This report was posted by Fahad Siddiqui the admin from the Facebook Group Say NO to Reality Shows
As promised, we are now publishing a conversation with one of the contestants / eyewitness of the Clear Man show. For confidentiality purpose we can not disclose the names of the people who were involved in this conversation; however, we can assure you that the content of the entire discussion has not been exaggerated nor over-hyped while we are sharing it with all of you.
Read, digest & share your thoughts on this tragic incident which could surely have been avoided if basic precautionary measures could have have been taken while organizing the deadly stunt which took Saad Khan away from us.
Q: How was your relation with Saad Khan during the time you were together?
Participant: We were good friends since the time we met each other. Saad bhai was a great person; we got close in a very short time. He even told me his life story from his struggle to the upward trajectory of his career. We used to hang out together and have fun and play pranks with other fellows. In short it was a very joyful experience spending time with him.
Q. How was his performance throughout the show?
Participant: He was doing really well in whatever tasks he was given, in fact he was the best in all of us. It seemed like he will win the title of Clear Men, because he completely fitted in the image of the Clear Man which was defined by the sponsors. We were surprised when Saad bhai entered the danger zone in the fashion show round.
Q: What kind of tasks were you all given throughout the show? Were there any other dangerous tasks in the game?
Participant: The tasks given were a combination of various stunts & other activities which were more personality driven. One of the task became the casue of participant’s death. How can i say that the tasks given were not dangerous……!
Q. Why did Saad get eliminated after the 4th episode?
Participant: He was eliminated when he was challenged to throw a ball into the basket which was 10 feet above the ground while first walking & then standing on an ice block .He got eliminated as he couldn’t complete the task successfully. We all got very disappointed by what happened. I was sad as I thought Saad bhai would leave in a day or two.
Q. Were you aware that he was still there after his elimination? How did you react when you saw him on the wild card entry round?
Participant: Nobody knew that he was there in the same city. They kept him in a separate hotel. They even recorded his best wishes to all of us, they showed as if it was in Karachi sending us his best wishes and his experience with all of us together, and how he missed those days.
On 19th we were preparing for the other task on the set of the show, when we suddenly saw a tall figure coming towards us smiling… it was Saad bhai… we hooted and danced in excitement, finally we got to meet him again, it was a big and a pleasant surprise for all of us. He was the life of the whole show; we used to miss him a lot.
Q. Did u know what task will be given for the wild card entry?
Participant: We were never told from before about the tasks we were supposed to perform. We used to be told on the spot what we had to do. At that very day we had been given a task that had 3 stages , first, we were supposed to run through the fire carrying a 7 kg sand bag, second, we had to jump into the pond and cross it and third and the last was to climb a rope.
Q: What exactly happened with Saad?
Participant: Saad bhai cleared the first stage, which was running through fire; he jumped in the pond and swam…. When he reached the middle of the pond he suddenly turned and changed his style to backstroke, he looked troubled, we shouted and asked him to open his 7 KG back pack, and he struggled to open it. While struggling he yelled for help and disappeared in the water. When there was no response from him, we dived in the pond to look for him, but couldn’t find him as the water was very muddy and I came out. We started screaming and crying for help but there was no help around. After around 10 minutes his back pack came up floating on the water. The lifeguards came 10 – 12 minutes after the incident occurred and recovered Saad bhai’s body.
Q: You mean to say that there was no professional help on the spot? No paramedics, no safety precautions, nothing at all?
Participant: Unfortunately No, there was nothing present over there, we were given the surety that the pond is not very deep. And there was only first aid help in case of injury! No professional divers no life guards and no snorkelers. We only realized it after this incident that during the 10 episodes a similar incident could have happened with any of the participants as pre-cautionary & safety measures were non-existent which we also never realized……!
Q: Were you surprised that brand names like Unilever , Mindshare & an Indian and Pakistan production house were involved in this show & still safety of the participants was kept as the last priority?
Participant: As i said earlier, we never realized that safety & pre-cautionary measures were not very robust. We never thought on these lines, maybe because of the comfort level we had on the big brand organizers, managers & sponsors which were associated with this show. I wish Saad Bhai would have remained eliminated in order to avoid all what happened. Negligence & carelessness was the cause of Saad bhai’s death.
Comments
43 responses to “Discussion with one of the UniLever’s Reality Show particpants, an eye witness to Saad Khan’s tragic death”
Did anyone notice that the best person in the whole show lost his life? The interview shows that Saad could have done far more benefit to Pakistan with his knowledge, skills, and intelligent mind.
I believe the show hosts should be held responsible for what has happened and there should be a proper trial. I cannot believe that there was no lifeguard present. Unbelievable!
Oh my God !!!!!!!!! I cant say anything. This made me really sad. Are these companies playing with the lives of innocent people just for advertisement and promotion. 🙁
This isn't just any organisation we are talking about here. It's "the Company" that we are talking about here. Two hundred years ago, the East India Company, which ultimately colonised the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, was known as "the Company". Today, its more socially and politically acceptable offspring, with the same agenda but a more sophisticated modus operandi, wears that mantle.
Just like its, predecessor, the East India Company, was never held accountable for any wrongdoings, neither will Unilever be put in the dock for its criminal negligence in this case.
You may all bay for its blood, but the truth is you would be lucky to get even one hearing in a court.
Not having lifeguards or paramedics during the Fire and Swimming stunts is most likely a criminal negligence.
I am surprised the authorities allowed everyone to travel out of the country.
Sad. Sad, indeed.
I don't see why the family of the victim cannot win a lawsuit against the sponsors.
Its really sad to hear the reality behind the reality show.
Sad Indeed. Thanks for bringing it up on your blog.
May Saad's soul rest in peace Ameen.
The honesty of print/electronic media ia highly questioned…… I wonder where exactly media is?????? Where is their race, "ye khabar sha'ia kernay ka ezaaz sub say pehlay hamaray channel/akhbaar ko hoa!"
where are we employing our talent. its really sad.
I have a doubt about the interviewer , How a participant could be sad on the elimination of his rival? Most natural feeling should be that, the best participant is out, now its my chance…Isn't it??.. Well, I have doubt in his statement ,nevertheless it is very sad incident indeed.
I believe ,the life of an indivuidual is very precious in all the manners,,,,:(
I wonder how come Unilever wouldbe so irresponsible being providing pofessional safeguard in real locations..
Obviously its Sad and ….the poor family //////
May Allah shower his blessings to rest of all the family members,
Ammeen.
well all the particiapants are human being also and they have emotions also so i don't think there is any thing to doubt.
Very tragic incident and the sadest part is that media is not daring enough to grill there sponsers.
I just hate these reality shows.
What can I say. I am speechless. This is evident that either the organizers were not professional people and were taking it very lightly.
And our media reaction is also disappointing. I am not sure if this interview will be covered on any channel or did it already? Can anyone confirm that?
Here is our poster on the traditional media role, midshare/unilever reaction and the new media eforts to bring this up.
http://paksatire.com/2009/09/02/media-role-unilev…
I am not sure if any of you aware but I just found a site where some gorra's are discussing this incident. some one from them even wrote a letter to Unilever global ceo. let's see how this turns out.
http://www.justmeans.com/showallwruwo?page=1&…
Now its all useless to talk about the neglegence . now talk & pressurize Unilever to do something for his family. for this if we register a protest we have come toghether & on the road we will register the protest & take some solid investments for his family.
Food brands
blue band
brooke bond
energile
flora
knorr
lipton
pearl dust
rfhan
supreme
wall’s
personal care brands
clear
close up
fair & lovely
life buoy
shampoo
life bouy soap
lux
pond’s
rexona
sunsilk
home care brands
surf excel
conmfort
rin
The latest is that Saad's father-in-law has come from the US (where he was residing) to negotiate a settlement with Levers. He initially asked for 2-3 million dollars but Levers has till latest reports brought him down to PKR 4crores and pressing to lessen that too. The father-in-law has been asked not to speak to anyone and Levers lawyers have told him that if he actually files a case, then it will be dragged on for ages! So he really has no hope but to accept a 'settlement'.
What a tragic loss for Saads family especially his widow and small children.How can this be compensated? The company responsible for this tragedy should educate all these children through to college and obviously an assessment should be made of his life earnings and awarded to his.Perhaps the Pakistani community should present a signed petition supporting this family I for one would be happy to sign.
susan
Life has no price, especially when its a spouse or a father. However, from a practical point of view, just property for the grieving family would cost about four crore, which Unilever is cited to have offered. That still leaves living expenses, education, marriage, health, and other miscellaneous expenses.
It is very hard to understand that their were no lifesavers present during any of the tasks. Were there Fire Extinguishers at hand during the "Fire" tasks? Not that one is absolving Unilever, but why has the agency (Mindshare) that was actually handling this project been conviently forgotten? They are giants that control a huge chunk of tv air time sales and every newspaper and television channel is dependent on them for revenues. They handle a wide array of clients not just Unilever. Tahir Khan of Interflow is a stake holder in this company. It is Mindshare and their subsidiary Broadminds that come with ideas for programs of this nature, and sell the idea to their clients like Unilever. I strongly feel that Mindshare should face responsibilty along with Unilever and be made responsible for criminal negligence in executing for an idea which was conceived under their banner. They need to pay compensation as well to the greiving family.
very sad n leaves the reader speechless..a strong action should be taken against these companies..
MEDIA WAKEUP!!! PLZ
media wont be wakeup otherwise UNILEVER wont give them the ADS. so our MEDIA is curropt they all are paid bastards. where they see money they will turn down their cameras. why media waste their time on Saad Khan. Media will save the Multi National company instead of Saad's Family.
Shame On us……
I agree with u … every organization every institute n every sector here is corrupt but then again the question is what can v do? not buy their products..u think this will help destroy the company or make them compensate this loss???
atleast we all have to launch a protest & Insist UniLever to compunsate with the family of Saad. I request you all of people who gathered here come & launch jointly protest against this. you all people can contact me on humayun@atlanticshipping.com.pk … I am avaiable 24 hours for this cause.
i agree where it is said that the media will not make this known due to the fact that they dont want to lose their sponsors. also, the two companies responsible need to to strongly pressured into accepting their fault and making amends. i agree with the protest, but it would be more fruitful if we can get foreign correspondents to cover the story.
its shocking… whenever someone looses a life due to negligence i feel really bad… but i wonder why this is not being taken up by the media.. not a single new on lots of channel who are dying to wait for any blast news and eager to broadcast the death toll..
definitely its the company who make them quite..
there must be a trial and boycott of their show and products thats what we can do..
Very sad to learn the way it happened. Just pure negligence and nothing else. A little bit of basic safety measures could have stopped this tragedy. Unilever and Mindshare both should be held responsible. Just by reading how it happened, any half good lawyer can bring both these companies on knees. This should be made an example for everyone; for the ones who go to all lengths in promoting the product by exploiting people.
Guyz harsh truth Saad had 4 kids all young…… they need to settle wid these @holes to survive life is harsh its this shit that makes me question life 🙁
I hope to Allah that everyone who played a part in Saads death Sees his face and feels his pain and his familys pain for the rest of their lives
Please Pray with me Ameen !!!
Very tragic indeed – from the information in the interview I can recognise the producers were trying to copy the style of the highly annoying prgram "Big Brother" shown on British TV every summer. Its finally been axed as ratings dropped after this years show. The viewers of this type of reality TV enjoy watching the plight of the contestants. It sadly appeals to their basest levels. Ofcourse, we in Pakistan, always try to copy the west but unfortunately never learn from them. Vieweres in the UK got bored of Big Brother after its 8th year running. Its already dawned on them that this type of reality tv can cause long term psycological and physical repercussions. In this case loss of life – the highest price to pay.
an extremely tragic & unnecessary loss.
the key questions now are:
1) will the culprits be brought to task, or will this simply be forgotten as a one-off incident?
2)if no timely action is taken by the relevant authorities, will we simply resort to blogging & online indignation?
ok the tragedy aside, the manner of this guy's death is very funny! hahaha imagine swimming till the middle of the pond then trying to do a backstroke!!!!!! Hahahaha the guy died because of being an idiot in the end. I can't stop laughing. OMG… This is so wrong. OK I'll stop.
Condolences to the family. The corporations are bad and must pay for their crimes….
HAHAHAHAHAHA
OMG I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING
Respected Hahaha!
Whatever the reason behind, must not comment the way you have tried.
If you really want to bring another aspect of this reality then be good enough to use sensible words.
Life can be cruel to anyone!!!!!
its disgusting .. how some one can laughing on the death…. Allah give him Hidayat……
Whatever happened is a really sad incident and should have been avoided. However, we should also keep it in mind that it was the participants' free will and the want of fame and reward that made them enter this competition. These reality shows make you sign a disclaimer saying that the participants are entering the competition being aware of the consequences of it all. While the safety measures should have been adequate, we must not blame it all on the corporations, after all they are providing subsistence to countless number of people in this country. Just like most things in real life, MNCs are not all EVIL…
1st Vigil / protest in memory of Saad Khan
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=…
It's sad that a few people actually have the cruel heart to say stupid & mean things about such a great guy! WHOM, I'M SURE THEY DIDNT EVEN KNOW. CANT YOU FIND ANYTHING ELSE TO DO? IF YOU ARE NOT HERE TO COMMENT OR OFFER A PRAYER OR HELP.. WHY DONT YOU GO VOLUNTEER OR DO SOMETHNG FOR SOMEONE ELSE?
Saad was a friend of mine & he deserves better. Yes, he was adventurous, & sure this was a chance at $ & possibly a career. He had done some modeling before & it was something he enjoyed. He does not need people that did not even know him or his mindthought to comment on him & his decisions.
Please let him rest in peace & think of his family at this time.
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o80/thegoodear…
see his sweet face & then you can know he was a great man & a wonderful friend to all.
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o80/thegoodear…
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o80/thegoodear…
& he is very missed..
you play with fire.. get burns… its natural.. although sad but he shouldn't have to do this at first place.. It wasn't done for charity.. but for money and fame.. so I am not too touched with this incident.. a life wasted…. sorry to say!!
My heart goes for our soldiers who are martyred daily for this country in sawat.. but no blogs to tribute them…shame
White terrorists of Unilever killed Saad Khan
Unilever Nazis must pay Rs ONE Crore to Saad Khan
______________________________________________________
We urge all Pakistanis to boycott all products of Unilever Killers and inflict a loss of millions of Rupees in and outside Pakistan. We are running a boycott Unilever campaign in Germany and have now extended it to whole Europe.
We demand that the White Terrorists, White Thieves, White Nazis, White Fascists, White Murderers and White Killers of Unilever give Rs ONE Crore to the family of Saad Khan immediately, or get ready to face the loss of Hundreds of Crore Rupees in the form of lost sales all over the world.
We hate the white killers of Unilever Nazis.
Allama Iqbal
Germany
http://www.BoycottIndia.wordpress.com
Boycott_Slumdog_India@yahoo.com
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