Numerous channels have been dishing out 24x7 programmes with extensive reach for all sections of population. Urban centres specially, are teeming with networks everywhere including underdeveloped areas, slums and even jhuggi-jhopdi clusters. The craze for running entertainment programmes has become so pervasive that even news channels devote considerable time at certain hours on certain days to this. While the telecast continues whole day and till late evenings, primetime viewing is most sought after by channels and there is stiff competition for TRP. There would hardly be a home where most members of family are not glued to the TV sets in the evening; it is like happy hours for them.
But the quality of the soap and treatment of the subject is an issue. Our soaps are heavily inclined towards emotional storyline, revolving around relationships, rivalries, jealousies and intrigues, emotional and moral conflicts and revenge etc. Bulk of these programmes are hooked on mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law relationship. Many serials have an array of sari-clad daughters-in-law and dominant mother-in-law, either with great camaraderie among them or intense competition as per demand of story. There are situations of marriage negotiations and related trials and tribulations faced by concerned families. The problem is, most stories are repetitive and project predictable images of players leading to artificial presentation of human nature. In the process, the depth of human character as moulded by experiences, circumstance and environment does not emerge. To a different genre belong the crime thrillers and stories of supernatural events which have more entertainment value for some viewers than typical social drama.
The tenor, content, treatment, scope and variety as visible in international soap opera are missing from our serials. Most conspicuous absence is that of intelligent humour. Friends has been hugely popular with the youth, conveying comedy through cinematic skills, creative artistry and mind’s eye. What we have instead is slapdash comedy, quite often characterised by coarse and loud verbal assaults and profanity that hardly amuses and one is not sure whether to laugh or cry while watching some of these episodes. This is in sharp contrast to some of the best comedy-shows aired in the USA and UK, which send the viewers in rapturous splits. Their humour is of a very high order, delivered by actors with imaginative élan. We may recall the politically apt BBC serials like Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister, marked by splendid hilarity. They could never be surpassed by any of our home-bred productions. The general list is pretty long — Coronation Street, EastEnders, Family Affairs (UK), Grey’s Anatomy, Doctors, Beverly Hills, Hollywood Heights, Desperate Housewives, Boston legal, Castle, White Collar, Two and a half Men, Revenge, Downton Abby (USA), Neighbours (Australian) and so on.
If one was watching a mythological soap or serial based on historical past, one could accept these deficiencies, knowing that the plot has been fictionalised and lot of effort has gone in creating the remote past. But the same cannot be said about the depiction of contemporary stories purported to be associated with real life circumstances. Even as the portrayal of intensity and strength of the plot is missing, the interrelation of various events and the main narration are mostly loose. Natural visualisation, capturing essence of the typical urban living and its travails is absent. The storyline often gets bogged into insensitive or fallacious portrayal of certain social, regional, linguistic groups. More specifically, the stereotypes do not match with the emerging metropolitan culture. It is unscientific to consider any social or cultural grouping as a monolith. Every individual is different and an aggregate of such individuals is equally unlikely to behave like a herd of sheep. The acceptance of diversity, within an apparently cohesive group, as cinematic medium will bring in more quality to our serials. Considering the huge talent in creative sector in India, it is not difficult at all to make a difference in quality of our soaps.
The exploration to find more realistic themes for the purpose of bringing the narration closer to life than the perfected melodrama that it presently depicts, will be a worthwhile exercise. Some of the areas, which have remained neglected, perhaps on account of marketability, are sports and science related stories. Similarly, there is opportunity in commercial world as in the fields of art and culture, medicine and law, which could be realised for greater infotainment. The other grossly neglected field is serials for children. Watching cartoon-shows is quite entertaining, but it has less learning value for kids. It is scientifically proved that while kids watch cartoons their minds almost stop working and only movement is that of eyeballs focusing on swift visuals. A well crafted entertaining or adventurous story would give them better insights and improve their reasoning. lastly, the commercial breaks though necessary for generating finance, should also be more sensibly placed so as not to break the flow of story and disorient the narration.