Roadies' Raghuram Ram Fires Up On MTV, Says 'It Doesn’t Own My A*s' Breaking Silence On Getting Out Of ‘Bonded Labour’; 'Sue Me, See If I Care, I’m Out'
Presenters like Nikhil Chinnapa, Ranvijay Singha, Raghu Ram, Rajiv Ram, Neha Dhupia, and others made MTV Roadies a popular reality show. Raghu left the show in 2009, shocking his followers.
'Rearview: My Roadies Journey,' his 2013 autobiography, he stated that MTV and him had no bad blood.
Raghu Ram told a publication why he left Roadies and about his encounter with Ashish, the MTV executive who threatened him and forbade him from working on other channels. Raghu stated, “I told him I never got paid for appearing on Roadies, anyway (I was only paid as an employee of the channel) and that I had equity outside that I wanted to monetize. It was not in the same space as Roadies, so there was no conflict of interest here. Furthermore, we were only going to shoot on weekends when MTV was shut, so I would not be taking any time away from my work. I could see no problem with this arrangement. Ashish heard me out, then said, ‘No, bro, this doesn’t work for MTV.’ I was very hurt, but all I said was, ‘Well, bro, in that case, MTV doesn’t work for me.”
After resigning, the channel didn't respond, and the broadcast resumed. Raghu Ram was disappointed when Roadies 6 episodes, which he had locked, were re-edited without his involvement. He told HR that the move was “obviously a power tussle and I refused to take it lying down” and insisted that his resignation be accepted.
Raghu was unhappy with his new deal in early 2009. He claimed, “When I returned to the office in early January, my contract was waiting. And such a ridiculous contract it was. It basically said that I couldn’t work outside, I couldn’t quit MTV. I had to recognize that my contribution to MTV and Roadies was stuff that couldn’t be measured in money. If I worked outside, MTV had the right to stop me and sue me, and so on. It was basically bonded labour!”
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Raghu Ram added, “I sent a reply to Ashish saying, ‘You could have sent me the contract you did, or you could have sent me a single line: Tu karega, tera baap bhi karega.’ MTV doesn’t own my a** and never has. I told him I was quitting right then and there. And since they had threatened me with legal action, I dared them now. Sue me. See if I care. I’m out.”
