Gone are the days when a boy used to meet girl, fall in love, fight all odds and finally get married. Enter the new brigade of couples — they fight, hate, marry out of spite and only then fall in love.Sangeeta Yadav tells you how the soap dish is coming of age with western concepts such signing of pre-nups, marriage due to political alliances and contract weddings ruling the roost. And, most such shows are chartbusters
Zain and Aaliya are not the regular run-of-the-mill couple on TV. In fact, till sometime back, they were more arch enemies rather than lovers. But one strike of lightning and cupid struck in Beintehaa on Colors. Aaliya and Zain realised that they had fallen in love. Audience bhi khush, TRP bhi khush!
This hate-turned-love saga on small screen are the next big thing on TV and producers want to cash in on this trend with their own version of ‘twisted couple kahaanis. So, we have a hot tempered and unkempt Rudra of Rangrasiya who married a docile Paro to teach her a lesson.
Then we have a marriage that happened due to a political alliance between the Rajputs and Mughals in Jodha Akbar on Zee and we have contract marriage understanding between the leads in Tumhari Pakhi on life OK. There are many more such soaps across platforms that want to woo their audience with a love story with a difference.
But, does this really workIJ “Yes. The notion of falling in love after marriage has made a comeback on Indian TV. Although it may look similar, each show is different. We are exploring this formula but since the concept of each show is different, we are not stepping on any toes,” Prashant Bhatt, fiction programming head of Colors, says.
While Rangrasiya (3.2) and Beintehaa (3.7) are top shows on Bhatt’s channel, he says he needs to keep improvising to keep the audience hooked to the show. One of the biggest challenges for producers of such shows is to get a chemistry between the leads going. And most of them have hit the jackpot.
Meet Aaliya, the girl-next-door who ends up marrying Zain, a rich spoiltbrat. The couple may not leave any occasion to put each other down, but they do so with so much passion that the audience gets into their sizzling chemistry.
“We may have started on the wrong note but now Aaliya and Zain are falling for each other. This will be the most interesting phase in this show. love has a lot of layers and that gives scriptwriters get a lot of scope to play with the concept and make it more enjoyable for the audience,” Preetika Rao who plays Aaliya, tells you.
It’s not just the love after an arranged marriage concept that is ruling the roost on TV these days, producers are daring to go beyond the regular stuff. Believe it or not, even pre-nups are a part and parcel of the Indian telly bandwagon and to good effect.
In Yeh Hain Mohabbatein on Star Plus, Raman signs a pre-nup with Ishita that his marriage is only a way to get Ruhi (his daughter) back from his first wife.
In Tumhari Pakhi, yet another popular drama on life Ok, protagonist Anshuman Rathore makes it clear to his wife that she is not wanted by him or his son (from the first wife). Their was a marriage by contract but Pakhi’s patience and love wins Anshuman’s heart.
“It is a brilliant idea to bring back arranged marriages into the soap dish. It may seem like an impractical thing but it has many good effects on a relationship. On TV we are trying to bring out a social message for Gen Y that even such marriages could work if the partners act sensibly.
“Of course, some soaps have gone a step ahead to show how even contract marriages and pre-nups arrangements can be managed in a proper way. Our serials are a reflection of what happens in society so it is not surprising that our top shows are not the same old khichdi, but a fresh perspective on love after marriage,” Iqbal Khan who plays Anshuman in Tumhari Pakhi, concludes.