Ashamed of TV ??      - Roy Daniel D'Silva

 

A while ago, the doyen of Indian Television, a prominent film and TV personality was asked how she felt about one of the central characters of her serials being killed off. Laughing off the issue, she said that she doesn’t quite think about the characters in her serials.

Recently, her serial has announced that the serial will take another twenty year leap. For that, they need new employees to work in their serial, which is being advertised after the serial, by the current lot of employees they have.

The above incidents make one wonder about various concepts students of film making learn while they take their education. It also raises questions whether flimsy concepts like storyline, acting talents, the very thought process of making serials, all of them are thrown out of the window in lieu of cold cash.

To be quite frank, television today has completely changed. Gone are the days when serials would have a bound script and such. Watching the popular TV serials today, one tends to wonder whether they are watching genuine genius at work, or hapless writers mending and maiming their characters and storylines for the now fabled TRPs.

Speaking of mending and maiming, one can only get amused at the way the popular serial ‘Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin’ is going. From a headstrong independent woman to a now-married-to-the-mob-yearning-to-be-a-housewife, that character has had so many makeovers…

For those who really revere ‘Jassi’, it should be said that the whole concept has actually been lifted from a Spanish serial, ‘La Feya Betty’ or something, and believe me you, there was no mother-in-law in the TV series, nor a makeover. The cheap thrill of a makeover is a ‘desi’ spice.

A popular television channel has once again started airing the legendary ‘Buniyaad’. Watching these fine actors at work, one wonders whether the subtle romance depicted between the lead characters Alok Nath and Anita Kanwar, can be brought back to the screen by people responding to ‘actors wanted’ classified.

Serials like ‘Buniyaad’ depicted revolt against the social structure and even the political structure, in that time forgotten age when globalization was a legend and FDI was a dream.

For other viewers looking out for sensible viewing, another channel will soon air ‘Mano Ya Na Mano’. Many years ago, Doordarshan had a serial of the same name, in the late night slot. It was one of the first TV serials which expanded into the occult and mystery genre.

Sensible television is dead, long live sensible television. There was a time when TV artistes would hone their skills and then plunge onto the big screen. Today, television has become the Outbox of the entire film industry. The entire industry is today crying out for dedicated serial makers, and not just people who work for the jingle of currency, maybe, one day we will get that too…