Dont blame the viewer!

This is why television today is such rubbish! Idolising such hypocritical characters gives them more strength to go ahead and make more 'assembly line' television, irrespective of which channel. Writing such stories gives them a far greater existence than they merit. Sterotypical and style icons? Who ever places such words side by side?

Issues like marital rape are just glossed over. Rarely working wives and irritating male sterotypes can be a nuisance to watch. And almost all marraiges are to your enemies. That you will love them eventually is a certainty. Actually I too watch them but rarely chase them.. but its articles like these that annoy me more.

Granted I dont know thaaat many people but almost every one I know does not like or watch these serials. But nobody I know wants to be like anyone of them or wear anything that 'Tulsi' or 'Parvati' wears! Sometimes reruns of 'Friends' is a better deal. Heck even American Chopper on Discovery Travel and Living is better.

Update: The link is not working anymore for some reason so here is the story.

Bride & Prejudice

How different is a Zee bahu from a Star bahu? We find out

Kausar Munir

Aapko kaisi bahu chahiye? Strong and simple like Simran and Saloni? Or stylish yet traditional like Prerna and Tulsi? Before you make your choice, it’s better if you know the gharana (read channel) of these bahus first.

Let’s flash back to the early days of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. As saas-bahu sagas were gaining ground, another drama was unfolding in the TV industry – that of channel politics. Star Plus with Ekta Kapoor’s saases and bahus rooting for it, had the obvious advantage. And the cacophony of serials soon muted the voice of other channels. The most affected was Zee TV.

The pioneer of mainstream satellite entertainment with arguably sensitive shows to its credit (Tara, Hasratein, Amanat…), Zee was struggling in the face of hi-decibel rona dhona and hi-drama freeze points.

But hope floated once more with Astitva – Ek Prem Kahani (a mature love story) and Sa Re Ga Ma (the music reality show). Agreed, Star Plus had by now had captured the domestic scene but Zee was ready to test its newfound confidence on the family drama scene. And it did.

Taking a leaf off the megahit K-brigade (Kyunki, Kahani, Kavyanjali…) Zee launched its own soapy stories. First the lukewarm Piya ka Ghar, then the slightly hotter Tumhari Disha, followed by Saat Phere-Saloni Ka Safar and finally the Balaji scorcher Kasamh Se…

The numbers game aside, Zee now has a saas-bahu tradition all its own and one can actually have a Star v/s Zee bahus tele match.

Says a Zee TV insider, “The Star bahus are largely Balaji bahus and their boundaries are well-defined. If you are a good bahu, glamour plus gud (jaggery) is the formula. And if you are the bad bahu, glamour plus mirchi is the brief.”

But the creative head of Balaji Telefilms, Nivedita Basu disagrees, “We are no different from any other channel in the way we portray our women. A show becomes a hit on the content of its own merit. Kasamh Se worked for Zee but we would do nothing differently had it been a show on Star Plus.”

So are the Zee bahus any different from the saas bahus? “I don’t know about the bahus but yes, on the whole Zee does have a history of trying out different shows. Like the recent Jab Love Hua...,” she replies.

“Whether it’s Star or Zee, just a look at the bahu shows you whether she’s a vamp or not,” says Arafa Shaikh, a young viewer. True, the TV bahus have always led the designer brigade with their backless cholis, strapless sarees, blazing bindis and well-defined eyes.

A budding designer Poonam Narula, who has recently started designing for TV, says, “Zee in its second innings did initially portray more simple women, like the simple Rimjhim or Dr. Simran. But that simple look died with these shows. Since then, it decided to go the Star way. Now Krutika Desai’s bindis blind Tumhari Disha, Saloni’s bhabhis look more like item girls and Roshni Chopra of Kasamh Se is the new sari ‘with it’ girl.”

Dressing style aside, are the attitudes of the Zee bahus any different from the Star ones? According to actress, Maninee Mishra, “Whichever the channel, TRPs go along with with high drama. So when the emotions are over-the-top, one is given over-the-top lines to mouth. If one is to get down to individual channel differences, Star definitely was the one to change the look of its bahus, with a high gloss and glamour quotient. But in terms of attitude, they reflected the strength of their women in the ability to suffer and still be strong which is a subservient position.”

However, advertising executive Sampoorna Singh has a decidedly different opinion, “The type of bahu depends more on the set-up than the channel. If it’s an Ajai Sinha production then the rolling of eyes and twitching of lips won’t do. If it’s a Balaji show, all this works.”

When we look beyond the clothes, make-up and, of course, the water-works, what is the mindset of these bahus that visit and possibly influence millions of women in our country?

Varun Badola a seasoned player on both channels, provides the male perspective. He says, “Earlier Zee did have a social philosophy, the heroines were primarily meant to ‘make a mark’, like Koshish – Ek Ashaa, or Astitva for that matter. But Star started the trend of ‘making a market’ and that has worked very well for everyone. Zee may be marginally more adventurous in its choice of shows, but Star has created a “hit” formula. The mantra is to entertain and keep the sympathies of the audience alive, no matter how bizarrely the bahu behaves…”

It’s true that most characters (bahu or not) on television soaps have no right to a philosophy. Dress, design, attitudes are all mostly dictated by the channel-producer nexus and one has no say in the matter. Come to think of it, channels too don’t have much of a choice, what with TRPs hanging over their heads and competition always increasing.

In such a scenario, it maybe suicidal to have an offbeat bahu whether on Zee, Star or, for that matter, on any channel.



• Says a Zee TV insider, “Star bahus are largely Balaji bahus and their boundaries are well-defined. If you are a good bahu, glamour plus gud (jaggery) is the formula. And if you are the bad bahu, glamour plus mirchi is the brief.”



STAR BAHUS

• Style icons yet very traditional in their outlook
• More stereotypical
• Catering to the mass market
• Gharelu

ZEE BAHUS

• Simple yet strong
• Individualistic
• Little more off-beat
• Some have careers too

They are also similar in that they both...

• Indulge in high-decibel drama
• Cry easily (at least once in every episode)
• Live in joint families
• Wear saris and plenty of jewellery, with the mangalsutra forming the highlight