Thanks to the growing number of reality shows, everyone—from one-soap-wonders to forgotten faces—is getting a chance to boost their plummeting careers.

“After Bigg Boss, I have become a household name,” says Kashmera Shah, who made her film debut with Shah Rukh Khan inYess Boss, now a contestant of Star One’s Nach Baliye 3. Tanaaz and Bakhtyaar Irani, finalists of Nach Baliye 2, are currently a sought-after couple for dance shows, while winners Tina Darira and Hussain Kuwajerwala are heaped with offers of anchoring (Hussain recently anchored Sony’s TRP-bagging Indian Idol 3 and the duo is currently hosting Nach Baliye 3).

Motor-mouth Rakhi Sawant, who was cast in Buddha Mil Gaya after her dramatic stint on Sony’s Bigg Boss, probably has had the best till now. “Earlier I was considered only for item numbers. But after Bigg Boss, I have started getting offers to play heroines in movies,” says Sawant.

They aren’t just career-plumpers, shows are also making celebrities out of people who weren’t well-known before them. Shveta Salve and Pooja Bedi and Hanif Hilal (last year’s contestants of Jhalak Dikhla Jaa ) have carved out a permanent place in page-three parties and events.

It’s a marriage of convenience between the channels and the wannabe stars. “We make sure to get somewhat known faces for the shows, who offer a boost to the TRPs,” says Prem Kamath, vice president, marketing and communications, Star.

In the process, however, the channels are also making stars out of absolute nobodies. “I was not known before Nach Baliye 2. It has made me a celebrity and also opened the avenue of anchoring. I even received offers of acting in soaps,” says Tina. “I hope my involvement with the glamour industry will offer some boost to hockey,” says hockey coach and Jhalak Dikhla Jaa 2 contestant Mir Ranjan Negi, who recently surfaced from oblivion when a film inspired by his game, Chak De! India, was declared a super-hit.

The popularity of talent hunts has added to this. “The new formats allow us to turn common people into celebrities,” agrees Kalyan Sundaram, programming head, Sahara One. But the audience misses out on real stars who choose to opt out when it comes to taking part in reality shows and thus making place for the wannabes. “Bollywood stars are reluctant,” says Kamath. “Though things are changing now.”