Social Currency Review: Social Currency is a reality TV show created by Fazila Allana, Kamna Menezes, Sanvari Alagh Nair, Meghana Badola, and Chad Greulach and features content creators Vagmita Singh, Sakshi Chopra, Ruhi Singh, Mridul Madhok, Parth Samthaan, Bhavin Bhanushali, Aakash Mehta, and Rowhi Rai. The series also features Sunny Leone, Kusha Kapila, Ashish Chanchlani, and Badshah as special guests and has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of around 40-50 minutes.
– Social Currency Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
Social Currency Plot
The reality TV series takes 8 influencers and pushes them to their limits as they try their best to win over the hearts of people on and offline and compete with each other to stay the night at their villa comfortably and eventually win the prize at the end.
Social Currency Review
The moment I started to watch Social Currency, I realised that this was going to take everything out of me not to lose my mind. And I wasn’t wrong because this show is Big Boss with influencers… so basically Big Boss. Damn it.
Anyway, this reality TV series is much like others as we see these influencers try to beat each other to attain victory. In between, there is a ton of drama that we drudge through that starts to increase the more we watch the episodes. The series is supposed to show us the unfiltered life of some of our favourite influencers as they try to make it to the end, and boy, do we see so much unfiltered stuff.
I won’t say that the show feels totally fake – there are moments that will genuinely touch your heart or make you laugh. Some moments are truly fun and entertaining, while others are inspiring. However, the problem with shows like these is that in the background of all the influencing and show-off, these are your usual fake people who will stop at nothing to say something cruel about you.
There are several moments in Social Currency that will give you the ick. It can be an unfair moment, a horrible comment or just the social dynamics that you see in the show that will leave you annoyed and a bit angry, honestly. I guess it adds to the drama, but the way to manufacture the drama is also not right and goes against what we think about these “new-age celebrities”. You’d expect them to be progressive and understanding (especially as we watch this during Pride Month) of everyone and their struggles, but in the end, it comes down to backstabbing and slut shaming.
Let’s come to the challenges – if you thought these are going to be very fresh and fun tasks that the contestants will get to do, you are wrong. Social Currency takes a leaf out of the other reality shows that we have seen and features similar, if not the same, challenges that are equally cringy and embarrassing. However, there is something very fun about watching people embarrass themselves in front of others, and if you’re not expecting a lot from Hindi reality TV shows, then this will be quite entertaining.
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Apart from that, some of the choices that the show themselves make feel a bit forced and sometimes cruel and unnecessary. It doesn’t really make the situation thrilling or entertaining, and, even though this is a survival challenge type show, there still has to be some consistency. Taking away hard-earned money seems a bit too much, even within this realm.
I must, however, mention here that it is almost shocking that some people can embarrass themselves to no end in front of hundreds (and billions if you can count watching on Netflix) without so much as an extra thought. Begging people to do things for you in order to win a challenge is probably something I can (thankfully) never achieve, but I give kudos to these people who are so free and confident with themselves.
Coming to the contestants, apart from one or two relatable and grounded people, most are your typical influencers who don’t make you feel anything new. Other than some sweet moments, not a lot of instances will touch your heart, to be honest. We also have the “admin”, who is essentially the host of the show. I don’t know the point of sending voice notes, but he has a calming voice, so there is that.
There is also a lot of swearing, which feels extremely unnecessary. It’s ok to swear, but dialling it down should also be a thing, especially when you are getting featured on Netflix. Another disturbing part of Social Currency that no one really talks about that much is how easily and casually people just use important social issues to their use without really thinking about their impact or reading up on them.
It’s embarrassing to watch “influencers” use some really upsetting issues that need more genuine discourse and act offended when people call them out on their lack of knowledge. I feel like if you’re going to make a silly show, let’s not get into important topics that need genuine and serious discussion. And even if you do choose to use them, then it should be imperative to use them well. Otherwise, the whole thing just cheapens the discourse down to yet another unimportant topic that can be forgotten.
Social Currency Review: Final Thoughts
In the end, Social Currency is, as usual, that show that you can put on in the background while doing something else or if you’re in the mood for some light watch. Other than that, this will remind you of all the cringe stuff you have ever watched on social media to date and feels fake and forced apart from a few glimmering moments that feel otherwise. Also, that dramatic editing isn’t helping anyone!
Social Currency is streaming on Netflix.
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