On Reality TV channel, there’s the delightfully named Cheaters. Uh, as Venkatesh Prasad would say. In a detestably cheerful voice, the anchor regrets to inform the wife (who has hired his services) that her husband is unfaithful. Only mildly shocked for the benefit of the camera, wife peers at video footage of her husband physically assaulting the grass in a park and exercising the backseat of a car. Except that’s not grass or a leather seat, ‘‘it’s the woman who introduced me to my husband!’’ reveals the wife, dazzled by such audacity.The anchor maintains two seconds respectful silence and then regrets to inform her that hubby is right this minute. Uh. He, then, makes her a proposition, sorry suggestion: ‘‘We could drive over there right away’’. They do so with Michael Schumacher speed because when they reach him, her husband is still. Uh. The other woman hastily applies clothes to her nudity and hastens away. Nobody thinks to follow, perhaps because it is so much more sadistically pleasurable to watch a man struggle with his explanations and trousers’ zip, simultaneously.Let’s not pinch our noses at ‘‘foreign cultural pollution’’. Indian parampara may say adultery goes against our cultural grain but the thought of it acts upon our ardour like Viagra. You’d be astonished at the sexual proclivity of our TV characters. In serials such as Kuntee (DD Metro), Kammal, Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand (Star), Kammal (Zee), Kahin To Milenge (Sahara), Kittie Party (Zee), Kyunki Saas. (Star), at least one main character is the product of an illegitimate relationship.The K serials care little for the M word. Morality may suit Tulsi, Parvati and Astha Channel, but others are frolicking in the wrong bed like it’s an Olympic size pool. Bigamy may be illegal in India but someone forgot to inform our TV producers There are, possibly, more men - please note - men with two wives/two women per square hour of television viewing than per hectare of the country: prime time popular shows such as Kkusum (Sony), Kasauti Zindagi Kay, Des Mein Nikkla. (Star Plus), Kittie Party (Zee) are now joined by Kahani Terri Merri (Sony) in which the head of the Sengupta household goes from one sister to the other. Cheaters is almost mild in comparison.To love one person but marry another is quite the done thing. Anurag and Prerna do it (Kasauti.); Rahul and Juhi do it (Sanjivani), Karishma and Dhruv do it (Kehta Hai Dil) albeit in a rather sappy, asexual way. Then, there are those who barely quit one marriage and enter into the next — that too with their near or dear: thus, Komolika who was Anurag’s wife is now married to his younger brother; meanwhile Kkusum who was Abhay’s wife, has become Siddhartha’s missus and Abhay has become Siddhartha’s Bua’s mister. But he is loving Kkusum only. Are serials lifting the purdah on what really goes on inside Indian marriages? Or do they make us look excessively fickle and faithless?Looks bring us to the fairness cream ads to which the government has now taken strong objection. What has suddenly displeased the authorities is hard to fathom because these offensive ads for products of dubious virtue have sponsored many of the most popular TV serials/shows for the last two years, and nobody even said, Uh.Before we sneer, let’s remember that they sell a belief which is very much part of our parampara. Michael Jackson may have turned white at the prospect, but the original obsession with pale skin is ours. A girl should be fair whatever else she may not be. The ads merely exploits our prejudice. The fact that sales of the creams have increased in the last few years, only proves the public’s complicity.And think about it: how many dark, really dark people do you see in our TV shows?Lastly, did you contribute to Aaj Tak’s Jeeto India Jackpot? Pramod Mahajan did. Videocon’s Dhoot did (Rs 11 lakhs) — on air. The idea that the public should enhance the cricketers good fortunes, is just silly. It’s not our money they want. Also, why does Aaj Tak give the illegal ‘‘satta bazaar’’and its latest odds such generous publicity?
