Archive for the ‘Society’ Category
Hindi Serial – Na Aana Is Des Ladoo – Ammaji trying other tactics to put a lot of load on Sia after Raghav accepted her
On March 04, 2010 in Colors, Drama, Family, Hindi Serial, Na Aana Iss Desh Ladoo, Ruthless, Saas-Bahu, Society, TV
It was a very surprising scene, and not what a lot of fans of Sia would have thought. After all, she had sworn to take revenge against everybody who had mis-treated her and her father, and for that, she had taken up position in Ammaji’s house as a servant. And for that, Ammaji, who never trusted her, first made sure that she knew her position very clearly in the house, and treated her exactly like a servant, and not like a daughter-in-law; to the extent that when the DM came to their house for taking one of the ladies for the night, Ammaji put Sia also on display.
And yet, the makers of the serial have shown some stuff that is certainly not part of revenge. Even though Ammaji showed no signs of changing any of her behavior, and remained as evil as ever, Sia saved her life when she was shot by a bullet. And for that, Ammaji had not the slightest amount of gratitude. In fact, Ammaji was planning to get a new daughter-in-law for Raghav, something that he was going through. But it seemed like the ploy that Sia had was to get Raghav won over and respect her as a wife, and he finally accepted her (hardly a mark of revenge, given that Raghav was complicit in many of Ammaji’s crimes). It was only when Raghav has accepted her that her status has changed in the household; but even then, Ammaji has not left any chance to still try and get Sia away from Raghav. She managed to persuade Sia not to have a physical relationship with Raghav for 3 months since this has been recommended by the family priest, and then is subjecting Sia to a lot of pressure in the kitchen, making her cook the food for the entire family.
Pratigya – Will she be able to stand up to Krishna’s bullying ways? – Need to show the girl as being more fearless
On February 21, 2010 in Character, Culture, Drama, Hindi Serial, Pratigya, Society, TV, Values
Pratigya (Star Plus) began with a lot of fanfare and loads of promise. The promos that were telecast on television before the programme began talked of Pratigya as a bold and fearless girl. She was shown standing up to eve teasers, taking to task all those who meant to put her down and being a spirited individual. However the show has yet to live up to that promise as Pratigya is a far cry from what she was portrayed in the promos.
Pratigya is the daughter of an honest college professor who lives by his morals and values. She soon catches the attention of the local ruffian, Krishna, who loses his heart to her. From that day begins her story of grief and humiliation. Krishna is a school drop out who considers himself to be lucky to be born in a family where he has everything and he need not work. His attitude towards women in particular is coarse and he feels that women are merely objects of pleasure and comfort- as long as you give them food; you can treat them the way you want. He treats his mother and all the other women of his family with disdain and nonchalance. He considers himself to be extremely romantic and believes love is just acquiring.
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The evolution of serials away from being saas-bahu to reflecting the evils of society
On February 21, 2010 in Hindi Serial, Society
There is no denying the fact that content in Hindi serials has grown by leaps and bounds. There was a time not too long ago that Saas-Bahu themes were ruling the roost in television. There were a few stereotypical characters and a few time-and-TRp-tested story lines that found favour with the channels and the production houses. Right from the characterisation of the main leads to the looks, the sets, the premises of conflict situations to the heroes…oops the heroines and the anti-heroines. The striking element of these soaps was that it was a woman character versus another woman character.
The leading woman v/s woman conflict that comes to mind is that of Tulsi (Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi) and Mandira. Even though it was Savita, her mother-in-law, who made her intial years of married life miserable; then it fell on Mandira to be her bete noire for the rest of her adult life. Remember Kkusum, the dignified, honest middle class girl who married into a rich family and an unwilling husband? For her as well most of the miseries in her personal and professional life were created by women. In fact for all most all serials it was a woman who made another woman’s life a living hell. Remember ‘Neka’ Kamalika and the grief she caused in Prerna’s life? This one-dimensional viewpoint of life camouflaged the various realities of life.
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Hindi Serials – the evolution of serials to have mass market appeal
On February 21, 2010 in Hindi Serial, Society
Hindi serials have so far been considered the poorer cousin of Hindi films. The sheer scale of Hindi films is hard to duplicate for its lesser counterpart. Films have also been around longer and have been a part of popular culture much before television even came into existence. Since its inception films have mirrored (or at least tried to) the realities of life. They have often been the repository of middle class values and beliefs. Thus while cinema in 50s and 60s talked about post independence hope and social reconstruction, the angry young man theme of the 70s and 80s reflected the growing angst and post 90s there has been a steady increase in candy floss movies and those that target the NRI segment.
As movies in the twenty first century became more and more urban and metropolitan in its theme and characterisation, the smaller cities, towns and bigger villages turned to television to seek out values and themes that talked to them in their own lingo. In fact it can be safely said that television since its inception has been the medium for the average, middle-middle class, semi-urban and even rural Indian. Take for example Hum Log. The first blockbuster (borrowing a ‘filmy’ parlance) Hindi serial, it depicted the lives of a typical lower middle class Indian family. Buniyaad that followed in its wake talked of a family that faces the trauma of partition and then seeks to rebuild an identity for itself. Here again, the characters were very real, their conflicts, believable.
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