‘Theme will continue to be a hit in serials’

KOLKATA: Bengali megaserials that have always banked on adulterous relationships to boost TRPs find themselves in a rather interesting position after the Supreme Court’s landmark verdict on extra-marital sex. Despite the century-old law that made adultery a criminal offence, most protagonists have had two partners. Some even live under the same roof.Will scriptwriters now search for spicier options than plots revolving around ‘a man and his two wives’?
Adultery has never been a taboo on the Bengali big or small screen, although it’s hard to find projects endorsing polyamorous relationships. Once the dalliance is over, the protagonist always “learns” from his “mistake” to return to the wife. Producers and directors fear society will not accept any other plot. Producer Sani Ghosh Ray, who explored adultery in ‘Rashi’, agreed saying, “Adultery is an easily available device for the writer to create crisis in the family space. I don’t think writers can completely let go off it.”
According to Tathagatha Mukherjee, who plays Debleena Dutt’s husband in ‘Andarmahal’, content is always driven by audience choice. “I haven’t seen any film or serial on extra-marital affairs where protagonists have taken legal recourse. Till the day the audience changes its stand on adultery, serials will not change,” Mukherjee said.
Sahana Dutta, who is the chief content officer of SVF television and video streaming site Hoichoi, has never used adultery in her serials that include ‘Goenda Ginni’, ‘Bhutu’, ‘Behula Lokkhindor’, ‘Potolkumar Gaanwala’ and ‘Maa’. “Most serials use adultery as a tool to garner empathy for the female lead who doesn’t get love as her husband has another partner. It’s never wrong for a woman to want love in marriage. This verdict will not change that. Most viewers weren’t even aware that adultery was a criminal offence till they heard this verdict,” she pointed out.
Justice Chandrachud in the SC verdict said a woman after marriage does not pledge her sexual autonomy to her husband and depriving her of choice to have consensual sex with anyone outside marriage cannot be curbed.
Director Arka Ganguly, whose company produces ‘Andarmahal’, ‘Kusum Dola’ and ‘Phagun Bou’, has explored extra-marital affairs in some of his projects.
“We have shown the legal aspects too. However, adultery has always been more of a moral than legal issue in our society and serials. The archaic law needed to be scrapped because it portrayed a woman’s sexuality in an undignified manner. However, there is a moral compass that still doesn’t endorse adultery. From that perspective, this theme will still be relevant in serials,” Ganguly said.