Attention!

Yes, but are they sexy? Traditionally, people watch these kinds of serials for only two reasons: to ogle good-looking gals with great bods and to ogle good-looking gals with grate bods. Charlie’s Angels had fantastic physiques and Pamela Anderson stars in a similar show because it is assumed her bosom and body will compensate for the serial’s shortcomings. But these CATS are not body beautiful or sensual. Meooww…

To accommodate these new shows, older ones are dropped or rescheduled. Zee follows this policy. So Naya Zamana, which tried to look seriously at serious issues, finds itself with no where to go and Waaris, which found Ashutosh Rana caught between two half-sisters and was nicely poised for a denouement, has been relocated to an afternoon slot. A pity because both serials had gone beyond your average family dramas. Obviously there is no getting away from them. The lesson? Serials must constantly twist and turn, somersault, anything to create `tansion’. This compulsion creates fast-forward developments: in Raahein (Zee), Govind is barely married and already he’s setting up assignations with old flame Preeti (though not keeping them). And pining Preeti is proposing marriage to Rohan just as quick. No decent intervals, nothing. In Saans (STAR Plus), Priya and Gautam have gone from spending the night together to vowing never to see each other again, in the space of just a few episodes. It’s become so, you cannotafford to miss an epsiode without missing critical moments.

In all this rush-crush of developments, you are continually surprised by the everlasting greenery of Amanat (Zee) where the family goes about its business at a yawn’s pace and remains extremely popular. Why then do many serials chase their tales? Answer: because there are too many. Just did a quick calculation for you: on an average week day, across DD1, DD2, Zee, Sony, STAR Plus, there are approximately 50 serials on air. To be visible in this crowd, you need to outrun the others.

Last seen DD was busily darting about preening itself. Commercial revenues have risen sharply, viewers are back and there’s self-congratulation in the air. Hoorah! Everyone will rejoice at DD’s resurgence. Goliath is fighting back. Yippee! But temper this delight with a closer look at the figures: of the approximate Rs.200 crores increase in earnings, almost Rs.160 crores came from cricket. Which means all the other measures DD boasts about better reception, improved formats, logos, new software, digitalisation and round the clock transmission have together resulted in only Rs.50 crores. DD hopes to make upto Rs.150 crores, per year, over four years from cricket: some one should convey this expectation to the BCCI, Ganguly and may be Hanse Cronje: at the rate India is loosing matches, DD will loose viewers, unless someone fixes our game fast.

Also, DD Metro has little to cheer about. It is difficult, nay impossible to name one good old or new show with the exception of the daily evening soap Nyay. When it started out in 1993, DD Metro, had a crop of serials viewers may have liked to watch. But over the years, the channel has become a stagnant pool. New shows have been pumped in but freshness is not enough. The basic problem is that the channel has no identity.

You could say the same for DD1. Heart-warming as DD’s improved performance is, the national broadcaster, has a duty beyond money. It is the one channel which should have encouraged diversity, experimentation instead of copy-catting. Serials such as Suraag, Beta, Kaun, Abhimaan make DD1 look like a close relative of satellite channels. Raja Ka Baja is one DD serial which is innovative and gets away from the serial formula. It is part costume drama, part fable, part satire and it works so well. It has a khadi feel to it while the others are made of synthetic imported materials. If it isn’t doing better in the ratings game, it is a great shame. It is an example of what Indian television can be when its not Born in the USA.