Opinion Raise your brows

Twenty five years ago,a lower middle class family imposed itself on us and demanded,commanded our attention.

July 14, 2009 11:05 PM IST First published on: Jul 14, 2009 at 11:05 PM IST

Twenty five years ago,a lower middle class family imposed itself on us and demanded,commanded our attention. Basesar Ram and Bhagwanti,their four children – two boys and two girls Dadaji and Dadi were Hum Log,an everyday urban household,low on income,with middling ambitions and high family loyalties. At the end of each episode,thespian Ashok Kumar discussed issues raised within the 25-minute soap and we were expected to think about what had happened. Imagine.

It was our first full-fledged soap opera and perhaps the only one created to educate more than it entertained. Like all its successors,it began well,faltered in between and ended long after it ought to have. It was a small budget,no frills,slow-paced production that belonged to the 1950s-60s rather than 1984. It had that old world feel to it.

It,uniquely,possessed the qualities of its characters: It dragged rather like Bhagwanti did her tired feet,it sank into a stupor with Basesar Ram after a few drinks,it was earnest like do-gooder Badki,innocent like the young son Nanhe,directionless as first born Lallu but bold as aspiring actress Majhli and as ambitious as doctor-to-be Chutki. Holding everything and everyone together were Dadaji and Dadi. We the people who watched Hum Log,still remember them as if its 9 pm and time to tune into their lives once more.

Curiously,TV soap is returning to middle class lives,trying to educate us,make us think about matters rather more serious than the shape of a bindi,the style of blouse. Aapki Antara (Zee) epitomises this effort; it deals with a middle class family coming to terms with a young daughter who is autistic. The pace has been as painfully slow as the realisation of her condition but its told without histrionics,flourishes or musical excesses. Its that unusual and rare creature: a sensitive portrayal of a sensitive subject. This is not a lesson in clinical psychology but a human drama and you want to return to watch the next episode. Antara is of course the cynosure of our eyes but the parents,especially the father,are played with great restraint. BBC Entertainment telecast a film,After Thomas a fortnight ago,which dealt with an autistic boy and Thomas,the dog who rescues him from his condition. Aapki Antara is cast in the same mould.

Will viewers watch Aapki Antara? The fear that realism and simplicity dont grab eyeballs has compelled others with very well meaning themes to dress them up as costume dramas. Balika Vadhu (Colors) is now dealing with the remarriage of young widow Sugna who is also pregnant. The confrontation at the ceremony between the bridegroom and his family is typical of saas-bahus. The music is high octave and after the delivery of each sentence,the camera is arrested in a close-up of each character where it remains until the next utterance. Balika is acquiring more frills than is necessary; its beginning to drown in tears and along with it all the good it has been doing for female emancipation.

The problem of excess is overwhelming even those serials which set out to do no more than entertain. The enjoyable Bhaskar Bharati (Sony) is becoming a victim of Bharatis facial tics never has a face changed so many expressions in fewer seconds. Its also being done in by the music too loud,too long,too much.

So far,Rakhi Sawant,known for her showmanship,has avoided those pitfalls in her Swayamvar (NDTV imagine). Shes kept the melo out of the drama and allows the (many) men in her life to enjoy centre stage. So the hunt for her husband is still keen and were still interested. For those who want more of the Rakhi we know better,watch her later at night in conversation with Ram Kapur where she reveals all.

shailaja.bajpai@expressindia.com