The Indian(aka Ekta) Serials League

After a long time, during which I am sure the Indian Society should have pulled up its socks after my twin attacks, (A Satire on Arranged Marriages, http://pratik-openbuk.blogspot.com/2010/10/satire-on-arranged-marriages.html and Hail Aunties!, http://pratik-openbuk.blogspot.com/2010/10/hail-aunties.html) I am posting yet another destructing article.
Though it has flares of the classic past of Indian Television, this article is a tribute to those Indian Soaps that continue to screw the brains of Indian Viewers by bombarding them with similar and predictable stories, high doses of melodrama, and floods of tears in the scenes. Thanks to the industry itself, the soap opera industry is losing its shin due to the emergence of shows like Indian Idol, Roadies, Kaun Banega Crorepati, etc. So here it goes(and it's gonna be a big post)...
That was a fine little evening. I was at my home with maa, and my sis. As usual we were busy in leg pulling of each other. I usually won over my sis, but when the ladie powers combined it was like hell for me. The time was I guess 6.45 in the evening. As the clock started approaching 7, there was a hush up in the activities, and I sensed the change, knowing it was time for another monstrous dosage of Indian Soap Opera.
These TV Serials top on my list of "World's Most Hated Things in the World". Come a sweet evening, and it's all marred by the 7 - 11 pm dose of overly melodramatic serials which are full of over-reacting, indigestible dose of emotions and an unending, boring storyline presented with crawling speed and the poorest possible direction.
Now lets do a basic post mortem. A lot earlier, there were DD-1 and DD-2 only. Programs like Ramayan(Arun Govind-Raam, Mukesh Khanna-Bhisma, Punit Issar-Duryodhan, Rupa Ganguly-Draupadi captivated me a lot); Malgudi Days(this needs a separate post); Udaan(Kavita Chaudhary revelled here); Mirza Ghalib(Gulzar, Jagjit Singh, Naseeruddin Shah- naam hi kaafi hai); Chanakya(the portrayal of true indian economy); Ducktales,Talespin(I remember Uncle Scruz and Ballu); Jungle Book(this was a great tale); Rangoli(countless sunday mornings started with Rangoli); Surabhi(Siddharth Kak and Renuka Shahne, with that Colgate smile, won hands down); Mile Sur Mera Tumhara(still an unbeatable classic); and my best, Byomkesh Bakshi(the best detective serial ever) were informative, touching, brave and portrayed the true India. Slowly, Cable TV gained ground. Then there emerged something called Prime Time. Now the question was "What to show and whom to show during prime time?" I was still happy with "Alif Laila", "Suraag", then "Tujhpe Dil Kurbaan" and "Koshish-Ek Aasha"(both being shown on Sony TV).
Then Ekta Kapoor emerged out of nowhere and stole my happiness as well as the common sense in Indian Soaps(read, "Kyunki Saas bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi"). She targeted the middle-class women(who see everything on TV they can't have in real). The biiiig families, luxurious life-styles, jealous relatives, horde of marriages and extra-marital affairs, offspringsss and siblingsss and confusionsss, evil ladies- at least one in every serial, etc. these ripped off the essence of togetherness and family life- my family being the prime example.
The truth is, Indian Audience sees everything it's shown in Prime Time. There's a lot quality stuff, too, but people still feel at home with a "Pratignya" rather than a "Sarabhai vs Sarabhai". "Dil Mill Gaye" really drove me to nuts and I was running after my sis to kill her because she loved watching it! The youth today is so full of morons! Well, a lot of blabbering I guess. Moreover, this doesn't stop Ekta Kapoor to churn soaps out of the same formulae again and again.
Hope this interested you readers, will see if there's more destruction that could be done to this society of ours. Comments and suggestions are appreciated.