I will be your father figure

There's a new old man on the box. You are perhaps well acquainted with him. Indeed, he may even be related to you. Look at him standing t...

There8217;s a new old man on the box. You are perhaps well acquainted with him. Indeed, he may even be related to you. Look at him standing there on the screen: his legs are akimbo, his arms stretched behind his back and he alternately looks stern and soft. When he lays down the law, he is as firm as a rock; when he turns indulgent he8217;s softer than a softee. Recogise him?

You would if you are a regular viewer of serials such as Amaanat Zee, Ashirwad Zee or Ek Mahal ho Sapno ka Sony. Each of these serials has a strong patriarchal figure who ruthlessly or tenderly rules over his family and world, who is trying to hold on to a way of life in the face of the pressures of modern life.

There8217;s Sudhir Pande in Amaanat, Govind Namdeo in Ashirwad and Ajit Vachani in Ek Mahal8230;.Though each one looks different, they are essentially the same person.

Namdeo and Vachani head large families, large and successful businesses and semi-unhappy families. At work, they are the supreme leaders and ruthless in their decisions. At home they are like Pande: they still believe that a man wears the pants in the house; that a woman8217;s job is to be respectful, dutiful and obedient; that a child8217;s duty is to be respectful, dutiful and obedient too; and that those women and children who do not follow their appointed roles in life are wrong-headed.

Thus they are always battling to control their families. Namdeo constantly lay down the law for his children. He like the other two believes that questions of marriage are still his to take. All three try to make their children marry people of their choice. And they expect the children to take it lying down.

The conflict in the serials arises out of the disobedience of the children who refuse to listen to their revered father. Thus has the clash between tradition and modernity been serialised on the screen. These father figures faced by rebellious children react strongly: they try to assert themselves, they try to reestablish control over the errant children or wives.

At the same time these three men are shown to agonise, to weep over the passing of an era and their inability to control the destiny of others. There is a realisation that their rule is over. What is interesting is that these strong chaps are also portrayed as men with a soft centre. To that extent they are not one-dimensional.

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The success of Amaanat suggests that the figure of this patriarchal figure is popular with people. Viewers seem to be reacting well to Namdeo and Vachani too. Strong male characters portrayed by veteran actors have thus momentarily replaced the young, wet-behind-the-ears hero. In a sense these three serials celebrate the lions in winter.