasks, as expected are challenging and test the mental and physical strength of the contestants. For instance, the pairs had to compete against each other in an obstacle race where the girls had to pull their respective partners (who were tied up) to the finish line. The first five teams to reach the end got safe with the remaining two teams facing the elimination challenge. For another task, the pairs had to compete against each other in a bike race. The girls had the chance to add an extra amount of time to their final score by eating chillies during the race. The team which finished fastest, was given immunity and an advantage while the last team directly went to the elimination challenge. The tasks are to earn the prize money and immunity. Such tasks, with immunity usually get nasty with contestants fighting, literally.Providing masala for the viewers specially when contestants like Pallavi and Meher fight over petty issues like switcing the rooms for a bath tub brings a smile on the face. Also watching Rajkumar’s reaction when an unflattering comment is passed on his clothes is fun. The current season seems to have raised the bar for the tasks but at the same time the makers have reduced the level of drama and abuses from the previous seasons. The format is very interesting and the varied characteristics of the contestants is definitely a treat to watch. The different twists and turns ,the black box entry and many more hidden challenges, is what’s in stored for the audience. Anchor Rannvijay Singh, as usual lives up to expectations.

Verdict: Thrilling tasks, lots of drama, make Roadies a fun watch. (Disclaimer: Avoid watching it with parents.)