For the past 2 weeks , I have been addicted to the telly watching every god forsaken soap that is playing on the idiot box . Watching these soaps on a regular basis has got me thinking about why Indian serials continue to focus on marriages and weddings. At present, more than half the soaps on TV are centered around a marriage to be or on the trials and tribulations faced after a marriage. Either ways, I find it interesting that production houses deem it profitable to focus all their scripts around the great Indian tamasha or wedding. In most places, a wedding is a happy occasion. Even though we hear and read about dowry harassment, marriages happening under coercion/compulsion, child marriages etc etc- the general idea that a marriage is a happy occasion is still an expectation in most Indian minds. However, after watching TV, anyone who is not familiar with Indian culture could suspect that our society is slightly closet- psychopathic. All that we are ever exposed to on the small screen are scheming in-laws (either mother or daughter or if not the aunt) , cheating spouses, poverty ridden families unable to pay their wedding debts, rituals/traditions that apparently haven’t changed in the past 50 years, a general lack of progression in thought/behavior and last but the most disturbing of all, the depiction of the great Indian culture.
It does not surprise me that we have serials that dwell on these topics. What bogs my mind is that 75% of the soaps ONLY focus on these aspects. Additionally, there is a general lack of positivity and good will on TV. While it is lucrative for producers to have stories with a good versus evil twist, to depict the whole world as all good or all evil seems childlike to me. The choice on TV is always between a Bani or Jigyasa . Our role models then are between a : “I will die before I say a lie person” or “a scheming manipulative bitch” . Moreover the characters and situations on TV leave no scope for normality.To most of us, life and people cannot be grouped into black nor white for we all experience dollops of Grey. We are all normal to have moments where we wish ill upon others who harm us. But then the focus of most peoples lives is to not just scheme and plot- but to also live. But somehow, it seems like amidst all this melodrama on the screen this simple aspect has been forgotten.
All I see on TV is : palatial houses, women who dress up in designer garments, oodles of bad make-up, men who are doormats for they only mistreat women or are too busy working to care about their women , spoilt children and lavish lives. While no one wants to see ” I have no food/job- kind of poverty” on TV, it sure would be refreshing to tone down the paraphernalia that is on display today. Is a dosage of reality so disturbing to watch? I remember the time when Hum Log and Buniyaad used to be popular on DD. These were the first serials on Indian TV and were immensely popular for their storyline and characters. They were closely watched and appreciated by all sections. Following them came the magnum opus of Ramayana and Mahabharata who many social/cultural theorists claim had a huge influence on a Hindu majority country paving the way not only for a pro Hindi government but also had an effect of the demolition of the Babri Masjid mosque in the following years. TV serials on DD during this time were telecast not only to entertain but to also educate and modernize (in terms of social and technological development) a largely illiterate population, discuss and bring to focus the importance of national unity and last but not the least create a sense of unity among people about a newly formed independent nation.
When cable 
came to India in the 90′s , the Indian public had a lot more options as far as soaps were concerned. In terms of ground breaking soaps either for style or content one can make notable mentions of Saans on Star and Tara on Zee. Both these soaps broke boundaries in terms of storyline. While Saans discussed the taboo issue of extra marital relationships, Tara gained popula
rity for its strong women characters. Pretty soon we had more serials on the same lines hit the screen- a few notable ones include, ” Nukkad; Haasratein ; Campus ; Rajani; Banegi Apni Baat; Junoon; Bomkesh Bakshi; Shanti; Hum Paanch etc”. All these soaps came about in the time when economic liberalization was the new buzz word in India. During this time, consumer goods from the West, easier credit policies coupled with advertising spurred consumerism and spawned the rise of the behemoth that went on to become the great Indian middle class. Cable TV succeeded brilliantly in not only entertaining the masses but also bringing to the small screen a variety of topics including sexuality, relationships etc. Viewers from small town and villages who previously could not ; either afford to go to the movies; discuss such issues in public could now be privy and have access to them in the comfort of their homes. TV viewer ship increased rapidly in this period with the government setting up TV stations all over the country.
Well then and before we know it we had a very enterprising lady called eKta Kapoor make a name for herself with a whole host of K serial’s in the 1990s (that I shall NOT proceed to name in t
his article). Well from then on to about right now- nothing has changed on our TV. We all started off watching new brides enter the households in Kyunki and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki. And 7 to 8 years down the line although the faces of their characters changed but their storyline has remained the same. Women were still being tormented and plots were still being hatched and the men were still being silent/unreasonable/suspecting. It is this stagnation in thought that I continue to see on TV today.The sad part is the “K” saga began by ushering in a period where the lavish-joint parivaar- -designer- family with the good bahu-wahu captured TRPs across the nation. But even after a decade and with these bahus gaining iconic statuses in real life, the role and representation of women has pretty much as banal as it was in the past. To give you an example , Tulsi’s character was mocked when she entered Kyunki and till the day the soap was unceremoniously pulled off the air by STAR TV, she continued to SUFFER. If you seriously think about it all the protagonists on most of the top soaps face the same dismal fate. Although in real life, the actors playing these women are smart, modern educated ladies who do not resemble/identify with their characters and their situations. They continue to act out on a daily basis how women need to be in real life.
While I see the media applauding the changing face of the Indian women has anything ACTUALLY changed as far as the TV is concerned? I was horrified to see women in 
soaps being equated with goddesses (Mata Ki Chowki) and goddesses being equated with women (Ganga Maaiya) but in all these representations what disturbs me the most is that women are still presented as people who need to possess the virtues of a goddess. They need to be protectors and guardians of culture and tradition. They are iconic representations of Hindu religious characters and are expected to put up with all trauma and suffering which includes rape, harassment and humiliation for the sole fact that they are women and are bound by society and religion in order to do so. They are expected to be superior and forgive others for their misdemeanors because they have a forgiving and big heart. The need for young and old women to be shown as Sati- Savithri’s is a result of the inferiority complex of the entire society.
While others might feel it prudent to argue that women on TV today are depicted in a progressive manner, I would disagree. I find a big difference in deeming women characters to be progressive as a result of: them wearing western clothes, managing a business, smoking/drinking, sexually conscious etc. While all the above issues are portrayed as a result of a change in the the mindset of the people, I find that these women who dress in western clothes, manage businesses, drink and are aware of their sexuality are more often than not expected to change as a result of circumstances or by marriage. In all cases women are expected to be apologetic for straying from the typical roles of housewives/family makers. Even when a woman is shown as heading an organization she is mandated to consult the male in her life (father/brother/husband/uncle etc) before making any decision. While all the above issues are very small in nature, what worries me is the impact they have on people living in smaller towns and villages.
In the cities, it could be hunky dory to have an educated working single mother, but in the country that is rural India what impact are all these images having on a population already caught between tradition and modernity? While we have groups fighting over Valentine day celebrations and religious people urging women to stay indoors and not drink smoke and be influenced by the so-called evils of the Western world, such representations of women could prove catastrophic. With no dosage of reality in portrayal and storyline, women might heaven forbid be expected to live up to their depiction on the small screen. Lavish lifestyles might not only lead to more harassment for dowry but equating women to goddesses might also spark religious and cultural confrontations. Many might laugh away the stereotypes and repercussions on TV but media images as we all know shape the world. Kyunki Ghar Ghar TV dektha hai na ?
