Thursday 4 August 2016

What Indian TV shows are scripting


Future of Indian television media is uncertain with our country sprinting towards Digital India goal. The online media provides the diversity in subjects not only to the viewers but also to the actors, who are more than eager to switch from never ending melodrama to more relatable stories. Just for watching few advertisements, the YouTube webisodes are absolutely free to the viewers. Yes, we have to pay the internet bills but then we don't use internet for just YouTube! From interacting with friends to paying all kinds of bills, we rest on internet. Few gaps left by YouTube are sealed by Netflix. And then we have the daddy of all things, that ever existed digitally, the Torrent. We are always going to have more Friends, Breaking Bad, The Game of Thrones than TVF Pitchers, Permanent roomates or Girls on Top. One thing is certain, that one won't eat the othet but will continue to co-exist and keep our minds always in two. It will be interesting to see how Indian television would transform in coming years, to accommodate the generational shift. 

From Kyunki...saas bhi kabhi bahu thi to present day shows, the only change is the addition of supernatural(read black magic) elements in the story. One hit show Naagin and suddenly we have dozens of channels coming up with snake sagas. We should not feel offended if someone still calls us, a country of snake charmers. When everyone followed the formula, there was one show which chattered into an altogether different territory. Inspired from a Telugu movie, Eega, Sasural Simar ka introduced us to the world of flys, yeah makkhi. In one of the episodes of Diya aur Baati, lead actress being an IPS officer was trying to quash the attempt of Nuclear attack on her home city by a local gang. Seriously! In times when very few countries have nuclear capabilities, the local gangs of a very small city in India are having their own Nuclear weapon. What if we don't have enough shows like 24, we always have shows like Sasural Simar ka and Diya aur Baati to boggle our mind. These shows makes you laugh and cringe, both at the same time. 

If you turn away from these escapist dramas, then also reality is not promising. The kind and quantity of reality shows on television today, makes you really wonder about the founding principle of these talent shows. Nobody can say with full conviction that these reality shows started with the aim of finding and promoting a talent. It was always for entertaining the audience with scripted emotions. Just give a thought to the business model of a reality show, the producers get real performers for a very small production cost(not talking about Big Boss kind of shows). They only have to pay for food and accommodation of contestants, a small daily allowance and in the end a winning package. They make crores through sponsorship deals, voting carrier charges and small earnings through auditioning fees. Contestants are more than happy to showcase their talent for once, for a non-existent fee. Instead of going to circus, the circus is coming to us, that is what reality is and that is what reality shows feed on.

Shows like Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, Office Office, F.I.R, TMKOC, Bhabhiji ghar par hain, 24 have provided some relief from time to time. One year old Epic channel is easily the best we have right now. The content this channel is bringing to Indian audience must he applauded, the variety of subjects and the simplistic presentation, works wonderfully. Stories by Rabindranath Tagore provided us with so many gems, there are so many good stories to be told but we are still stuck in saas-bahu sagas. With Dharmakshetra and Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik we got a new perspective towards Indian mythology, one look at these shows and you know the focus here is solely on content. No show off. Wish, Epic becomes a huge success and a benchmark for content on Indian television. Instead of delivering continuous long running shows, a fragmented-season format would keep the interests alive. TMKOC and Comedy nights with Kapil Sharma have lost their sheen tremendously in last few years due to their continuous exposure to the audience. And there is Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, a show that everyone wants back, somehow. 

Another area in which we can see huge change is animation. By now we all know about Chhota Bheem, but there are hosts of other Indian animated shows making impact on young minds of our country. Shiva, Motu-Patlu and Chor Police have also become favourite among children. Though these shows suffer from stereotyping of characters, the graphics and storytelling projects significant improvement over the animated shows of yesteryear. Earlier only Ramayana and Mahabharta were attempted for animation but now we see these toon characters solving day to day life problems and at the same time, also familiarising the children with global issues that the world is facing today. Indian animation industry has a long way to go but they are on the right track and eventually in future world standards will be achieved. 

We are already witnessing the kind of production scale being attempted, the narration style being used and the subjects taken in Bollywood in recent years. Our animation industry is also doing good. Why? The competition from other countries have brought these changes. Hollywood has forced Indian film industry to change its ways, Japanese anime and American superhero toons have nurtured our animation industry. Today on Internet, we know what we have on offer and we are not ready to settle for anything less, thus there is a need to match up with global standards and hence these improvements in our entertainment industry. To accommodate this new audience, the channels will have to revise their strategy and bring shows which can really hold our attention like those American shows does. Idiot box, please do this small favor to us. 

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