Critical response The show opened to highly positive reviews. Several media organizations praised
Aamir Khan for his effort and described the show as a movement. In her review, Ritu Singh of
IBN Live stated, "Aamir Khan deserves an applause for bringing up such a sensitive issue and presenting it in a hard hitting way. The amount of research Aamir and his team has put into the show was clearly visible with the facts and figures presented. Every aspect of the issue was covered with great diligence." She concluded it by saying, "'Satyamev Jayate' is not just a show; it’s a movement to change people’s mindset." Parmita Uniyal from
Hindustan Times praised the content and format of the show and said, "Aamir Khan have to step in to do what journalists are supposed to do – make a difference. The show is a classic example of that." Gayatri Sankar from
Zee News described the show as an "eye opener" and commented that, "
Satyamev Jayate will make you unlearn all the wrong you have learnt and discover that compassionate human your soul wishes to be. The show grips you and leaves you dumfounded! You will be left asking for more and would wish the show never ends." Trade analyst and film critic
Komal Nahta commended that, "I cried while watching the show. I think people will watch it as it has touched an emotional chord." Sukanya Verma from
Rediff.com expressed concerns regarding the show saying, "This is a grand initiative and a sound format into which a lot has been invested -- monetarily as well as in terms of research. Deriding this show simply because it is hosted by a Bollywood actor who is also a marketing whiz, questions our credibility, not his." Some reviewers also criticized the show on various grounds. A review from
Outlook India noted that, "[...] the show might well heighten awareness, enable the efforts of those doing real work at the ground level, and get the issue out of the denial closet, [...] But it is a little unrealistic to expect a film star and a TV show to change the world." Subhash Jha from
The Times of India commented on the show, "...though brave and thought provoking, was disappointing in its lack of genuine connectivity between the host and the victims of social atrocity. At the moment
Satyamev Jayate looks like a product of elitist conscientiousness." Sheela Bhatt, from Rediff.com, commented that the format of
Satyameva Jayate has to be more profound, and the big problem of the show is that it is on predictable lines. She went on conclude by requesting Khan to bring in some raw energy in the show.
Viewers' response The show also received positive feedback from various eminent personalities such as social activists, media houses, film and television personalities.
Bal Thackeray, the founder and chief of the political party
Shiv Sena praised the show and Khan for bringing out social issues in front of public. Prominent social activist and retired
IPS officer
Kiran Bedi described the show as "creative, evidence based, emotionally connecting and inspiring" Noted film actress
Shabana Azmi appreciated the show for its research and emotional content: "Aamir Khan's show can bring a revolution. Thoroughly researched covers all aspects touches emotional chord n forces us to reexamine ourselves." While film producer
Ekta Kapoor proclaimed the show as "the best show of the decade", film directors
Madhur Bhandarkar and
Farhan Akhtar also praised the show commenting that the show brought the "desired change" to the small screen and that it is "a show with a heart" respectively. As per Indiantelevision.com, the show garnered an overall rating of 4.27 television ratings (TVR) (including terrestrial of
DD) across the 6 metropolitan cities:
Delhi,
Mumbai,
Kolkata,
Chennai,
Bangalore and
Hyderabad, upon its premiere telecast on 6 May 2012. According to the
Television Audience Measurement (TAM), the show reached out to 8.96 million people in the age group of 4+. One hundred thousand people tried calling in from across the country to speak to Khan during the show out of which 10 or 11 people could eventually get through. On its premiere day, several topics related to the show were seen
trending on the
microblogging site
Twitter, occupying the "top five trends" on the site. The show received as many as 2,254 tweets on the social networking site, even before the show ended its premiere telecast The first episode also opened many discussions on
video sharing site
YouTube, wherein, people left emotional messages on the site. "A man who wanted a boy said that after watching the show he cried and he apologized to his wife and said that he just wants her to be happy," said Khan when talking to media.
Hindustan Times conducted an online poll asking the viewers, "Did you like Aamir Khan's
Satyamev Jayate?" to which 88% viewers agreed that they liked the show, 5% felt that Khan and the show failed to impress and 7% remained undecided, waiting to watch more episodes before forming their opinion.
Persistent Systems Ltd, an Indian IT consultancy, was the analytics (insights) partner for this show. Season1 of Satyamev Jayate garnered 1.2billion impressions on the web. It ranked as the most talked about new show on the social media in the world. Gigaom quoted that "Satyamev Jayate, one of India’s highest-rated television shows, is using data as a means to effect meaningful change".
Persistent Systems used The Big Data Solution to help Satyamev Jayate keep track of how its viewership is interacting with the show. The show aggregated viewers responses from Social Media (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube), Satyamev Jayate Website (SpeakUp and DisQus) as well as from dedicated phone lines for the show. Variety of languages used in the responses, different formats of the responses and the need of unearthing more sentiments from the messages were challenging for the analytics team. The most responses came in Hinglish, a mix of Hindi and English. They were in either text, audio or video format. The analytics were beyond just Praise and Criticism. Persistent Systems had more than 50 tags available for every episode for message analysis. Star India Network's Chief Marketing Officer Gayatri Yadav commented "What social media did was far beyond anything producers anticipated. It took the show and made it the people’s show" about the response from social networking sites. The issues discussed on the show garnered national attention, with several being discussed in parliament and influencing politicians and lawmakers to take action. After the first episode, for example,
Rajasthan Chief Minister,
Ashok Gehlot, urged public representatives and non-governmental organisations to take actions to stop the illegal practice of
female foeticide. Khan met Gehlot over the issue, and Gehlot accepted the request to set up fast track court to deal the case of the
sting operation featured on the show. Following the second episode, the helpline for children received an increased number of calls from across the country, reporting child abuse. The legislation to protect children below 18 years from sexual abuse became a reality with the
Lok Sabha passing the bill. After exposing medical malpractice in another episode, Aamir Khan became the first non-
MP to be invited to the
Indian parliament, where he and his creative team presented research on the subject and discussed core issues related to the medical fraternity. The show has also been well received overseas, including many parts of
Asia as well as some parts of
Africa. The overseas market where it received the most interest was
China, where it was initially watched online before being licensed to air on Chinese television in 2014, due to Aamir Khan's popularity there after the success of his film
3 Idiots (2009). His work on
Satyamev Jayate, as well as similar issues raised in his films, such as
Taare Zameen Par (2007),
3 Idiots,
PK (2014), and
Dangal (2016), has led to Khan being referred to as a "national treasure of India" or "conscience of India" by
Chinese media. The show is highly regarded in China, where it is one of the highest-rated productions on popular Chinese site
Douban.
Comparisons Indian television producer-director
Siddhartha Basu compared the show with
The Oprah Winfrey Show stating, "I think Aamir makes for a pensive and studied Oprah. More power to him and even more power to issues he raises that affect us all. Hopefully, it will get people thinking and acting on it on a much bigger scale". Parmita Uniyal from
Hindustan Times felt the show succeeds in convincing people of the outcomes of such practices better than a government campaign on female infanticide or a television soap like
Balika Vadhu. ==Episodes==