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Journalism of Courage
We come to praise television, not to bury it. A critic is often dumbstruck by what passes for TV entertainment, dumbstruck at the ingenuity of producers who think up the most unbelievable plots and then twist them around our necks like a noose. Two examples: in Tu Kahe Agar… (Zee), a young man and woman, deeply and devotedly in love, cannot marry because his horoscope says the woman he weds will die within six months of tying the nuptial knot.
So they live together, right? Wrong. In steps another woman (also deeply and devotedly in love with the sapskull) willing to embrace him — and her death. Now, they’re going to fall in love… In Bhabhi (Star Plus), a newly- wed girl meets with an accident, misplaces her husband, finds him replaced by another husband who thinks she is his newly-wedded wife and insists she play the part to fool his ailing mother. As Yogi Bear says, huh?
Khair, here are a few shows which display a certain quality and finesse. They may not be popular but they are better than the rest.
*Dhadkan (Sony): A hospital drama, authentic with some fine performances. Its virtue is its strong central theme — the action within a hospital — and it seldom strays afar. It tackles medical problems/ethics and social themes. It aims for realism with the minimum of melodrama and can be quite compelling. An unsolicited piece of advice for the producers: introduce a strong emotional ‘‘love’’ story, if need be a triangle.
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Justujoo is a sensitive portrayal of an older man falling in love with his wife’s young sister. While Pankaj Kapoor’s Office Office has to be the funniest
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* Justujoo (Zee): Has to be the most sensitive portrayal of a very sensitive issue. An older man falls in love with his wife’s young sister. An affair ensues. Some truly good performances, particularly from Pallavi Joshi and Harsh Chaya. Beyond them is the treatment of the subject: everything is so day-to-day, as if it were happening to our next door neighbour. This was such an easy subject to sensationalise, but it has been delicately poised and that is its virtue.
* Equally sensitive is Sanjhi (Zee). Neena Gupta’s forte is to act in a manner which suits the small screen perfectly. A raised eyebrow here, a flick of the head there conveys everything. She appears so… well, average. In this story of a husband bringing home a younger second wife, Gupta is the enraged first bahu, seething behind the pallu of her covered head. If you read it carefully, the serial resembles her successful Saans in many of its situations and characterizations.
* Hubahu (Sony) scores for being entirely different. By employing the device of twin sisters exchanging places, it asks us to look into the mirror and see ourselves objectively. Obviously, everything depends on Sandhya Mridul in the lead roles and she doesn’t disappoint. Set partly in a foreign locale, it moves out of the tight studio sets. Refreshing.
* Chhoti Ma… Ek Anokha Bandhan (Zee): Alright, so it is a remake of the hugely successful Tamil serial, Chitti. The serial has faults, the most glaring being the innumerable subplots and new problems which surface in every episode. It began rather beautifully in a rural setting (such a change) and dealt with the social milieu of a village (such a change). Since, it has been dressed up and transferred to a middle class city setting. We suffer along with Chhoti Ma… the much misunderstood second wife, who bravely struggles against many odds to always do the right thing. The serial touches upon important issues — a physically challenged child, teenage angst, etc., but it’s the suffocating oppression of Chhoti Ma…’s household that makes it absorbing.
* Onto the comic: Office Office (Sabe TV) with Pankaj Kapoor is still the best — it’s genuinely funny, gently satirical and subtle — traits normally and visibly absent in TV sitcoms. Each week, there’s a new situation many of us face in our own lives which brings the show closer to home.
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Ekta Kapoor may have revolutionised Indian TV with serials like Kyunki and Kahani, but her grip on the audience is getting too tight, the melodrama hysterical, the stories filmi
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* Krishna Sharma CA (Star Plus), is next in line. Krishna is quite charming: she has a cheeky, puckish innocence which is attractive. The situations she finds herself in are rather like Rajani’s in the old days of Doordarshan. Krishna’s crusades, however, are conducted with considerable more confusion which stretch your lips into a smile.
* MTV Fully Faltoo has to be on this hit list. It is creative, upbeat, irreverent, an original. What’s important is that it is really Indian, using familiar icons and popular culture to produce a really funny show. Watch the film and cricket look-alikes, listen to the Sidhu and Ajit sound-alikes. A must after a seriously hot day.
* Coke Popstars (Channel V) is naturally at ease with itself. To track the creation of a pop band out of five ‘‘discovered’’ girls, their transformation from gangly girls to ultra- sophisticated band, and make it interesting, is not simple. However, the show manages to keep apace of the girls and portray them as individuals.
* Which leaves us with a phenomenon called Ekta Kapoor. From Kyunki… to Kahani…, from Kundali to Kkusum, Kutumb, Kabhi Souten…, Koshish…, Kalash, she has revolutionized Indian TV drama. She’s brought colour, brightness, fresh faces, catchy tunes and songs to television. She knows how to grip the audience. Unfortunately, the grip is getting too tight, the melodrama hysterical, the stories very filmi. Kapoor needs to loosen up.
