It was after the (in)famous episode in the daily soap Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi in which sabka laadla Mihir died that we realised the maddening effect it had on public at large, including my mother. It happened unexpectedly without the slightest warning, and the mamta of every Indian mother everywhere in the world came out in full force; rejecting, objecting and denying any such possibility. Ditto with my Mom. She cried so much we’d begun feeling a little jealous of the affection she had for Mihir. 🙁
Till then, my father, who quietly (primarily since he had no choice) allowed my mother to be a dedicated Ekta Kapoor serials fan, banned daily soap viewing at our place, with immediate effect. He made her take an oath on all her gods and himself and us that she won’t see even the repeat telecasts while he was away during the day (well, not literally, but she was warned nevertheless :P).
Since we had the option to actually see something of our choice on tv after that we all went berserk. The countless cds/dvds that had started gathering dust came out, news channels got new viewers, happy channels like SAB, music channels, etc. started playing at our place even during late hours. 🙂
As far as I was concerned, I was never a soap person. Hindi ones were a big no-no, for a simple reason that they were very predictable. Sometimes, I felt I did a better job than their writers of taking the story ahead. On the other hand, Friends, Seinfeld, Boston Legal and a select few had to be seen every time they were aired.
Once in a while though, something catches my fancy. Recently, one such soap that had me interested was Kya Hua Tera Wada on Sony. Not that I expected it to be something out of the world, but it appeared like it would show the matured life of a middle-aged couple with kids and responsibilities. Mona Singh and Pradeep Singh are plausible actors, making the whole setting look authentic.
Anyway, I bless myself for restricting my viewership to the promos that are kept updated to the latest episode. The whole story goes like this: A dedicated wife. A bored and adjusting husband. Cute kids. A successful career woman. An extra-marital affair.
The outcome: Two strong headed women fighting over a confused man who has no b***s. *Grrrrrr*
Seriously, can’t we grow up or should we start plagiarizing soaps too? So much dearth of imagination in a country where we produced serials like Buniyaad, Lifeline and even the recent Astitva. Sad. 🙁
well that the reason and thank god i decided not to have any of the hindi channels subscribed.. I can’t take too much of the melodrama that the indian serials show .. but i liked the good old days Buniyaad.. it was very good …
I wonder why we don’t have reruns of old serials like they have in the west. We copy everything else, so big deal, we can do that too right? It would be nostalgic to revisit those memories. They would be so much better to watch than the stuff they show now.
hahahaha. even i like happy channels like SAB tv.
recently while surfing channels i watched a bengali serial for few seconds. that was the worst thing i have ever seen on tv :D.
i like some of those star world things.
nice post 😀
Really, you like SAB tv too? You won’t imagine how many times I’ve to see Guturgu and Taarak Mehta so I can make A Jr eat. 😀
Me too a Star World fan. Even A Jr has started seeing Big Bang Theory and Friends with a vengeance (though I have to regulate his viewing meticulously). The Comedy Central channel is also good at times. 🙂
I don’t understand Bengali well…but at times I’ve seen some serial/movie only to hear it. The language is like music to ears. 🙂
Thanks Deb for your comment 🙂
Baah! It would be good for the wife to leave that man instead 😛 😛
Buniyaad, Dekh bhai dekh, Tehkikat – I wish they come back again 🙂
Exactly, may be at some point she’ll leave him, but then the longing and melodrama attached to it will go for another 50 episodes! *rolling eyes in disgust* 🙂
Yessss…wish we could see them again! Amongst the recent ones the only one I liked was Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. 😀
Look at the crime serials on Star World….Criminal Minds…Dexter…can’t we have something like that here?
Television has the potential to constructively fill the recreational vacuum in people’s lives. Sadly, all that I can think of this medium today as something unabashedly disseminating poison in its watchers lives: whether it be the soaps gargling in negativity, or reality shows stinking of obscenity and slapstick humour, or the 24X7X365 news channel showering misinformation and sensationalism.
Wow…your comment has more content than my entire post! 😀
I agree with you. Television has a reach like never before and if used positively it can definitely act as an instrument to bring about a considerable change in our society. Alas, it is used for anything but. News channels have become opinionated. Humour has lost its humour. Being negative and spreading negativity is the new thing.
I’m really looking forward to Aamir Khan’s show that’ll start from this Sunday. He’s never disappointed his viewers till now. Hope it is worth the hype.
Ooooh, Not to miss the insipid music to drag out the still shot of expressionless actor(s)! I did watch a talk show where one such director said there wasn’t much to distinguish between episode 120 and episode 620… More fool us.
I’m sure those writers/directors must be having a hearty laugh at the expense of their foolish audience who’d watch absolutely any kind of nonsense dished out to them. The music is used more to make up for the expression the non-actors don’t convey through their acting! People still waste their time watching them. 🙁
Extra marital affairs never go out of vogue in the soap world. Sad story!
Yes…and they try to make them look so exciting and ridiculous at the same time!