The Most Shocking Moments on TV

This year was truly the year of reality television, as even the hugely popular saas-bahu soaps took a backseat to them. But what explains Reality TV's newfound popularity? Is it the back-biting? The controversies? The unpredictability? All of that and more, actually.

Some of 2009's most shocking Reality TV moments:

Rakhi Ka Swayamvar

Rakhi Sawant shocked the nation when she announced her plan to find a suitable life partner through a reality show called Rakhi Ka Swayamvar.

But this fairy tale didn't have a happy ending, as the show didn't culminate with a wedding on the finale. Instead, there was an engagement, with Elesh Parunjanwala making the cut.

Rakhi and Elesh went on to 'play parents' in another reality show called Pati, Patni Aur Woh but very soon, the couple parted ways because they just could not get along. The item girl claims that Elesh had entered Rakhi Ka Swayamvar only to earn some free publicity.

Recently, Rakhi was invited on another reality show Perfect Bride on Star Plus to share marriage tips with the contestants. Wonder what tips she would have given them considering her current status?

Kamal Rashid Khan was unceremoniously dumped from the Bigg Boss house for, amongst other things, hurling a water bottle at housemate Rohit Verma. The bottle missed its mark but ended up hitting actress Shamita Shetty.

The actor had major tiff with almost all the housemates of Bigg Boss, like Bhakhtyar Irani, Raju Srivastav and Pravesh Rana. The rest of the housemates found his antics too much to handle, and asked for him to be removed from the show.

Bigg Boss was quite a controversial show while it lasted, and saw another major one at its pool party.

Aditi Govitrikar and Tanaaz Irani decided to pull a prank on Raju Srivastav and pulled off his pants. Unluckily for them, he wasn't wearing any underwear, and onlookers were horrified.

Though the incident was shown in the promos, it was finally edited out of the show.

MTV Splitsvilla 2 contestants spilled the beans on what happens when the cameras aren't looking.

They alleged that contestants were forced to give sexual favours to crew members including, to the surprise of many, host Nikhil Chinappa. The channel was quick to dismiss the claims as a case of collective sour grapes.

Was India really ready for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Apparently not, as Sach Ka Saamna, jolted viewers -- including Indian politicians -- rallied against its alleged 'vulgarity'.

Nothing bothered Star Plus, as the channel has already announced plans for season two.

Among other scandalous moments in the show, cricketer Vinod Kambli confessed that during his darkest moments, his 'friend' Sachin Tendulkar wasn't there for him. Tendulkar now considers his friendship with him as an embarrassment. Kambli also revealed that he felt discriminated because of his caste and colour by the cricket board.

We've seen bikinis on the big screen. Now, how about the small screen?

Thanks to Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao, we saw one of television's favourite bahus, Shweta Tiwari, bikini-clad and taking a bath in front of the camera.

After Nigar Khan entered the show, all the men in it got an eyeful when she woke up early in the morning, wrapped herself in a towel and headed off to the bathing area, wearing the tiniest of bikinis. Yowza!

You thought we were done with Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao? Not by a long shot, as this show had all sorts of controversy.

Television actor Jay Bhanushali threatened to quit the show when singer Mika Singh sprung a huge shocker and pulled Jay's pants down.

The guys were chatting in the jungle, late at night, when suddenly Mika surprised an unsuspecting Jay with his crazy act. A shocked and angry Jay wasted no time in walking away in a huff, ready to leave with his bags, even as Mika and other cast-members continued laughing at him.

Following the footsteps of Rakhi Sawant, Rahul Mahajan will be seen soon as a groom-to-be in a new reality show Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jayega.

Son of slain Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mahajan, Rahul surpassed the popularity of item girl Rakhi Sawant, as he received 40 percent more entries than her for his televised swayamvar.

This would be a second marriage for Rahul, who became a known name in the entertainment sector post-Bigg Boss 2. He was earlier married to Shweta, with whom he tied the knot in 2006, but the couple parted ways last year.