Why are T.V. Serials in India so Boring and Uninspiring?

chillibreeze writer — Ektaa Rupani

Soaps-the word has two connotations. One, of course would be the colorful, fragrant cleansing agents. But the other, more interesting meaning would be the daily doses of clichéd, exaggerated sagas of love, deceit and revenge, aired on various T.V channels, providing the much required zing in the lives of out-of-work mothers-in-law and their pampered maids.

India is a country where relationships, whether good or bad, are given a lot of importance. The much maligned saas-bahu relationship is the hot topic of discussion in many a woman gathering, and this aspect has very cleverly been cashed upon by the makers of daily soaps, to keep the women audience glued to the idiot box.

Every woman in these serials is clearly classified as either a paragon of virtue like Tulsi or Parvati (with outlandish sarees and garish jewellery to boot) or the proverbial bitch, who is forever hatching criminal plots against her in-laws. No shades of grey there!

Where on one hand we are all trying to convince ourselves that India is shining and we, as a country have come of age, we have serials like Saat Phere-Saloni ka safar, where the protagonist is always at a disadvantage because of her dark skin. Are we still living in the dark ages or is this a gora hangover from the British Raj which we have not been able to brush off till date? But worry not serial makers, for our audiences simply love to lap up such outdated ideas!

When the people of a country can perform puja in front of a T.V. set when serials like Ramayana are aired, then one can only imagine the influence that this medium has over them. No wonder then that in this day and age people are able to get away with making serials like Naaginn which is about a snake being able to turn into a woman or vice versa (like we care).

A serial called Ghar ki Laxmi-Betiyaan has the daughters of the family trying to save their gullible brother from his scheming wife. This is their prime goal in life and insignificant things like their own education, careers etc. are of least importance. They are not the Betiyaan of the house for nothing.

The use of popular Bollywood tracks is another trick up the sleeve of these makers to ensure a steady flow of tears from amongst the audience. At the end of the day, it’s all about TRPs, you see.

Then, we have the profoundly-growing, ever-expanding joint family sagas, oozing with love, sacrifice and a warped attempt at comedy, which can only be termed as an insult to the sensibility of the educated lot.

A classic example of this would be the serial Instant Khichdi where life seems to be a never ending circus for all. However, even these serials surprisingly find no dearth of audience in India. Extra marital affairs, superstitions, male supremacy are all glorified and modern, educated Indian women, who are so successfully juggling challenging careers and managing their homes and children, are left wondering why they are being portrayed in this derogatory manner in serials.

Moreover, by showing people as so wily and double faced, these serials are only teaching people to become more suspicious of others and this is sure to cause problems in inter- personal relationships. After all, it has not been wrongly said that the media is a mirror of our society.

The so-called reality shows have become battlefields for warring judges, and platforms for film stars to promote their films, rather than any talent scouting that they claim to be doing.

A ray of hope in the form of a KBC or a Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai may sometimes show through the dismal array of boring serials, but otherwise, one can just conclude that the makers of these serials are leaving no stone unturned to make the T.V. live up to its name-the idiot box.

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—About our writer:

Ektaa says, "I have chosen to write about the absurdity of T.V. Serials because I firmly believe that women in India, who have time and again proven their capability in different fields, need to be given credit for their intellegence and by showing them in such a poor light, the serial makers are doing a great disservice to society."

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