MUSBA HASHMI reports on how the soap dish is making way for male-centric shows
The soap dish on television may have started with a saas-bahu domination but much content has flown into the tube with a variety of serials.
Be it Yeh Hai Mohabbatein or Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, all of them share the same idea or concept with a mere shuffle in the characters.
To break this stereotype, producers have now come up with a unique concept of male-centric or male-oriented serials. The show that brought this concept to light was Star Plus' Saraswatichandra, featuring Gautam Rode.
Though a love-story, Rode was the main protagonist in the show. The show was much loved and accepted by the audience because it followed a different storyline and the actors put in powerful performances.
Though the show went off-air after some time, it left a deep impact on the audience. It did not take another show-makers to pick up the strands and change this new concept into a trend.
After Saraswatichandra, another show that revolved around a jamai was Zee TV's Jamai Raja, which received rave reviews from the audience.
The latest one in the same genre is Sab TV's Mangalam Dangalam which is again a male-centric show but with a comic twist to it. The show highlights a father-in-law-son-in-law relationship. It talks of the tussle between the two and how the son-in-law goes on to impress his father-in-law and compel him to accept that he was the right person for his daughter. This despite the fact that the father-in-law was of the firm opinion that his daughter deserved someone better.
Male-centric shows are making a place for themselves in the industry.
Manoj Joshi, who plays Sanjeev Saklecha (father-in-law) in Mangalam Dangalam says that he doesn’t consider the show male-centric or woman-centric as both genders contribute equally to the success of any effort on TV.
“I will never say that a show is male-centric or woman-centric. Though my show depicts the father-in-law and son-in-law relationship, it has enough focus on women stars too. If the message of the show is conveyed in the right way then it doesn't matter really who the central character in the show is. Both genders are equally important for any show. I don’t believe in labelling any show male-centric because even if the lead character is a man, the female characters around him are equally important,” Joshi says.
Talking about his role Joshi adds: “I play Sanjeev Saklecha, an owner of a wedding trousseau and accessories shop. He is possessive about his daughter to an extent that he cannot tolerate any man looking at her or being around her. Every father is like that but Sanjeev is over-protective. The show tells the story of a family in Indore. One can find such fathers in almost every household. Every person and family in India will relate to the show and its characters,” he says.
Speaking on the kind of relationship he shares with his son-in-law, he says: “The relationship between Sanjeev and his son-in-law resembles that of a cat and a mouse. Sanjeev actually considers him as the daswaan greh.”
On the other hand, Karanvir Sharma who plays the prospective son-in-law in Mangalam Dangalam feels that newer concepts should be introduced continuously in the small screen industry and the evolution of concepts should not stop.
“The television industry has evolved well with even film actors getting so much appreciation and love on the small screen. The other thing is that emotions have become more real now. I feel that the audience has become more diverse in nature and keeping all this in mind concepts also need to evolve. If the audience is ready to accept unique concepts, we should be confident enough to come up with them,” he says.
Talking about his character, he says: “I am playing Nagarjun Kutty, the man who falls in love with Saklecha’s daughter Rumi. Kutty is a south Indian lawyer. He respects every woman, never lies and always stands by his word. He has the difficult job of trying to convince Rumi's father that he is an ideal match for her. The entire story will revolve this and the challenges Kutty will face in winning Saklecha over”.
"It is a unique concept and the audience will love it,” he adds.