Serials and Middle Class, do they mix?
Ridhish and I have this on/off discussion about TV serials. He doesn’t like it that I (and his mother :grin:) watch Indian soap operas (serials) such as my favourite “Astitva, Ek Prem Kahani” or “Kkusum”. At times, I try to think about what is wrong with these TV shows and how do people in India react when they see the things that they show.
If you check out any hit TV serial in India (”Saas Kabhi Bahu Thi”, “Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki”, “Astitva”, etc) you will see that they show rich parivars and their family problems, extramarital affairs, divorces, jealously, etc. Ek aam middle class housewife yeh dekh ke kya seekh rahi hai? Kya woh samaj sakti hai ke yeh ek TV serial hai aur kuch nahi? Kya aaj ka jo badaalav aaya hai Indian society main, kya hum is TV serial ko doshi theraa sakte hain?
Some of the shows, especially “Astitva”, they don’t over exaggerate all of the things listed above. Ab tum “Kkusum” dekho toh woh “ek aam ladki ki kahani” ko kahan se kahan leh ke chale gaye hain. Ab Kkusum ki kahani nahi hai, uski beti Kumud ki kahani hai. My god. Aur kya kya ho raha hai. In fact, I think that this just demoralizes the minds of the middle class society in India. Anth main kya ho raha hai woh aaj hum dekh rahe hain India main ke divorce ab bahut aam baat ho gayi hai, extramarital affairs par chee nahi kiya jaata ab, bacche shaadi se pehle bhi kuch jyaada common ho gaya hai, aur yeh sab is wajah se hain kyon ke log samajte hain ke TV main jo dikhaya hai ke log sukh se jee rahe hain toh hum bhi jee sakte hain. Why are shows like “Saas Kabhi Bahu Thi” such a hit? And once one show like that is a hit, then everybody wants to join the bandwagon and make many more shows just like it. Aargh. 
Wake up and smell the coffee! That’s fiction, and you are living reality. Even I watch these shows religiously at times but that doesn’t mean that I don’t understand that I shouldn’t take this any farther in my life than the half hour that I spend to watch it. Samjho meri baat yeh ke maine dekha hai apni hi family main India main jo yeh dekhti hai aur isko aazmaana chahti hai. No…watch it for fun not seriously.
So what do you think? Has TV serials gone too far? What happened to the wholesome shows of “Aashirwaad” and “Amanat” that I used to love watching. I want to hear your views. Ridhish…….theek hai tum bhi bol sakte ho 
A GOOD show that everyone should watch is: “Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin”. The only show that Ridhish doesn’t have a problem with me watching. 
Ok now I have to find a train ticket for Jaipur superfast for Neeraj (as he is going home), then gotta call my parents, and then call Neeraj. OH BY THE WAY, stay tuned for tomorrow, Neeraj has some BIG news :lol::lol: Ooohh I am soo excited. 
Abhi ke liye Alvida. 
Jor se bolo : Jai Mata Di.
July 27th, 2004 at 10:41 pm
Apun again first!! Man.. I could get used to this…lol..
yea about these serials…I dont really watch any right now… but I have watched Astitva, Kkusum and Jassi… and yes they aren’t realistic…
But then there is so much of real life all around you… you just need to open your eyes and see…
Who wants a doze of reality from the tv too yaar?!?!?
July 27th, 2004 at 11:39 pm
Do you really watch all these serials???
I hate those Ekta Kapoor serials. I recently got this forward from a friend. It talks about the main points of all these ‘K’ serials:
With her serials hoggin both the prime time slots and the TV ratings, these are the points worth noting :p
- Majority of the Indian population belongs to the rich affluent business class ppl and not the middle and lower classes as claimed by the politicians!
- The modern Indian woman is all powerful in the family and at any instant of time has 5-10 lakhs at her disposal so that she’s able to hire a con man or even shut a blackmailing case.
- The modern Indian woman has atleast a coupla extra-marital affairs and the more she has, the more she has the potent’ial.
- The modern Indian woman has atlest 2-3 enemies in her -in-laws’ place which range from the traditional “saas” to the “devar” to the godamn “maid”.
- The modern Indian woman believes in the “Mallika Sherawat principle” of displaying her cleavage and navel as frequently as possible and also to keep the textile budget to the barest minimum.
- The modern Indian woman is clad with 3-4 kilos of gold at any point of the day and is a “complete woman” with expensive sarees and full make-up even while she’s asleep. Maybe she wants to look sexy in her dreams ;-).
July 28th, 2004 at 12:27 am
Manpreet, do you want author access to Poonam’s blog. Instead of commenting, you should start posting here. LMAO
Honestly, i dont see anything wrong with these soaps. infact while having dinner, I watch them too. I somehow dont like the aussie TV, coz it doesnt really appeal to me, and since i have access to indian channels, i do watch Kkusum.
I remember, when i was back home in India, & “Kyunki..saan bhi” was a huge Hit, i knew so many guys watching it, but some of them wouldnt accept the fact that they watch it, coz they were worries what others might think. I dont mind accepting the fact that i do watch Kkusum and its kinda nice. Well yeah agreed these shows are dragged a lot, and they often are not realistic, but it depends on how exactly you take the show. Its got half an hour timepass but then i totally forget about it. Like they say “Dil par mat le yaar…”
Poonam, I have a question for ya. What made you say “A good show that eevryone should watch is “Jassi”. I dont watch Jassi, but was wondering why Ridhish doesnt have a prob with jassi but has a prob with other shows. Kindly enlighten me here, and lastly, even i need author access on your blog
July 28th, 2004 at 1:03 am
Monty: Not a bad idea at all….
considering that my blog is down these days.. and i’ve no place to write down my chutter putter 
hehe!
July 28th, 2004 at 1:17 am
July 28th, 2004 at 7:51 am
[Manpreeu] Pehli baat, the forward was good. I really don’t know what Ekta Kapoor is thinking but she needs to open her eyes and check out what affect she is having on Indian society. The points that were brought up were perfect at the same time sad that people in society are slowing turning into this.
Aur tum jyaada se jyaada likho — koi aur pade naa pade, main aur Neeraj jarur padenge. 
Doosri baat, aap ko hamare blog main author status mil sakta hai - apun ko no problem 
par phir domain ko change kare http://www.neerpoonmanpre.com 
[Monty] Dost I was waiting to see what you would say because I knew you watched these shows. Actually I think you watch it because you don’t have anything else to watch.
October ke baad tum kahogai… Kkusum..kaun Kkusum? 
Aur haan, the point is agreed and I say the same thing that if you can realize that this is just fiction and don’t take anything away from it once the show is over, then you will have no problem in life. 
Tumhari yaadaash ka main ki karu? 
Tumhare paas author permissions pehle se hai. 
Ridhish finds “Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin” a more wholesome show than any other show on TV. You should watch it sometimes, its really good. They don’t show all this jealously, divorce, extramarital affairs, etc. Nothing is exaggerated. It is definitely the story of a girl who is trying to “find” herself and identify with the people around her. Even though people might find her to be a “geek” on the outside, she is really a beautiful person on the inside. My favourite on the show: NANDUUU (I will post a picture of him soon :razz:). I hope that helped Monty
July 28th, 2004 at 11:04 am
These are anyday better than the crappy reality shows on air here in the US. Cause atleast the K serials are made up and they accept it, unlike here!:banghead:
July 28th, 2004 at 11:14 am
Do you have a dish in DC to watch Zee TV, Sony, and all?
July 28th, 2004 at 5:27 pm
Poonam, did you just say Jaasi is a wholesome show and they dont show any crap in that one. Tell me something, would you keep a secretary like Jassi, who is NOT good looking, and is not really confident of her self, and stumbles a little while talking.
See the start of the show when they are showing the titles, and they’ve shown how she dropps things wherever she goes, and thats why they say “Jassi jaisa koi nahin”.
In reality, would this happen? Would that guy Armaan give Jassi power of Attorney for Kohinoor? Doesnt happen in real life na, so even that show is crap and watch it, forget it! :-)
I saw gayab yest which was crap too, see it, forget it ;-) And HELL yeah, i forgot i have author access on your blog. But i forgot the uname & passwd also. Can someone courier me Memory Plus?
And you’re right, once i’m off to india, koun kkusum. Lolzz
July 28th, 2004 at 5:40 pm
Jassi is a show which is solely based for ‘entertainment’ and humour rather then showing the family problems and so on. Our generation gets too involved in these soap serials and it can affect there view point and mindset in the future.
I am speaking from experiences, they try to relate the incidents that occur in the serial with the real life incidents …”arrey mera saath assey hoi to kya hoga”, thus it can do more harm to a person then good. They try to go overboard with everything,from how a wife cheats her husband, to everything else.
It just currupts your way of thinking…
my two cents for the day!
July 28th, 2004 at 9:14 pm
All this does happen and can happen. Do you think that people get hired by their looks and not by what they know?? If that is the case then the smartest people in India might still be out of work today. :???:
Toh Gayab not good? Maine sunna tha ke aachi nahi thi. Kya kare..Ram Gopal Varma ko kya ho gaya hai re??
So you forgot the user name and pwd?
[Ridhish] - your point is well understood and I agree with it. Abhi tak maine Jassi main koi kharaabi nahi dikhi hai. Jab dikh jaayegi tab woh bhi band ho jaayega
Your two cents are well worth it. Aur I wish ke apni generation bachaa paati from the corruption….par apnaa hi generation ne hi ab isko accept kar liya hai.
July 28th, 2004 at 10:17 pm
Like i said in my email, i so wanna talk about this topic but at the same time i’m bored of it.
July 28th, 2004 at 11:19 pm