A Tiny Package

“It is the influx of channels and novel ideas that has led to the fall of the long-running soap operas. Today,viewers have a choice of switching channels,” says JD Majethia,producer,Shree.

“While five years ago,I would have expected Shree to run for five years,it looks difficult now. One has to come up with a surprise element every three episodes.”

When Woh Rehnewaali Mehlon Ki completed 1,000 episodes last week,many thought it was a milestone to celebrate. Naturally so,because few years ago,the success of a show was measured by how long it would run. Now,larger-than-life sets and tumultuous relationship issues have bored the audiences. “Viewing the same set of protagonists on television and sitting through the same set of storylines becomes mundane and everyone needs a break. We want more realistic settings,” says Richa Sengupta,a viewer who believes it was the novelty factor a decade ago that popularised these soaps. “But familiarity breeds contempt.”

Also,most producers believe that television works best in phases: it started with the era of concept-driven serials like Buniyaad,Hasratein and Saans,after which came the league of family dramas. Now it’s back to the former phase. “Channels are willing to take risks now with fresher ideas. They look for shows which have a well-defined beginning and end,” says Sunil Bohra,producer of Seeta aur Geeta who has a contract of 260 episodes with NDTV Imagine. “After all,it is best to end serials when they are high on TRP. This way the channel’s momentum is maintained.”

The success of shows like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kasauti Zindagi Kay made superstars out of actors. But with the success came the dropouts too. Actors Amarr Upadhyay and Cezanne Khan quit shows on account of monotony-induced,gimmicky generation leaps. “After a point you simply outgrow the character and there is no challenge involved,” says Nausheen Ali Sardar,who played the pivotal role of Kkusum for many years,before she eventually called it quits.

Contradictory to popular belief that short-term shows generate more interest,sitcoms like Sex and the City and Friends have run for a decade each and been popular too. “It is the seasonal breaks that worked in their favour,” says Majethia,whose second season of Baa,Bahoo aur Baby will be aired soon. “When there is a fresh idea to be shown,then audience will view it. When you have nothing new to broadcast take a break and adapt a fresh outlook.”

But don’t short-term shows affect a channel’s market rate? Sharada Sunder,President,Real Global Broadcasting states,“While longer formats help build market share for the channel,shorter formats infuse variety for the viewers. As long as the shows are successful,the producers and the channel will always earn profit.”