I am certain I am not the only one who tuned into Shaista Lodhi’s talk show for the first time ever only because Babar Khan was going to talk about his battle with depression, how he lost the love of his life and so much more. Even though I did not have high expectations from Shaista Lodhi and only tuned into this show to hear what Babar had to say but even then Shaista Lodhi’s overacting which I am certain wasn’t part of the “script” and the kind of questions she asked Babar made my blood boil. All of our morning show hosts have one thing in common – they love the sound of their own voice – but you expect better from a host when their guest is someone who mustered up the courage to talk about the most tragic incident of his life after so many years. Shaista’s made-up expressions every time the camera zoomed into her, the inappropriate words she used during the show, trying to play the counselor in a live show and digging so deep into every minor detail made her presence the worst thing about this entire show.
Babar Khan was more than willing to share everything with the viewers, the psychologists also believe that sometimes sharing something so traumatic with people on this level can help a person heal further therefore I commend his courage and wish him the very best. I am however sure that after the gruesome manner in which Shaista interviewed him and his family he is probably more hurt now than he is healed!! Shaista pretended that she was giving Babar and his family respect and her words suggested that she even understood the gravity of the situation and knew she needed to be responsible but guess what actions speak louder than words!! I have never understood why our hosts make the most of other people’s pain to get TRPs. We have seen it happening time and again on many shows. The main objective of the host is not to make the guests comfortable or to help them heal in any way but the main aim is to make the guest who is already going through a difficult phase even more emotional so that they give in and shed a tear or two!
The format of the show itself was strange and highly insensitive. Yes, we all know that Bisma (Babar’s second wife) sacrificed a great deal and she came in Babar’s life when he was still madly in love with Sana but rubbing that fact in and putting a person like her in an awkward position by asking her questions she had no answers for was just plain sad. I am sure everyone out there feels for Bisma just as much as they do for Babar but if the producers of the show and Shaista Lodhi herself had an ounce of respect or empathy they wouldn’t have been so irresponsible when it came to the kind of questions Bisma was forced to answer. Shaista’s questions and the format of the show made it one of the most awkward and painful shows to watch till the end. It was dramatized and sensationalized by the producers and the host for ratings. Forcing someone to reveal the most private details of their personal life on television is just as ruthless as leaving those judgmental comments on social media which Shaista criticized over and over again. I am wondering when our hosts will learn to truly respect their guests and understand what they are going through instead of using their tragedies for personal gains!
