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Journalism of Courage
Gone are the days of television serials set in a pan-Indian generic set- up. Today,the emphasis is on regional flavours,dialects,costumes,food and lifestyles as programming focus shifts from one state to another every half-hour.
A few years ago,10-plus was an average TRP for the most happening daily soaps like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii. Today 5 or 6 TVR is a cause for celebration. Its not because people are watching less Hindi GECs,though their share has steadily come down in recent years,but for the growth of cable television in semi-urban areas besides competition from within and outside the genre. With nine channels fighting for viewers attention and audience in every state dictating its own programming preferences,television content has become region and state-specific. Gone are the days of serials set in pan-Indian generic bedroom-drawing room set up which were lapped up by viewers across regions,cultures and dialects. Today,it is a must for every channel to have at least one or two state-specific shows.
Take a look at prime-time programming of any channel. From Gujarat to Himachal Pradesh,Maharashtra to UP,Rajasthan to Delhi and Madhya Pradesh to Punjab or Haryana,the programming focus shifts from one state to another from 7 to 11 pm. Bihar may have lost its regional pride lately,but it might soon have its representative in the form of another Lali or Devi. Jharkhand,Chattisgarh and other small states also figure here and there at pre-prime time.
Star Plus Nayi Soch begins from Gujarat with Saathiya Saath Nibhana and travels northwards to Delhi for a short halt at the Sasural Genda Phool parivar,goes further northwards to Himachal Pradesh for some romance and cool breeze (Chand Chupa Badal Mein),comes down to its maayka in Maharashtra (Maayke Se Bandhi Dor),goes back to Gujarat to meet Gulaal,hops across to neighbouring Rajasthan for family get together (Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai),comes back to Mumbai to ask some new questions (Navya),flies to Allahabad to salute todays woman Pratigya and finally ends its journey in Haryana where four women are fighting for their Maryaada.
Colors programming starts with Bhagyavidhaata in Bihar (the show will be replaced by Sasural Simar Ka next week) moves to the cow belt state with Rishton Se Badi Pratha,followed by Rajasthan-centric Balika Vadhu,Mumbai-based Laagi Tujhse Lagan,Chambal-based Phulwa,Gujarat-focused Mukti Bandhan,semi-urban Hindi heartland show Uttaran and concludes with Laado thats set in Haryana. Zees prime time begins with Chhoti Si Zindagi in Himachal,followed by Choti Bahu thats set in Mathura,the pan-India historical Jhansi Ki Rani (Bundelkhand,UP),MP-based Yahaan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli,Pavitra Rishta thats set in Maharashtra,Gujarat-Delhi bhelpuri Ram Milayi Jodi,the cowbelt love story Sanjog Se Bani Sangini and ends with Sanskar Laxmi that is based in Mumbai but has strong Gujarati flavour.
Imagine has its shows based in Chandigarh (Kitni Mohabat Hai),Agra (UP,Baba Aisa Var Dhoondo),Jaipur (Beend Banuga Ghodi Chadunga),Haryana (Looteri Dulhan) and Maharashtra- UP (Pardes Mein Mila Koi). Even comedy channel SAB is not sparing any effort to play the regional card with shows like Papad Pol,Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma (both Gujarati stories),FIR (Haryana),Mrs Tendulkar (Maharashtra) and Lapataganj (UP). Sony,which is more urban-focussed,has also joined the race lately with Krishnaben Khakrawala (Gujarat),Chhajje Chhajje Ka Pyar (Delhi) and Saas Bina Sasural (mix of Mumbai,Punjab and UP).
This overt emphasis on regional setting through stories,local flavour,characterization and dialect is a fairly recent phenomenon,apparently aimed at hooking region and state-specific viewers besides giving variety to content. Saurabh Tewari,head of programming,Imagine,says regional and state colouring has been there since past five years but is quite visible now because everyone is doing it. He admits that when one focusses on a particular region and makes a market-driven show,then that particular market reacts more positively than the rest. However,this is no guarantee for success. Regional setting adds flavour but still every show needs to have universal appeal, he adds. In his opinion regional setting doesnt give variety in terms of content but in terms of look and feel.
According to Zees fiction head Sukesh Motwani,over the last three or four years,one of the more interesting trends to have emerged in soap storytelling is that the viewer respects the authenticity of backdrop and the cultural and social context of the region where the story is set. Hence the world of the story (read region/state) has become more important and it should reflect what one may term as Real India, he elaborates. Competition from within the GEC genre is one clear reason for distinctive setting and regional flavour but programming heads deny that it is because of competition from regional channels too – mainly Marathi and Bengali,both big markets,besides Gujarati,though not a big threat yet.
Its definitely not due to competition from regional channels but a few other reasons like an attempt to offer freshness and variety in content besides the need to set certain stories in certain regions where the premise works best, says Vivek Bahl,ex-senior executive creative director of Star India,who is currently a consultant to the network and co-producing Navya for Star Plus. While Sukesh says that the overall attempt is to offer more real,nuanced and rooted storytelling of issues that matter to the traditional joint family viewer in small town India,in Saurabhs opinion regional emphasis is not because of competition from regional shows.
Regional shows may have similar look but their issues and story telling is totally different and is region-centric than universal. In terms of regional channels there are only two clear distinctive markets – Marathi and Bengali – and in these markets regional anyways is big and GECs come as priority two,though a couple of Hindi shows does fantastically well in these markets too and even affect their loyal regional shows. But the overall intention behind setting shows in a particular region has nothing to do with tough competition from regional market, he says.
