Sex, lies, murder... How wicked can our soaps get?

NEW DELHI: Last week, a man got his three-year-old nephew murdered for moolah in a prime-time serial (Kasauti Zindagi Kay).
Then, a jealous wife tripped her nine-month pregnant colleague, causing a miscarriage (Sanjivani). Another young girl had to be abandoned at the marriage pandal. Reason? She had faked pregnancy and blackmailed her groom-to-be. If that’s not enough, there’s a hero who duped a girl into marriage, all for revenge (Kyunki...), another who duped her for unrequited love and a woman who is willing to kill, lie and steal babies to fulfil her grand mission in life (Des Mein Nikala Hoga Chand).
How vile can you get? If you watch prime time television in India, your answer could well be ‘‘There are no limits.’’ Blackmail, kidnapping and murder have become everyday activities for characters here.
It could be Komolika and Rishab Bajaj in Kasauti..., Simran and Aman in Sanjivani, Anu and now Rohan in Des..., Pallavi and Avantika in Kahani.... They’ll stop at nothing to get what they want.
‘‘Our sitcom scriptwriters are breaking all barriers of sensibility to satisfy viewers’ appetite,’’ says Aditi Das, a research assistant with the HRD ministry and an avid soap-watcher. ‘‘Take Kasauti.... Why for God’s sake, did they kill that little boy? And devote the next two episodes on the family going through the funeral rites. It’s more obscene than any amount of flesh and gore shown in Bollywood films.’’
Last month a PIL was filed in the Lucknow High Court against the negative portrayal of women in soaps. Later, a Star Plus team, including actor Jeetendra, visited people’s homes in Lucknow, where he promised to take back their message to Balaji Telefilms so that ‘‘middle class family pe negative effect na pade.’’
Akhila Sivadas of the Media Advocacy Group’s viewer’s forum, agrees: ‘‘To retain eyeballs, the producers of popular soaps have raised the threshold of emotions like joy, sorrow, anger, revenge to such an extent that they’ve become victims of their own creations.’’
In Sanjivani, the writer, not satisfied with turning a hospital drama into a romance between interns, distorted the character of Simran to such an extent that a change of face became necessary. Schemers and blackmailers have taken over from doctors and administrators.
In defence, Tarun Katyal Star TV’s senior VP, content and communications, says, ‘‘A TV soap is like a novel. There are high points like a marriage or a murder. We know that viewers enjoy it.’’
Arjun Walia, a regular sitcom-watcher says, ‘‘We may not be as degraded as these serials make us out to be, but there must be something wrong with us if we enjoy this kind of mindless evil on a daily basis.’’ So why continue to watch them? ‘‘It’s an addiction,’’ says Aruna Dhingra, another soap aficionado. ‘‘What’s more, we see them with our children.’’
But there seems to be a shift. ‘‘Now we prefer to watch more down-to-earth serials like Astitva or a detective one like Krishna Arjun,’’ adds Dhingra.
Will Sara Akash, Star TV’s new soap about those magnificent men and women in flying machines, do the trick? ‘‘If doctors (Sanjivani) and police officers (Kehta Hai Dil), both dealing with human tragedies and triumphs, couldn’t hold their own against the saas-bahu melodramas, how long can pilots survive?’’ asks Walia.