The birth of a vibrant feminist movement in the late 70s –a
host of non-governmental organizations focusing on women’s issues had come up
in the decade (1975-85) following the declaration of the International Women’s
year- also aided the process of emancipation.
Many of these feminist groups consisted of urban middle class
women who successfully pushed for a range of pro-women laws, established
institutions to provide legal and material support to destitute women and
watchdog committees for monitoring phenomena such as the representation of
women in the media and so on. One of the consequences of the movement was also
a deluge of “women oriented serials” on Doordarshan between 1982 and 1987.
The serials encompassed a variety of genres: soaps, sitcom,
docu-drama, self help and so on. Adhikaar
for instance, dealt with the legal rights of Indian women; Kashmakash was based on short stories by women writers. Stri drew portraits of extraordinary
women, while Airhostess explored the
lives of single working women. The intention- to present a positive image of
women- was clearly a laudable one. Filmmaker Deepa Dhanraj[1] noted
that, “ given that scarcity of nonfiction programmes centered around women, practically any images
are to be celebrated.”
In implementation, however Doordarshan did not quite live up
to the time, Dhanraj concluded that the attempt had misfired on several counts
which included oversimplification of the causes of women’s oppression;
structuring serials with a view to male gratification and suggest solutions
that often ended by reinforcing rather than changing the status quo.
According to Amrita Shah[2],” The medium also put
together contradictory messages. Programmes such as Adhikaar, on women’s legal rights and Aur Bhi Hain raahein, on career options for women were telecast
along with jowl ads in which glamorous models played out the traditional roles
of wife, mother and sex object. In Ramayana,
the highest rated serial at a time when Doordarshan was trying to encourage
liberal attitudes towards women’s emancipation, the main female character Sita – a woman who unquestionly joined
her husband Rama, in exile, was
kidnapped by Ravana provoking a war
between the two kings, and was eventually dumped by her husband when his
citizens cast aspersions on her chastity.
The social change did make its way into the daily soaps of
the time. Woman started holding more serious positions particularly in
companies owned by deceased fathers or husbands. “And letters received by Humraahi–a serial propagating woman equality-indicated a growing support
for independent women who could speak out against male tyranny and some
impatience with the doormat type. [3]
The world of TV soaps was inducing a
widespread coverage in middle class attitudes, much to the relief of the
younger generation of women who suddenly found age old shackles disappearing
overnight.
Twenty something garment fabricator in Bombay for instance
held television entirely responsible for the fact that her conservative Muslim
mother no longer pressurized her to leave her job and get married. Teenagers in
small towns like Indore found themselves found in a position to flaunt the
latest bold fashions without running against parental disapproval. Sexologists,
psychiatrists and marriage counselors also testified to a sharp rise in
awareness and acknowledgement of sensual desire among women. Clearly the urban
middle class woman had come a long way. But so much change in so little time
could not but provoke reaction.
Not to mention serials like, Shanti, Radha ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayegi, Kkusum, all
propagated the empowerment of women and have established social issues along
with dramatic narratives that made the audience live through the ups and downs
of the character’s life.
The Evolution
The first television serials brought
in the middle class homes and social issues clubbed today. Thus Hum Log and Buniyaad were about the plight of the common man. Yeh Jo Zindegi Hai, Nukkad, Flop Show nurtured
the same theme and became small screen classics.
The cultural bend of minds produced
religious epic serials such as Ramayana and Mahabhrata
and TV sets in all the houses across the country all of a sudden become
idols to worship with incense sticks, street got deserted on every Sunday and
the whole family comprising of members from 4 years to 90 years watched the gods
battle against evil. The country was heaped with so much of religiosity that a
political party got into prominence in the coming years, strong enough to bring
about one of the deadly riots in the history of the country.
The stream of serials that was to
follow in the coming years was by the dint of the series of satellite channels
launched were launched one after the other. The producers were continuously
studying the audience and soon realized that perhaps one section needed more
attention than the other genres. What came as a result were several sitcoms
that flooded all the channels, making it difficult for the viewers to decide
which one to watch and which one to neglect. Dekh Bhai dekh, Kareena
Kareena, Hum Paanch,Line of Control, Sarabhai, Khichadi stole the show away. But neither of them
could stand as tall as their comic predecessors. Massod Akhtar lamented,” Comedy though to some extent popular is not
up to the mark.”
So, when
the audience was too tired of the comic bone, the never ending family saga
serials took the stage. With a
population close to 400 million individual viewers, and a bouquet of channels
offering an exhausting, unlimited and formula-tested soaps of ‘holier-than-thou
women with huge red bindis, streams of vermilion and imitation mangalsutras, as
opposed to the vamps with over the top pan-caked makeup and a perpetual
evil look in eyes, Indian soaps started
playing with the psychological emotions of the common Indian women who
are the primary target for high drama and suspense and who tend to favour the
positive or the negative vibes given out by these women characters. With the
advent of producers like Balaji Telefilms, women started swearing by the
characters of ‘Tulsi’ of Kunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi … or ‘Parvati’ of
‘ Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki’ . Such is the craze for these women characters
that advertisements for marriages have insert like, ‘the girl should be like
Tulsi’! The message is strong and clear, today’s mother-in-law wants a girl who
would be completely traditional, protect the family values of her in- laws
(does not matter if she is abused and berated by one and all –
misunderstandings are always cleared after six episodes of glycerine tears and
high family drama) and respect her in-laws no matter how scheming they are.
Almost all serials are women-dominated, and if one leaves the saas-bahu (family
drama) and moves to the more modern soaps, one would find instances of some
bold and uncommon theme. Soaps like ‘Astitva- Ek Prem Kahani’, dealing
with a young man falling in love with a much older woman, or ‘Jassi Jaisi
Koi Nahin’, where a common ordinary looking girl makes it to the top on
basis of her merit, have been some milestones in influencing the youth. ‘Jassi
Jaisi Koi Nahin’, has inspired common looking girls, with no glamour to
back them, to stand for themselves and create their own niche in society. Yet,
some could not stop complaining about the agony that the serials induced in
them. Almost everyone would responded to the survey listed a numerous reasons
that went against the popular serials, especially the k-serials.
Presence of huge family with untraceable source of wealth; Presence of an
immortal person; Mother and daughter must look like sisters of same age and
grandmothers must look like older sister but age difference to be minimized as
much as possible; All festivals in calendar must be celebrated; Presence of one
or more negative characters is must; Plastic surgeries, death and reappearance,
loss of memory etc. should appear repeatedly until audience develop sixth
sense; Each episode must end with suspense; There must be regular addition of
new character in serial; Long form of co-incidence in the language of serials
is taken as commonly occurring incidents; and lastly the obvious attempt at
copying the popular and box office hit Bollywood movies or unfortunate daily
incidents that got flashed across national dailies for days together.[4]
Even though the new serials in the
recently launched channels like NDTV Imagine and COLORS TV, and in also those
one pre existing ones, have elbowed out the kitchen politics and have taken up
social issues much more serious, as in the case of Jyoti, Mein Teri Parchaayi hoon, Balika Badhu, Na Ana Is Desi-Laado,
Sabki Laadli Bebo, Mere Ghar Aayi Ek Nanhi Pari, Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo.[
What is joyful about these new serials is that they are more compact and finish
off without boring off the viewers.[5][6]
Mythology
appeals no more
The charm created by Ramayana,
Mahabhrata, and on the other hand Tipu Sultan, Chanakya is no more
found in the new serials like Jai Sri Krishna,Rani Padmini KakJohar. Dharti Ka
Veer Yodha Prithviraj Chauhan rouse to
popularity for it showed a much talked about costly sets and too much emphasis
on the king and his beloved’s dragged on romance.
Inadequate
children’s show “As compared to their
needs or their population, there is very little television telecast for the
children”, a 22 years old, Chitrak Mitra commented.
Thus children hardly find anything appeasing to their taste in the main
stream channels. Few feel like tunning into channels like Cartoon Network,
Disney Channel, Jetix, POGO, HUNGAMA TV. All they watch are serials much above
their age.
“Hindi TV serials for that matter all
TV serials do affect the children, they get matured quite fast, they get to
know things beyond their age and thus there is a loss of the actual childhood.
Complications in families do result from this unwanted development. It seems
children no more act like children; they all are adolescents from the age of 5
or 6,”said Mr.
Subhasis Chakraborty.
Mr. Masood
Akhtar opined,” Surely, children are very
much affected by the Hindi TV serials. Whatever is shown in these serials less
than 10% is beneficial for children. Children believe in whatever is shown, and
they jump off the roof, die, and commit crimes. They do not understand the
black and white characterization in the serials; neither must we expect it from
their age group. Yet, they watch it and their aims and ambitions are taking
shapes accordingly, which is unfortunate. They are bumping into things which
they should not.
The TV serials meant for children are
certainly not meeting my expectations. Good programmes meant for children
should be shown in all the channels, during the afternoon before the children
sit down to study. Good fiction stories should be made for them…I think Cartoon
network is doing a job.”
According to
Dr. Puson Gupta,” I think advertisement
affect children most. Basically children are not bothered about boring serials;
they are choosier than adults.”
Mr. Manoj
Swami said,” In an era of dual income,
nuclear family, where both the parents go to work, TV and internet is becoming
a child’s best friend and obviously they leave a great impression on a child's
mindset.... sometimes indelible impressions.
"Malguri" and "Indra
Dhanush" are by far the best serials for children that I have seen in
Hindi. Recently some attempts have been made mostly in animation (Krishna and
Chhota Bhim) but as far as my understanding goes children today mostly watch
cartoons made outside the country but dubbed in Hindi.”
Thus
needless to say the serial makers have not done much to cater to the children
viewers.
Reference
1)Dhanraj, Deepa: The Media and Women’s
Issues: 1994, ‘Whose News’ (saga publications).
2)Shah, Amrita: Hype, Hypocrisy And
Television In Urban India: 1997 ‘Middle Class Strike Back’, pp:-180-181, (Vikas
Publishing House Pvt Ltd)
3)Ibid.Pg- 182
4)The Times
of India,” Shhh! Psst-psst! Unfolding some of the best conspiracies”, Friday, July 21, 2006. And also added by
some of the people who responded to the survey.
5)The
Times of India,” Ba, Bahu & now
the Beti, by Nikhila Pant, 5 May ,2009.
6)India
Today, Stereotypical TV girl gets a reality check by Priyanka Srivastava June
6, 2009.
India has its cultural roots going deep into its ancient
manuscripts, in its religious rituals and in its traditional customs handed
down from one generation to the next. At the sometime its illustrious history
has attracted scholars and travelers from all parts of the world. There was
nothing surprising that when it came to movie-making the first film makers went
for mythological characters and mythological televised series drew huge support
in a country with such socio-political background. What added on to the
plethora of televised representation of the past was the country’s both
religious and cultural diversity.
“For 78 weeks between 1987 and 1988, India, courtesy
Doordarshan, was hooked on a heavenly opiate: the Sunday morning serialisation
of the Hindi epic, the Ramayana – various terms- ‘the religious serials’, the ‘
soap opera of the gods’ and so on, the TV drama had notched up a mind boggling
viewership of 85%. Examples of its popularity were legion- brides refusing to
participate in wedding rites till the end of the episode; ministers turning up
late for their swearing in ceremony, an entire train kept waiting while the
driver and its passengers caught up with the latest installments.”[1]
India's population was glued to the telly, be it in private homes, at friends
houses or in shopping areas with TVs. Streets were empty, weddings missed,
political meetings postponed, incense burned on top of the TV set and conches
blown.
Ramayana was the age old story of Rama who was born in a royal family and was
supposed to be the king, but because of his step- mother, he was forced to
exile from his kingdom for fourteen years. During this period his consort Sita was kidnapped by a demon called Ravan, who was the king of Lanka. Rama with the help of his brother, Lakshman, and an army of monkeys under
the leadership of Hanuman, rescued Sita.
The TV Ramayana bore the
unmistakable stamp of the Hindi cinema. Mythological stories though irregular
were a familiar genre in Indian cinema and were characterized by a heavy
reliance on trick photograph, theatrics, garish colours and emotive music.
That all these elements were
forcefully present in the small screen adaptation was not really surprising for
its maker, Ramanand Sagar- himself the epitome of the Hindi film producer. His
Ramayana –which he scripted and directed-had all the ingredients of a filmi
production. It also reflected his north Indian traditions; the chief characters
apart from Ravana- the king of Lanka
in the south-were cast in the Aryan mould and spoke high flown Hindi which was
the language of the Indo-Gangetic plains.
The televisation of Ramayana
evoked a storm of protest. The complaints stemmed from a concern that television
was being used to propagate a certain ideological message. The belief was not
without basis. Despite the partial commercialization of the medium, Doordarshan
authorities had continued to exercise powers of selection by insisting the
serials should combine entertainment with a desirable message. Hence soaps such
as Hum Log and Buniyaad were approved for promoting, among other
things a desirable idea of ‘national integration.’ What was not really
questioned was the idea of a nation that came through these and similar serials
which was clearly north Indian and middle class, a startlingly narrow
definition for a heterogeneous country such as India.
With the decision to telecast the Ramayana and consecutively, the
other great Hindu epic the Mahabharata, concern mounted that in secular
India, where 15 percent of the Population consisted of non –Hindu religious
groups, the state was also propagating the idea of a Hindu nation. Predictably,
the apprehensions were voiced most forcefully by a vocal section of the
minorities particularly the Muslim community which comprised 12 percent of the
population and in the south; the intellectual elite was also appalled by
Sagar’s kitschy representation of the Indian classic.
The actual population however,
silenced its many critics. Within weeks, the serial had garnered one of the
largest audiences in the history of TV. And soon it was clear that its
following, far from being solely Hindu, comprised people of various religious
persuasions. According to an account by Mark Tully In his book, ‘No Full Stops
in India’, fan letters poured in from Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, the very
communities, on whose behalf the cudgels had been taken up against the serials.
“May our Lord Jesus and Mother Mary bless you and keep you well” wrote a
Christian lady from South to one of the characters. “Your name will shine and
shine like the morning star in the horizon’, gushed a Muslim in a letter to
Ramanand Sagar.
So powerful was the impact of the
serial that it cast of unknown actors not only achieved overnight celebrity
status but the chief protagonists came to be venerated as gods. “At functions
really grown up people came and touched your feet,’ Deepika Chikalia, the young
actress playing Rama’s wife, Sita
told Tully. The programme’s popularity also enabled its maker, to extend the
serial way beyond its contracted period of 52 weeks and collect more money from
his sponsors which included a toothpaste company, a noodle manufacturer and a
textile producer.
Mahabharata-a
brief study
The distinguishing factor for mythological programmes lies in
the semantic units that make up the genre. Most often, these include Hindu gods
and incarnations pitched in battle against forces of irreligion. Structurally,
these narrative units are most often engaged in a battle between the ‘good’ and
the ‘evil’ forces which are characterized as religious elements and practices,
as distinct from the social ones of social programmes.
The primary difference between the social and religious
programmes is in the semantic units that make up the narrative. In the
religious programmes these units are theological, concerned with the practices
of the Hindu religion. On the other hand, social programmes deal with practices
that correspond with the social modes of behavior in everyday life. The primary
similarity between these social and religious programs can be traced to the use
of similar narrative strategies.
Mahabharata was able to occupy the median
position, where it co opted from both the religious and social. The serial consisting
of 94-episode originally ran from 1988 to 1990. It was produced by B. R. Chopra
and directed by his son, Ravi Chopra. The music was composed by critically
acclaimed music director Rajkamal. The issues that it represented could largely
be classified into concerns for the family and the modes of interaction in the
family. There are several episodes that deal with the issues of brotherly
affection, duty to mother and role of various members of the family.
According to
T.R. Bhanot,’ the story of this epic passed on to the coming generations
through tradition having being told and retold down the ages. Full of ideal
romance, mystery, thrills, suspense, chivalry, adventure, awe-inspiring,
exploits and spine-chilling miracles, this wonderful epic depicts the moral as
well as social values of the time and thus provides valuable guidance to the
common householder for leading a pious, plain and virtuous life.’[2]
B. R. Chopra’s tele-serial Mahabharata was the first time that the story of the grand epic was
been reproduced by a social bloc who were in position to edxercise cultural
power by their control over the television medium. The television serials were
unlike the circulation of the story in other modes (the literary and the oral
modes that were region and language specific). Doordarshan could however bring
a standardized story, simultaneously, to a large part of the country in one
language.[3]
Serializing the story resulted in dividing up the narrative
into multiple episode lays the foundation for the following one. In most of the
cases, each episode ends with a narrative situation that motivates the next
episode. There is usually no clear indication of the end of the serial. Unlike Hum Log and Buniyaad, whose closure had brought disappointment among the viewers,
Mahabharata and Ramayana had an expected ending. What brought these serials
near to the viewers’ heart were the effectively done episodes, constantly
generating within them a desire to see what happened next, even though one
might very well know what the next event will be. This attached to the serial
by all sections of the society reemphasized the centrality of the Indian
culture. The primary significane thus lay in the way it came back to the
audience every week, endearing the stars and the characters to the people, so
much so that the real identity and the reel name of the actors got overlapped
in a short time.
“Reoligious soap operas” stars emerged as a result of the
serialization of the story on television.[4] For example,Arun Govil, who played ram in Ramayana was worshipped as an
incarnation by some people in the village of Umbergaon, where the serial was
shot. People would fall at his feet when he appeared in public, collapsing the
personality and the actor into one.
Similarly in Mahabharata
Roopa Ganguly who portrayed Draupadi received a lot of unpleasant publicity
for wearing western style dresses. This was considered unbecoming of a person
who comes home to millions of viewers as a mirror image of the ideal Hindu
woman.
Finally, the actor who played Arjun chose to change his
Muslim name to show business alias of ‘Arjun’, not only hiding his religion but
collapsing his off- screen name with the character he portrays.
The setting was also note worthy.[5] The director
and the producers chose the North Indian locations for filming their serial.
This was because the original site of the main story was Hastinapur, somewhere
in the Indo-Gangetic plains. This needs special attention because here in crops
up the greatest dilemma of the religious conflict, the bringing in of the
Hindutava, emphasizing the Hindi-Hindu belt and eventually leading to religious
turmoil in the beginning of the next decade.[6]
The broadcast also accentuated the setting by the costumes of
the people who inhabit Hastinapur.
The common people
depicted in the serials were seen in ‘dhoti’. The dress established a link
between the preferred practices of the attire, and the geographic location. It
also had a religious connotation.
In the use of the costumes for the principal characters, the
serial appropriated from variety of sources. North Indian representations of
the royal attire, crown, and other such details of dress had been meticulously
reproduced from old illustrations and paintings, typical of the North Indian
style.
In this process the serial was not only able to establish the
inter-textual relation between the traditional renderings of the epic; but with
a selective tradition that was representation of a linguistic and religious
preference. Indeed the language of broadcast being Hindi made it more popular.
Chanakya was a highly acclaimed 47-part television
series directed by Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi which was originally telecast on Doordarshan
in 1990. It is a fictionalized account of the life and times of the Indian
economist, strategist and political theorist Chanakya and is based in the time
period 340 B.C - 320 B.C.,produced by Shagun Films. This serial too made an
essential effort to build up the aura of the lost times and told history beyond
that of the common tales of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Dr.
Chandraprakash Dwivedi himself played the lead role and the most prominent
episode that still hovers in my mind and so in the case of many of the surveyed
interviewees was that of the oath of Chanakya and his subsequent storming out
of the hall of the king Nanda. The setting was too different and far removed from
that of the elaborate grandeur of the serialized epics, being made out of wood
carving mostly.
The show had brought in controversy, for critics had labeled
that,” Every Sunday morning, Chanakya makes a shrewd bid to spread the message
of Hindutva”.[7]But the director had vehemently opposed all
criticism, on repetitive use “the slogans of har har mahadev” and h an obvious
attempt to toe the Bharatiya Janata Party line, and had went ahead stating that
the serial never attempted at creating a division in the social and secular
structure of the country. Moreover he had cited that Chanakya himself that once
proposed the Bharatvarsa –a whole India. Thus such accusations on him and his
serial was baseless.
The present generation might know Sanjay Khan as Zayed Khan’s
father or Hrithik Roshan’s father-in-law. But Feroz Khan’s brother, after a
successful innings in films, retired to television as the brave warrior from
Mysore, Tipu Sultan. The television serial – TheSword of Tipu Sultan
was first broadcast on the Doordarshan channel in 1990. The script was based on
a novel by Bhagwan Gidwani. It was an awe-inspiring a portrayal of the life and
times of Tipu Sultan, the erstwhile ruler of Srirangapatna. It was produced by
the company Numero Uno International which was owned by Sanjay Khan.
Akbar Khan, his brother directed the first 20 episodes of the serial for a
period of 18 months. The remaining episodes were directed by the actor himself.
A total of 52 episodes were shot, some of them in the Premier Studios in the
city of Mysore in Karnataka. Kids who watched it religiously would feel a sense
of pride within themselves. Young girls would dream to get married to a “sher”
like Tipu Sultan and boys would bubble with renewed energy so much so that for
a while popular film stars were replaced by brave Tipu in their make believe
games of kingly duels.
We had a
Tipu Sultan, A Great Maratha( Life of Chattrapati Shivaji), A Chanakya, so now
it was time to have a Prithviraj Chauhan. Priered in mid May-2008, on STAR
Plus” Dharti Ka Veer Yodha Prithviraj Chauhan” was launched by Sagar
Arts. It was a show about the last Hindi King of India, his early life, his exploits, his
love for princess Sanyogita. The main source of this piece of history comes
from Early Hindi/Apabhramsha epic of poet Chandabardayi called Prithviraj Raso.
What drew the young audience to this show was the captivating, perhaps too much
emphasized, love story of Prithviraj and Sanyogita. Many watched the show for
the grand performance of the teenage star, Rajat Tokas, who went on to win
awards for his performance, in the in house Star awards.[8]
Reference
1)Shah, Amrita: Hype, Hypocrisy And
Television In Urban India: 1997 ‘The Rath Yatra’, Pg:-86, (Vikas Publishing
House Pvt Ltd)
2)Bhanot, T.R.; Mahabharata, Part 1, (1990)New
Delhi: Dream Publication.
3)Mitra, Anand:Television And Popular
Culture In India- A Study Of The Mahabharat, (1993) Mahabharat on Doordarshan:Pg
101;Sage Publication. New Delhi/Thousand Oaks’/London’.
4)ibid; Pg 102.
5)ibid; Pg 107.
6)ibid; Perface.
7)The Times of India; ‘Saffron for
Breakfast ‘by Madhavi Irani, !st December,1991.
8)The Telegraph,’ View from the couch, With
remote in hand’, by Sbhash K. Jha, april 14 2004.
‘JHUNJHAR WALI JHENOO
WALI JHUNNU KA BABA,
KISSON KA KAHAANIYONKA GEETON KA CHAABA,
HEY.. AYA AYA JHENOO WALI JHUNNU KA BABA...
POTLI MEIN HARI BHARI PARIYONKE PAR
MANDIRON KI GHANTI YA KALEZAONKA BAA,
HEY.. AYA AYA JHENOO WALI JHUNNU KA BABA...’[1]
‘We
would sing this song in the school van all the way to school and woul try to
imitate alibaba and even potli baba…”, Nevedita Mukherjee laughs out loud while
remembering her childhood days.
She
was talking about the popular children’s puppet TV series Potli Baba Ki aired in Doordarshan in 1991. It became a major
attraction among elementary and primary school-going children as it featured
various popular fairy tales in simple language and used to give good moral
messages to children. The above mentioned song was composed by legendary Hindi
and Urdu poet and lyricist Gulzar. It was directed by Sanjit Ghosh and Gulzar
and was produced By Children’s Film Society of India.[2] it was a
one –hour show aired each Sunday morning and the children were greeted by a
long- white breaded old man, a n oriental story teller called Baba, who had
stories in his “Potli”. He was rumoured to be living in Ghungar Village, and
His prime occupation was to collect stories and fables which his mother had
left hidden under the rocks. The present generation might only know about a
certain Benjamin Button but Polti Baba was in most of our knowledge the first
man who was born as an old man and was growing young through the process of the
serial and was to die as a young. The most interesting feature of the show was
the use of Indian made puppets which would teach good manners and values and
solve problems in their own ways; this would largely take place in the first
half of the programme. The second half would narrate the stories like Alibaba
and forty thieves; and Sindbad the sailor.
“My most cherished all time Hindi
serials are Malgudi Days,( Nukkad and Mirza Ghalib)- I would love to watch them
again and again”-commented b yMr. Masood Akhtar.
Mr. Majoj Swami-“ …malgudi days was
one of my favourite all time TV serial.
Both of them were referring to Malgudi
Days, an Indian
television series of 38 episodes aired on Doordarshan based on the works of R.K.
Narayan. The series was directed by actor and director, Shankar Nag while Carnatic
musician L. Vaidyanathan composed the score; Narayan's brother, R. K. Laxman
was the sketch artist. The series was made in 1986 by film producer T. S.
Narasimhan and included Anant Nag as the lead actor. The serial was so popular
both among children and the adults that due to popular demand it was
re-telecast on Doordarshan and later on Sony Entertainment Television. The
viewer felt at home with the idyllic setting, innocent characters having small
problems, and only imaginary demons to contend with, leave one wishing for such
a laidback life. Be it swami’s tautness to escape from studies, his friendship
with Mani and Rajam, their much hipped cricket match, every episode seemed dear
to the audience.[3] The title music ‘tana na nanana, tana na
nanana’, was a signature tune of the show, just in case one could not recall
the name of the show, they would immediately refer to it with the music. Even
the cartoons of the famous statue and of swami and the other characters coming
along the initial credits endeared the kids so much that one of the art
teachers interviewed commented that at that time suddenly every enthusiastic
child wanted to learn cartoon drawing. They would call it “the malgudi
cartoons.”
Shaktiman was the Indian
answer to the western superheroes. It had started in 1997 on Doordarshan and
continued for about 300 episodes for seven years. Shaktiman was quite similar
to Superman in its format.[4] Gangadhar Viyadhar Omkarnath Shastri’s
hidden identity was Shaktiman, a superhero who drew his powers from yogic
practice. If Superman had Louis, Shaktiman had Gita Viswas, a lady reporter of
a Hindi newspaper. During 2005 POGO Channel had planned to make a rerun of the
series and Mukesh Khanna who had acted as Shaktiman said that the rerun would
faster in its narrative than the original telecast. The bad man of the serial
was Kilvish, the dark lord of evil and nearly in all episodes Shaktiman had to
combat his retinue of evil followers. Unfortunately Shaktiman promised too much
protection to the children, his faithful fans.[5] Kausalya Santhanam,
in the article, “Copy Cat Drama” that appeared in The Hindu, wrote- “The
Shaktimaan serial telecast a few years ago had children trying to dive down
buildings resulting in fatal accidents. "Learning by imitation is a method
followed frequently by people and children are no different," says
Calcutta based clinical psychologist Dr. Rajyasree Bandhopadhyay.”[6]
In a letter to the editor of The telegraph,
Kolkata edition,K.C. Karmakar wrote, “Television has hardly proved to be an unmixed blessing for
people. Many programmes have often had calamitous effects on the lives of
children and their families. In trying to emulate their action heroes, Shaktiman
and Superman, from the TV, many children have faced dire consequences. Many
children have actually lost their lives under the delusion that they might be
successfully able to imitate these TV heroes. For parents, allowing children to
have a bit of such unalloyed fun has amounted to playing with fire. The
government must impose restrictions on TV channels to relieve parents of such
worries.”[7]
Saka Laka Boom Boom- flooded the market with the
magic pencil. All of a sudden all birthday girls wanted it and boys craved for
it. Kids who had it would show it off to their friends. Children would keep it
along with them all the while even went to sleep with it by the pillow. If in a problem quite significant to them,
they would hold on to the pencil and call for help, a red glow( a red bulb
fixed at the end of the pencil’s back) and the kids believed the magic is on. A
housewife found it very difficult to pacify her 4 years old son who came face
to face with the reality but refused to believe that Sunja and his pencil was
fictious. Sunju was our Harry Potter. Devoid of muggles and hobbits though, Saka Laka Boom Boom was full of magic
and wizardry. Aired on weekdays on STAR plus,the main plot comprised of Sanju
and his magic pencil. Like any other boy his age, Sanju is a normal student
until he discovers a pencil by accident. The pencil, he soon finds out, has
extraordinary magical powers. What follows is a tale of Sanju and his adventures
with ‘his new friend’. He starts using it to help people. In the process, he
develops an everlasting bond with the pencil. They are inseparable through
thick and thin and as the story unfolds, it’s a one-way ticket through the
fantasy world of children. However, like all fairy tales, this one too has a
dark side. Enter the anti-heroes: Tiger, Sweety, Kalicharan, Changu and Mangu,
who are out to grab the pencil. But all their attempts fail miserably, leading
to immense mirth and entertainment for the young viewers.[8]
Reference
1)The song was provided by Subhasis
Chakraborty.
2)The inputs about the serial was
provided by Mr. Masood Akhtar off the record; i.e, apart from his main
interview.
3)The Tribune, spectrum, Television, Longing For Laughter-Randeep Wadera;
Sunday, April 2, 2006.
4) The Telegraph Screen On & Off, Shaktiman back , Sudeshna Banerjee, Wednesday, June 15, 2005
5)Times of india- Shaktiman stunt kills
schoolgirl-22 June 2004
6)The Hindu- KAUSALYA SANTHANAM,”Copy
Cat Drama”,Saturday, Nov 13, 2004 .
7)The Telegraph-
Letters to the Editor,15th march 2004
8)The
Tribune: There is magic in the air, Mukesh Khosla ;Sunday, August 11, 2002.
A part of the mainstream comedy
of the early ‘90s spilling over into the late nineties Tu Tu mein mein become too popular to handle,so much so that it
become a regular term,a jargon to describe all quarrels, be it among the family
members or even the distinguished politicians of the nation. It had warring
mother- in- law and daughter-in- law combination played by Reema and Supriya
Pilgaonkar. The serial was directed by Sachin. Ritika Bhatia laughed while
recalling one of the episodes of the serial,
“The mother-in-law acts as if she
has fallen ill and tries to pester the daughter in law, but at the end she ends
up realizing how much she actually loves her daughter-in-law…my mother-in-law
and myself, we would always sit together and watch this show and later on had
long, funny conversations about it. ”
Ever since the ending of Nukkad
and Yeh jo zindegi hai, viewers had been craving for intelligent comedy on the
small screen. What they got were dumb scripts and dumber performances. But
what’s stood out among the mediocrity was Tu Tu Main Main, the longest
running comedy on Indian TV.
That was the first saas bahu
serial that was pristine in its ways of capturing the moments of generic
bickering and the unique love-hate relationship.
The series had won awards for
three consecutive years.
Flop show reminds one of the most hilarious credits “misdirected by Jaspal Bhatti.” Originally aired in 1989 on Doordarshan, the show stood out till date. Indeed, audience could relate to the issues that he would highlight using comedy as a medium. Nilanko Mullick, a 22 years old student remembered,” There was this episode on the harassment that professors guiding post-graduate research students. In this episode, Jaspal Bhatti plays the professor guiding a Ph.D student. He gets all his domestic chores done through his protege. Eventually, he agrees to pass his student's thesis with the intention of getting him married to his sister-in-law…until a few years ago I would think this to be so true that I thought I would not go for a PhD.” The sitcom was truly a satire on the socio-cultural problems faced by the common man in India at the time. Although only 10 episodes of the show were ever produced, the show has had a long and powerful legacy. Jaspal Bhatti himself played the main protagonist His wife Savita Bhatti produced the show and also acted in all the episodes as his wife.
“Kokiji, kokiji aap bhi kuch kahiye na…”-Dilruba complained, and everyone watching the TV would roll in laughter…my siblings and me never missed a single episode…and we would never think bringing up a serious discussion about Dilruba being an effeminate married to a woman…these days these questions come up so fast…even children ask,” giggled 36years old, Madhumita Bose, a working housewife. She was referring to Srimaan Srimati, a popular sitcom that went on air on Doordarshan in 1989. It was written by Ashok Patole, directed by Rajan Waghdhare and produced by Gautam and Markand Adhikari (popularly referred to as the "Adhikari brothers"). It was built on the premise of “love thy neighbour’s wife”. Keshav Kulkarni (played by Jatin Kanakia) is married to Kokila (played by Reema Lagoo). Their neighbours are a popular film actress Prema Shalini (played by Archana Puran Singh) and her effeminate husband Dilruba (played by Rakesh Bedi). Keshav is attracted to Prema's glamorous looks and lifestyle, while Dilruba is attracted to Kokila who is a smart housewife. The two men would always find ways and means to catch the attention of each other’s wives.
Circus (1989) a tele serial starring Shah Rukh Khan was a bit more experimental for it clubbed comedy with true emotions, romance with lost hope. The presently famous star was playing the role of the son of a circus owner who comes back from USA and is forced to take control of a failing circus. Renuka Sahane (otherwise popular as the Suraabhi- girl) played Shah Rukh’s lady love. Some of the interviewed audiences would say that the serial worked for their sweet chemistry, while others appreciated the show for its simpleton approach to life in a circus. It was directed by Aziz Mirza and had most of the actors from Nukkad, making it a huge audience puller all by itself.
A twitch in the eye and Prakash Jha would sent Mungerilal dreaming away once again. Mungerlilal Ke Haseen Sapney: (1990) was a popular Hindi TV comedy serial revolving around the life of Mungeri Lal. Raghuveer Yadav viz Mungerilal, a small time clerk was always getting bossed around by his wife at home and by his boss at office. To top that, his father in law rubbed salt on his wounds by exaggerating his own achievements as police inspector. The miserable protagonist overcame all this by day dreaming, where he took revenge on his boss, his father-in-law. To add spice to life he also dated his beautiful colleague. As he basked in the glory of his accomplishments, his wife would wake him up to ruin his dream. The serial was based on James Thurber's novel The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The acting on the part of the other cast was scintillating and “no wonder one could hear people talking about it all day long...” said Somir Mukherjee. It was a voice for the mellowed Indian middle class who was not very well represented anywhere... the ones who preferred to keep to themselves, but were always dissatisfied with life, and always dreaming to make it big... and slipping on the way.
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