Rithvik Dhanjani: Many parents think their kids don’t belong to them anymore

Rithvik Dhanjani has the experience of hosting all from talent hunt shows, dance shows to cookery shows. The actor is now hosting a unique dating reality show which gives the power to parents, who get to choose a date for their children, without consulting with them. Named DateBaazi, the online series shows parents meeting single prospects and making a decision based on their own understanding. They also get to read about their own kids’ secret fetishes and adventurous hook up stories. (Also read: Interview: Abhishek Banerjee says he ‘felt bad’ when people recognised Divyendu Sharma but not him)

In an interview to Hindustan Times, Rithvik explained the format of the show and why it’s as bizarre as it sounds. He also revealed a few funny situations that he got to witness during the shoot. However, he isn’t sure about how the parents and their children will react once the show goes on air. Excerpts:

How is DateBaazi different from Splitsvilla?

We have a dating culture of left and right swipe these days. Imagine if we involve the old school parents to understand how the gen Z functions, which is really bizarre by the way, and put them in a room where they get to swipe left and right for their kids in order to get a date for them. The idea is in itself very funny because the current generation is so open and communicates about what they want and what they don’t. We ask gen Z about their fetish or their adventurous hook up story, parents are not used to a generation where this is normal. When parents read that stuff, it’s too funny to watch. When there were gay couples and bisexual people, it was also emotional watching their parents supporting their sexuality.

Where do you get these parents from?

These parents are very normal parents from small towns and cities. They are not out of this order. The team gets the right combination of parents and kids and the prospects. They are all real.

Do you also influence the parents and kids in taking a decision?

My job is only to make the parents understand what the prospects are trying to say. The choice is theirs. Sometimes they make the right choice. Sometimes, singles sitting in the other room pray for their parents to swipe right for a prospect but their parents make an opposite choice. For example, they sometimes don’t like a person with a tattoo – parents think differently than their kids. The singles have no control of what their parents are choosing for them. That fun element is what the show is all about.

Share the most amusing moment during the filming of the show.

There was a Bihari family – a father and his brother. We had asked a prospect about her most adventurous hook up story. That girl had written that she has been part of a gangbang. But who could explain that concept to her father and uncle — that moment caught me in so much turbulence. It was one of the funniest and most bizarre thing that I had done.

Don’t you think it can ruin a lot of parents-kids relationship?

Actually, it’s the opposite, it brings them closer. Parents now understand the likes and dislikes of their kids and they don’t force it on them. In our times, maybe my parents didn’t think it that way.

Did a dangerous situation come up when parents read about their children’s fetishes and hook-ups?

No, the show is not of that nature. There were a few men who couldn’t talk very openly in front of their parents and conveyed that to me. The parents and kids were sitting in different rooms during the shoot. When the show is edited and goes on air, then they might take a class, I don’t know about that. You can watch the show for free on Amazon miniTV on Amazon shopping app and also win an iPhone 14 and other cash prizes.

Have you been in such a situation when you had to deal with the parents of the one you were dating?

I have always met the parents of the one that I had been dating. Parents are very important, mine or my partner’s. I naturally connect more with parents because they should feel that we still belong to them. Many parents get lost in translation thinking their kids have grown up and don’t belong to them anymore.

What dating advice would you like to give to the singles?

Just be yourself, be who you are. You don’t have to filter in real life, communicate well – that’s how you can make it work.

Are you dating someone?

I am absolutely single and not very happy about it.