Showmakers are toeing the progressive route by taking cues from real life situations and turning them into shows. Sangeeta Yadav speaks to a few producers about this trend
TV is coming-of-age with progressive content that aims to break the stereotype and send message to the society. Kaleerein is one such show on Zee TV that talks about commercialisation of marriage and questions the concept of perfect bride — fair and covenant education — making her family enroll her in a grooming school that are quite prevalent in Punjab. The raises certain questions. Does a woman need to change or acquire specific attributes to find a suitable match and enter the marriage institutionIJ
The show revolves around Meera, a small-town girl from Punjab, who wants to be herself and rebels against the whole idea of going to a grooming school. The idea came when the co- producer of the show, Priya Mishra, came across with one of such school in Punjab. She went inside as a candidate where she was briefed about what are the must-have qualities to be a ideal bride.
“I was not surprised when I came across with the school. While growing up, we were taught to follow certain social norms. The fact that there is a school where one will be taught how to arrange flowers, and how to hold a wine glass and be taught the etiquette of a sit-down dinner caught my attention. I was also told that what it takes to marry a rich man. I was told how I would probably have to play host to a business dinner and needed to know how to behave. This got me thinking and I decided to turn the subject into a serial,” Mishra explains.
It was not the grooming school where Mishra went, she even registered with a matrimonial site and went for pre-martial counseling.
“When I was researching on the subject, I would pretend that I wanted to get married. I went to a marriage counselor who told me that I would not find a good match because I was too opinionated. All this was very interesting. But for unfair too since it was all related to the girl and what was expected off her. What was more fascinating was what I was told to do with my profile on the matrimony site. I was told that I was over qualified and asked to remove one zero from the salary I was earning,” Mishra recounts.
Marriage is an ageold tradition. “Take for example the movie Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya also talks about marriage and how to be groomed properly for the right match. “Since people are liking and relating to such a subject, more such shows and films will come up. Makers are now not conforming to a format and wanting to sound preachy,” Nikhil Sinha co-producer of Kaleerein opines who has also directed shows Devon Ke Dev Mahadev and Siya Ke Ram.
It took five years for the show to see the light of day. “TV would not have accepted such a show five years back. Today, it is more progressive. Therefore we have another show lined up — Apke Aa Jaane Se that talks about an elder woman falling for a younger man,” Mishra shares.
Coming back to Kaleerein, the show will also highlight the how boys are brought up in India. Meera has a brother in the show who is aesthetically challenged but is pampered. “He is a school dropout and wants to be a rap singer. The parents don’t expect him to change at all,” Mishra says.
The makers however are aware that there will be many who would not agree with this show. “Many people would not agree to what we will be saying. A lot of families I have met in Punjab genuinely believes that the girl need to be groomed. It is just upgrading yourself. I don’t have a problem if girls acquire a skill, my question is does the girl have a sayIJ She should not to it because the society expects this out of her,” Priya tells you.
Debutante Aditi Sharma who plays Meera says: “I have heard of girls being sold in the name of marriage and the way parents get their daughters married off. It is the upbringing that matters. The show has a message — need to acknowledge each other the way they are and stay true to your nature even if it is your family that is trying to change to change you.”