Opinion Stretching out their time on screen
The IPL,child-brides,and bad acting have overstayed their welcome on TV.
Suddenly,this summer,were beginning to feel the heat and that makes us feel for the cricketers out there on the field,struggling to entertain us,drenched in their sweatshirts and pants. Suddenly,you wish the IPL would end,wrap up,go away. Had enough,Adam Gilchrists wonderful knock on Tuesday notwithstanding. Weve watched few competitive encounters; most contests have been one-sided,and that does not make for lively TV.
Weve been watching cricket Tests,one-days,and now the IPL since January at least,and theres plenty more to come. While BCCI and SET Max may be laughing all the way to the bank,honestly,this is one occasion when the players have stayed too long at the crease. The players and the viewers deserve a break,and not just a commercial one.
A few others have overstayed their welcome too. Ichcha and Tapasya,for example. The lead characters of the soap Uttaran (Colors),on air for almost two-and-a-half years,have grown from young girls into young brides. Rather like another child-bride we knew,Anandi in Balika Vadhu (Colors),the plot has fast-forwarded and the child characters,once so winsome,have been replaced by older versions of themselves. And this is the problem: they are not nearly as appealing as their younger selves.
Now theyre just another in a long line of young women who are struggling with love and marriage in TV serials across entertainment channels. The charm of the characters and the charm of the soaps lay in the young girls chosen to play them. Theyve gone,and taken the fizz of the shows with them. Moral of this story? Do not prolong soaps based on young children beyond their childhood.
And how do we explain Colors fascination with children,especially child-brides? We know this followed the success of Balika Vadhu,but just as cricket has been overplayed,so has the child-bride been overexposed. However,this hasnt stopped Phulwa who is supposed to grow up into a Phoolan Devi-like dacoit from being all dressed up as a child-bride now.
The intention,initially,was to criticise the practice of child-marriage but it seems as though the channel is exploiting them to increase its viewership. And it isnt working: these child-bride soaps are no longer in the top ten most watched shows.
Far more interesting is the new kind of young woman emerging on your TV screen: she is smart,educated and working. Professional women are coming out and,as they do,they wont take things lying down. Thus Avani,in Maayke Se Bandhi Dor (Star Plus) earns a living which she shares with her mother whilst also helping to support her husband,Bhaskar,and his family. And when the exploitative Bhaskar slaps her for standing up to him,she snatches her pillow and walks out of their bedroom.
Thats more like it. Weve had enough of the weepy women who try to win back their men with their loyalty and forbearance. The likes of Avani are far more inspiring than an Ichcha or Anandi.
Lastly,lets not make police/detective TV shows. Surya,The Super Cop (Sony) is a case in point. The lead character,Surya,a police cop,suspended pending investigations,is supposedly blind after sustaining an injury during a case. But he doesnt look it or behave like it. His bearing and the way his eyes move suggest he can look and see. The rest of the show is imitation CID (Sony) with an odd assortment of young officers wearing designer clothes as sleuthing uniform.
And they get the acting all wrong. During Tuesdays episode,a female investigator enters a flat,gun in hand,searching for inmates who could be dangerous. The bedroom door is wide open,she enters and does everything but look behind the door. Suppose the assailant was hidden there?
What can we do but throw our hands up in exasperation?
shailaja.bajpai@expressindia.com
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