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K-eediyot box

(Disclaimer - Please do not think that I don't know spellings ... my numerologist told to use the above spelling for eediyot and add a k before it, this will help generate more TRP and comments for the blog)

Time 7 : 30 - 8 PM, 8 - 8 : 30 PM .... 10 : 30 - 11 PM
Venue - Zee TV, Star Plus, Sony entertainment etc. etc.

Figure this -

A family drawing room belonging to an extremely rich business house occupied with a mixture of emotional and scheming characters - 1 saas, 2 bahus, 1 son (+1 who makes an entry unaware of what is happening), 2 random distant relatives, 3 random cousins, all mouthing dialogues that have earlier been said by actors ranging from Nirupa Roy to Rajesh Khanna, followed by a long silence, 13 camera angles for same scene (top view, side view, cross sectional view, lateral view, 45 degree elevation view), flashbacks and memories that last few episodes, good people becoming evil, evil people actually being un-evil, rebirths, amnesia, a background score that often is a popular track belonging to a recent Bollywood blockbuster and many other over exaggerated aspects.
Few days later they will all be celebrating some festival ( 4 days for preparation + 2 days of celebrations - Holi/ Diwali/ Janmashtami/ Durga Puja/ Dussehra / Ram Navmi/ Navratri/ Kali Puja etc. etc. ... year after year!).

... This continues year after year, show after show ... and continues to generate a high enough TRP to make producers make similar shows.

Welcome to the world of Indian soap operas, popularly known by their names (usually starting with K) or as 'Tulsi', 'Saloni' etc. (name of characters in them ... am not sure of spellings though) by the loyalists, and as K-serials, Ekta kapoor type shows by the rest. These often become lifeline of Indian families in late evening. Every alternate household with a TV set can be seen playing any one of these many possible cacophony! These are the things that somehow end up influencing knowingly or unknowingly different aspects of lives - be it fashion, thoughts and ideas, parties, pujas, culture, promoting superstitions, devising schemes to win brownie points etc etc. But these also become instruments that prevent people to look beyond the bounded rationality that these shows promote and be cynical about anything apart from the 'values' propagated in these shows.

Recent news about Afghanistan government banning Indian TV channels because they think it is un-Islamic may seem to be improper and unjustified, and an extreme form of thought control. Like most of us around here, I am also against any such ban. But aren't Ekta Kapoor shows and their million clones which invariably occupy the prime time slot on Zee, Sony Star Plus and other TV channels a form of thought control? They may or may not be intended to 'control thoughts' but more often than not they end up being so!

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Comments

  1. Anonymous9:56 AM, April 08, 2008

    Rightly said. I would like to add that the kids watching these show have started believing that every one around them is scheming and plotting. The children believe that what is shown in the serials is true in real life also. I believe that this is leading to lot of turmoil in the society as a whole.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous3:21 PM, April 08, 2008

    Looks like someone has been watching quite some serials now ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nikesh Rathi7:08 PM, April 08, 2008

    @ Aruna - Quite true ... and at an impressionable age, watching such shows can have detrimental effects!

    Jab discovery channel dekhna chahiye tab log saas bahu ki kahaaniyan dekhnege to desh ka kya hoga :)

    @ Nova - Watching 1 episode of such show is actually fun (... like watching a Mithunda movie ... u may end up enjoying it)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Arjun4:18 PM, April 12, 2008

    Very true....
    The cameras focussing on them from all directions with weird sounds... One can actually enjoy the humour....
    I watch it once in a while only to end up laughing while they r crying....
    Anyways, nice post...

    Cheers..!!
    Arjun

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nikesh Rathi6:50 PM, April 12, 2008

    @ Arjun
    Yeah ... it is often too much fun to watch (for 1-2 times)!

    @ Arjun, Aruna (First time visitors!)

    Thanks for visiting my blog :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. sharad shinde6:35 PM, April 17, 2008

    Nice article Nikesh.....But I always found it intersting that why people (mostly housewives) are addicted to it?...answer of this question lies in another question...what other options they have...AAJ Tak(showing all bakwas breaking news)..Zcinema(showing Rajshri Prod movie 100 times)..?.. i dont think they are left with better choise than daily soaps which keeps them guessing what might happen in next episode...
    .....
    PS: All MBA Grads u might want to replace this cliche market with something niche..

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nikesh Rathi8:00 PM, April 17, 2008

    @ Sharad

    Yeah ... I partly agree with you! (I still believe that there are other options ... but people don't like to see it) ... Or maybe they like to see only what fits in with their world view.

    And maybe this is the reason why these soaps have become a big tool of thought control!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Munmun3:23 PM, April 20, 2008

    I agree - Ekta Kapoor and the likes do need a ban anywhere, irrespective of the geography. In the name of women empowerment and liberation, this female is tarnishing the entire image of women (given that her serials are women-driven, so the villains are also women).
    The deeper question is, in how many of these series does she show a realistic career-focused straight-headed woman? Where does she show that a woman could rise from current social stature to earn something or her own (other than cheating her husband)? Even if she is showing a value-oriented woman like Tulsi, how realistic is a character like hers? I really don't see where the women empowerment she talks about is at all pictured !

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nikesh Rathi10:29 PM, April 22, 2008

    @ Munmun

    Apart from the points you mentioned, I think that such shows create stereotypes - not only of females but of about different roles and people, and somewhere down the line they discourage us to think out of this kind of bounded rationality ... and kids watching these shows does no good either!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Reema9:52 PM, May 12, 2008

    I loved the title of the post...very witty....as for the topic I really don't know what is in these serials thats so addictive....even when women know these are pure crap still they cant stop watching...like my mom!!..its like an abusive relation or substance abuse u r in...u know its bad but u just cant get out of it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nikesh Rathi2:47 PM, June 05, 2008

    @ Reema

    Thanks.
    Nice analogy. Given a choice, I am tempted to prefer cocaine over these idiotic K- soaps!!

    ReplyDelete

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