Does anyone remember the golden period of the idiot box, when it wasn’t touted to be an idiot discovery? That was one era and today is another. But what hasn’t changed is people’s obsession with the 30mm screen. Be it the daily soaps or the weekly family sagas, television has come a long way. If the big screen is dominated by the patriarch segment then the small screen is unquestionably ruled by power puff women.
There was a time when people used to switch off their television sets after 10pm. But Ekta Kapoor, the czarina of small screen changed all that when she launched ace family drama ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ in the 10:30 p.m. slot. Based on a Gujarati family, this maha saga not only created history by becoming the longest running daily soap in India but it also recorded mounting TRPs that left many rival channels baffled. The serial not only managed to strike a chord by uniting the country but also gave the nation a reason to talk. People laughed, cried and even connected emotionally with the characters. The saas-bahu formula became an instant hit. Heavy makeup, bridal saris, a big mansion, a scheming vamp and a timid protagonist are the mandatory ingredients to churn out your perfect serial.
Today, the time, location and treatment might have changed but women continue the legacy of dominating the small screen. From Miss Goody two shoes, the ugly duckling ‘Jassi’ to a humpty dumpty overweight ‘Mahi’ and from rigid women hating the village sarpanch ‘Ammaji’ to a sensible and ambitious ‘Balika Vadhu’, the small screen has experimented with all kinds of genre. The prejudice and the fetish of Indians with ‘fair’ skin were portrayed very well in the serial ‘Bidaai’ where the fairer ‘Saadhna’ always overshadowed her cousin ‘Ragini.’
These family serials continue to give their audiences a satisfying emotional catharsis and a relaxing space, where there’s tension, confrontation, an emotional turning point and a resolution, all at once. Through these serials, audiences escape and drain their ‘excessive’ emotional build up. For the older generation too, these serials slowly have become sort of a window to the world today. Television, an integral part of our social fabric, is known to reflect society. Today, this box has reached a state of hubris where it boldly screams - love me or hate me but you can’t ignore me!
-Priyanka Wali, Bespoken Words Team
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