CHANDIGARH, June 1: The silver screen might be a male-dominated arena, but on the small screen it's getting increasingly hard to find a hero. Look at serials at the top of the TRP charts: Amanat, Hasratein, Mrs Madhuri Dixit, Shanti (all on ZEE), Saans and Tu Tu Main Main (on STAR Plus) and Aurat on Doordarshan. Notice anything in common? All these programmes and many more like them, tell women's stories from a strictly female point of view.Amanat has seven sisters and two buas, Saans and Tu Tu Mein Mein is a tug-of-war between the female leads and Hasratein to a large extent is Savi's story. In Shanti, Aurat, as the names suggest, the focus is on the female protagonists.And there are others: Swabhimaan (DD1), Kabhie Kabhie (STAR Plus), Thoda Hai Thodi Ki Zaroorat Hai (Sony) - all have women occupying centre stage and dominating the men.The male seems to be relegated to second best and his role is often at the mercy of the female lead. But that, it seems, is what people want these days, especially women viewers who tend to watch serials much more than men. "A lot of the women-dominated serials are going strong these days," admits Suraj Thapar, who plays the meek husband to lion lady, Lola in Darar."All of us look helpless and useless in front of Lola. She is God," he adds. Not that he minds, "Women are in any case stronger than men."While that may not be the case physically, most directors agree that the physical pull of female-dominated serials is exceptionally strong these days. Sanjeev Bhattacharya, the maker of TV's Hum Apke Hain Koun - Amanat - agrees with that, and takes the formula the whole hog to make it work for him. Amanat has the male lead, played by Avinash, having no control even over the girl he wants to marry. Ajai Sinha might as well have the same scriptwriter. In his Hasratein, it's the tension between Savi and Asmita, (played by Shefali Chaya and Mrinal Kulkarni, respectively) that propels the serial forward. The husband (Harsh Chayya), is essentially reacting to the demands of the women. Darar's Lola, played by Divya Seth, is even stronger. She makes the men in the serial jump through the hoops when she so desires. While the truth may be out in the open for all to see, the men running the show turn a blind eye. In fact, they vehemently deny that men are getting weaker. TakeBhattacharya's explanation for the wimpish son-in-law. "The character has its own reasons to behave the way he does. If he becomes weak at a certain point it is because Santosh's character (the female lead) has to be stronger than his," says he. Avinash thinks that he needs to be that way only to balance the serial. "Our characters are two sides of the coin. My character develops a negative shade but that's exactly what people notice first. My role is important for the serial," he says. But he cannot deny that Amanat is essentially a woman-dominated serial - "70 per cent Aurat pradhan hai," he says. "But Amanat is not Shanti," he promptly adds.Not that it takes a Shanti to show that women call the shots. Mrs Madhuri Dixit, is another case in point. Named after the protaganist, played by Renuka Shahane, Mr Dixit is better known as Mr Madhuri Dixit. The actor playing him - Tushar Dalvi - insists, "No serial can revolve around just one person. Especially a situational comedy like Mrs Madhuri," he says. "Everyone in the serial reacts," he says. But to situations created by Madhuri Dixit , he forgets.What do we think? We think everyone loves to watch strong women characters; and we think that the men are reacting in a typically wimpish way: they're refusing to see that while man is smart, woman is smarter!
