An unentertaining, amoral medium

Social serials and telefilms on DD channels may not all be of mind-rottingpotency yet, but watch them with unforgiving critical concentration, theyalmost always appear dull and boring, trite and trivial. The poor quality isobvious not just in theme and story, but the below par standards equallyobvious in plot and character, screenplay and dialogue, cast and acting,sets and settings. Creators of great drama and memorable entertainment arenot behind DD’s serials, but untalented and plagiarising businessmen. It isabout time someone spoke the truth loudly about DD serials: they are usuallyinspired by the American TV’s amoral soap operas.

The language of the serials may be Hindustani, but in most cases the themes,plot, characters’ values and attitudes are American in origin. The actorsmay be brown-skinned Indian folks but, amazingly, they manage to look, talkand act like Hollywood types. Actors and actresses eagerly ape themannerisms of American TV talent. Even their hairstyles often are those seenon American TV today! Male and female characters are typically greedy,selfish, calculating, money-grabbing, malicious, vindictive, sex-crazed,and, above all, power-hungry. They embroil themselves in self-createdchildish conflicts.

In the guise of family entertainment, DD serials these days are actuallypresenting family and society-destroying behaviour as normal. There is alsotoo much vulgarity on DD, especially DD Metro. The prime purpose of TVprogrammes should be to make the viewers less like the great apes and morelike great individuals. The minister should order the elimination from DDshows of vulgarity of all forms.

The role of a mass medium must be morally uplifting. It must appeal to largenumbers of people. These two assertions are not incompatible. For a trulycreative and intelligent writer, the aims of educating and entertaining theaudience are not difficult to reconcile. It is Hollywood that has createdthe myth that entertainment has to be violent or vulgar.

DD’s social serials and telefilms should edify. It should celebrate ethicaland aesthetic values, including love for art and culture, heritageprotection and nature conservation, devotion to duty and a sense ofresponsibility, and concern for others’ welfare. The programmes shoulddepict our social reality in terms of our nation’s traditions and morality.The serials should teach us about decisive moral action to resolve life’spainful dilemmas and healthy solutions to life’s serious problems.

Social serials on DD should reflect India’s social reality. There are stilla lot of principled and moral people; our society is not irredeemably evilyet. Let the reader judge; what sort of serials will have a better chance ofleading to a better society?

Intelligent and perceptive men and women educated in Indian languages andliteratures as well as the social sciences, strongly attached to India’sculture and traditions, widely travelled all over the country and familiarwith its different regions and people, with cogent insights into the Indianreality and the Indian psyche, culturally conservative with a clear sense ofresponsibility to the nation’s people as well as to its history and future,should sit down at Mandi House in Delhi to conceptualise afresh a wholesomerole for DD in Indian society.

DD should boldly attempt what India’s politicians, social reformers andcommunity leaders, religious heads or journalists never tried to achieve inthe last 50 years: mental and moral transformation of Indians for thebetter. TV should not just entertain, inform, and educate, but do so withthe express purpose of creating a responsible and civilised citizenry.