After a long time I am back to my blog and I am back with one of my favourite topics- The Indian Television. So I went away for some time to reorganise my life and set a few things straight. When I came back I saw a lot of things changed, but some remained just where there were when I last saw them, some even got worse. Now I can’t really decide which category does Indian TV fall into! Is it still the same? Or did it just get worse?
Once upon a time I used to watch a lot of TV. Apart from cartoons I particularly enjoyed some shows like Dekh Bhai Dekh, Hum Sab Ek Hain, Hum Panch, Tu Tu Main Main, and my all time favourite, Sarabhai VS Sarabhai. As a teenager I also loved watching Miley Jab Hum Tum and Remix. However there are some shows I remember watching which left a lasting impact on my mind. I grew up in a Bengali household, and for those who are from a Bengali family will know how literature occupies a major portion of our lives. It can be any form of literature, Bengali, Hindi, English, Contemporary, but it is there. I was more into Bengali and English literature. Now, every literature has some stories and books that serve as the backbone to it, and one such book in Bengali Literature is Subarnalata. It is the second book of a trilogy written by renowned authoress Ashapoorna Devi. The trilogy marks the journey of three women from three generations, and their struggle to get their daughter educated. A simple tale of a free spirited woman living behind the thick walls of a dreadfully conservative society, her constant struggle to make everyone around her realise that she too is a human being and have got dreams, desires, and emotions. A few years back Bengali television decided to recreate this story as a TV show, and I am so glad that they did. I was a little apprehensive at first because I wasn’t sure whether they will be able to do justice to the story or not, but that serial took me by surprise. I haven’t seen a show as remarkable as that in a very long time. Acting, set design, dialect, costume, makeup everything so much on point. So much that when the show ended gracefully in its due time it literally left all its audience with teary eyes.
Another show that left its mark on my mind was ‘Ladies Special’ that used to air on Sony TV. Ladies Special was a local train for ladies, and every day several women boarded that train with different destinations to reach. There four women of different age and different situations become friends. Ladies Special is the only place they meet every day, and share with each other everything that has been happening, and counselling each other for problems. Each fighting a war of their own and this half an hour with each other serving as their driving fuel. A very beautiful series of limited episodes very remarkably managed to showcase a few pages from a woman’s life.
But now when I turn the TV on I can’t help but think where did all the creativity go? The serials are about a limited topic, marriage, love, ideal daughter in law, shape shifting snakes, black magic, witches etc. Not a single episode is seen where the family just casually sits and drinks tea while talking about random topic like a normal functioning family. Every episode is full is of loud background music, equally loud acting and expressions, over the top dress and makeup, and mindless twists.
When the world is coming up with eye opening shows like ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, we are coming up with season two of ‘Kasauti Zindagi Kay’. Where ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ shows us on point that what happens to country which goes wrong, where religious extremism touches the sky and the corrupt government is thrown away only to be taken over by rigid religious extremists and reinforces patriarchy, our Indian Television is still dancing on the tunes of shapeshifting snakes and telling us about the destructive effects of a “Dayan’s” curse.
Well, now I know why youth is on Netflix. The web series have got some good content I have heard. It is time for me to board the Netflix Express as well.
