I was trying to fast forward a DVD movie and in between I was switching channels. On some Star channel they were showing the “Coffee with Karan” show and today (or whenever it was originally broadcast) they had invited Ekta Kapur as a guest. Ekta Kapur is the prime-time queen who unleashed the “saas-bahu” epidemic among the entertainment-starved masses. If you see the serials produced by her production house, you’ll think in India
- People, mainly women, are perpetually conspiring against all and sundry. Give them a freehand and they’ll conspire against even their drivers and maids, and even against the neighbor’s cat.
- They all roam around in Abu-Jani clone couture and Cleopatra-type jewelry and they especially wear heavy make up when they go to bed.
- Someone is standing behind the door or a wall listening to you the moment you are about to utter a big, story-altering secret.
- People don’t have normal, carefree lives.
- People are ultra-rich.
- People grow old in a weird manner, and even if you are a great granny, you can give the neighborhood beauty queen a run for her money the moment you can paint that white strip of hair black.
So today in the program very condescendingly she was complaining that she was tired of people bitching about her regressive serials. “They should know how the real India lives,” she pontificated. “And if you don’t like my programs, change the channel.”
I agree with that. If you don’t like something simply change the channel. But please don’t call it “the real India” because as an Indian that was like, embarrassing. This is not how the real India lives. The real India doesn’t walk and sleep in Maharaja clothes and we have better things to do than always conspire against people. People have fun you know. And people are intelligent in India; they are not stupid and moronic as you show them in your serials.
Both Karan Johar and she proudly said that the programs have altered the way people live and they have stopped going out; they remain at home and watch TV — as if it is a big feat.
With all due respect (and lots of love) to female dogs, success is a bitch — you never know when it is going to bite you and when it is going to wag its tail for you. So you being successful doesn’t mean you are good.
People, mainly semi-literate and pseudo-literate housewives watch her serials not because they are so captivating; there is nothing else to watch. I’ll agree that life in India is generally quite boring and such serials transport you to an unreal world where people wear expensive clothes and heavy jewelry, live in luxurious houses, wear party dresses even when they have to go to pee and are all embroiled in mind-numbing (for the housewives at least) conspiracies. But it’s just because no alternative exists yet. Superb programs like “Ham Log”, “Buniyaad”, “Kaliganj Ki Bahoo”, “Malgudi Days” and “Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi” were great hits and they were miles ahead, even 10 or 15 years ago, of Ekta Kapur’s serials in terms of concept and quality, and this proves that people do like better programs if they are available.
Unfortunately, our entertainment industry is going through an Ekta-Reshamiya age where mediocrity is promoted simply because you can create it easily. Lousy songs are easy to write, compose and sing. Serials and films with kiddish plots are easy to produce. Hopefully, art and creativity will resurface soon. Until then, we’ll have to bear the conceits of people like Ekta Kapur, Karan Johar and Reshamiya.
[tags]saas bahu serials, balaji productions, ekta kapur, karan johar, reshamiys, indian tv[/tags]
