.
It’s inevitable that Star Plus’ decision to pull the plug on long-running soaps Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi would haveresulted in a collective sigh escaping Indian TV viewers’ lips. In the case of the shows’ loyalists, the sigh would have been one of dismay.
But the dwindling appeal of the two soaps suggests that with a majority of TV viewers, the sigh would have signified relief. The more optimistic, in fact, secretly harbour the hope that with the soaps coming to a close, one would finally see the back of the much-cloned ‘saas-bahu’ sagas.
For the Indian television industry, though, the closure of Kyunki... and Kahaani... throws open a few critical questions. Where will the next-gen TV blockbuster come from? Has the ‘saas-bahu’ formula wrung itself dry, and if so, what’s the next big idea? And most importantly, in which direction should television head in search of inspiration?
Time will reveal the answers to all of this. But one thing TV viewers can be certain of. Indian television will continue to be in thrall of a force that’s more domineering than any TV saas could ever aspire to be — Bollywood.
Indian television’s dependence on Bollywood is visible in virtually every form of TV content.
Take the names of TV soaps, for starters. Kyunki... and Kahani are two shining examples: the former is a straight lift from the 1970 Leena Chandavarkar-Lalita Pawar-starrer Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, while the latter is a reassembly of Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani, which is the name of not one but three Hindi movies — 1947, starring Leele Chitnis, 1970, starring Balraj Sahni and Rakesh Roshan, and 1988, starring Rishi Kapoor and Govinda.
Period drama Dharam Veer borrows from Manmohan Desai’s 1977 potboiler of the same name, while titles like Dil Kya Chahta Hai — incidentally, a story about four young friends looking for love — barely conceal their sources.
Bollywood’s influence manifests even in plotlines, story sequences and show promos.
Sample this: not very long ago, an entire episode of Dil Mil Gaye centered at a situation in a disco, where the some of the show’s characters get bullied by two brawny chaps dressed as cowboys. The episode came within weeks of Imran Khan-starrer Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, where the Arbaaz Khan-Sohail Khan cowboy act was one of the highlights of the movie.
Bunty Aur Babli released in May 2005 and by the end of the year, there was a show on TV, Yeh Dil Chahe More, which was about a young boy and girl running away from home in pursuit of their dreams. Coincidence? Unlikely. TV also routinely takes recourse to popular film songs — the most memorable instance being Tujhe dekh dekh sona which, at one point in time, nearly became an anthem in Kasamh Se. In fact, filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt, who made Kalyug from where the song originates, nearly sued Balaji Telefilms for the same!
It’s in the reality TV-game show format of content that Indian television displays its Bollywood fixation. From Nach Baliye to Indian Idol to SaReGaMaPa, Hindi film songs are the staple of very song-and-dance-based programme.
While Bollywood stars as anchors of reality TV shows is old hat, the trend today is for every game show to host Bollywood actors as guests. In fact, these ‘guest appearances’ have even begun stretching themselves into serials — Himesh Reshmiya recently made a token visit to Jasubhai Jayantilal Joshi’s joint family, while Abhishek Bachchan was seen in Balika Vadhu.
This is a far cry from the Doordarshan days of TV, when content borrowed and referenced a lot more than Bollywood. Yes, the Sunday feature film and Chitrahaar might have been big draws, but TV was a smorgasbord of Bollywood, original content (Buniyaad, Nukkad, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Karamchand, Mr Yogi, Intezaar, Wagle Ki Duniya, Udaan, Jeevan Rekha) and content sourced from literature (Srikant, Darpan, Malgudi Days, Byomkesh Bakshi, Ganadevta, Nirmala).
It’s not surprising that filmmaker Saeed Mirza (who directed shows like Nukkad) is miffed with the state of Indian television. Attacking the ‘Bollywoodisation’ of virtually all aspects of Indian life, Mirza says of TV: “It is in denial mode. It will not record 90% of what the people are going through. Nobody looks around at the man on the street anymore.” He adds that as even news nowadays is only about India Shining. “Any news apart from this is put aside. Entertainment will only follow suit.”
Explaining Indian television’s obsession with Bollywood, adman Partha Sinha, managing partner of BBH India, says it’s a function of the way entertainment is structured in Indian society, with Bollywood perched at the top of the hierarchy. “Our idea of entertainment is defined by movies, and we do not have popular music outside film music,” he says.
However, he doesn’t think it’s merely a function of audience demand. Blaming entertainment professionals squarely for fuelling the Bollywood fixation, Sinha says, “The ultimate destination for everyone is Bollywood. All TV actors want to be Bollywood actors, and song writers and script writers all want to move to the big screen. We end up borrowing so shamelessly because of this hierarchy. And by doing so, we are increasingly giving legitimacy to that hierarchy.”
While it’s easy to apportion blame on TV for its seemingly unimaginative approach, those in the business of grinding out content for a demanding and fickle audience are quick to defend at least some of what’s going on. “There are just 13-to-21 plots in life,” says Shailaja Kejriwal, EVP - content, NDTV Imagine.
“Obviously, every creative person would like to create something original, but it is important to remember that television today is about daily shows. Tamas and Buniyaad were weekly shows, and there was only one channel. To create an episode every day, there might be influences from films; whether this is morally right or ethical is for each of us to decide for himself or herself.” She does, however, concede that the dependence on movies is large. “For some it may just be the easier way out,” she adds.
What makes Bollywood such an attractive proposition for the TV industry is its perceived bankability. Danish Khan, assistant VP & Head of Marketing, Sony TV, points out that Bollywood provides both instant buzz as well as a safety net to broadcasters. “It’s a hedging strategy.
For example, you use a star as an anchor because you know he has a certain following and you are sure to get eyeballs of his fans,” he says. And therein lies the rub. In an extremely competitive environment where the first guy who blinks runs the risk of ruination, no one in the industry is willing to stick the neck out. The stakes are simply too high for any experimentation.
Says Khan: “TV is a medium that needs to cater to almost everyone watching, so when you are everything to everyone, then you can’t have a differential product.” It’s also pointed out that in the Doordarshan era, the economies made it conducive for that talent to come to TV, whereas today economies favour the movement of talent to Bollywood. “We do have some great talent but those few cannot run 100 channels. We need a larger pool of talent, and to attract them, we need to create the economies,” Khan insists.
All eyes, meanwhile, are focused on Tujh Sang Preet Lagai Sajna, the show that’s replaced Kahaani on Star Plus. The new show is about two childhood friends, a zamindar and a farmer, whose jigri dosti turns sour - and how their grandchildren fall in love with one another. Sound suspiciously like Subhash Ghai’s Saudagar, starring Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar. Those who’ve watched the show insist the similarities don’t end there.
At least in the foreseeable future, the Indian television industry is in no danger of losing sleep over content. The next-gen blockbuster, with its roots in past Bollywood blockbusters, is already on its way.
It’s inevitable that Star Plus’ decision to pull the plug on long-running soaps Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi would haveresulted in a collective sigh escaping Indian TV viewers’ lips. In the case of the shows’ loyalists, the sigh would have been one of dismay.But the dwindling appeal of the two soaps suggests that with a majority of TV viewers, the sigh would have signified relief. The more optimistic, in fact, secretly harbour the hope that with the soaps coming to a close, one would finally see the back of the much-cloned ‘saas-bahu’ sagas.
For the Indian television industry, though, the closure of Kyunki... and Kahaani... throws open a few critical questions. Where will the next-gen TV blockbuster come from? Has the ‘saas-bahu’ formula wrung itself dry, and if so, what’s the next big idea? And most importantly, in which direction should television head in search of inspiration?
Time will reveal the answers to all of this. But one thing TV viewers can be certain of. Indian television will continue to be in thrall of a force that’s more domineering than any TV saas could ever aspire to be — Bollywood.
Indian television’s dependence on Bollywood is visible in virtually every form of TV content.
Take the names of TV soaps, for starters. Kyunki... and Kahani are two shining examples: the former is a straight lift from the 1970 Leena Chandavarkar-Lalita Pawar-starrer Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, while the latter is a reassembly of Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani, which is the name of not one but three Hindi movies — 1947, starring Leele Chitnis, 1970, starring Balraj Sahni and Rakesh Roshan, and 1988, starring Rishi Kapoor and Govinda.
Period drama Dharam Veer borrows from Manmohan Desai’s 1977 potboiler of the same name, while titles like Dil Kya Chahta Hai — incidentally, a story about four young friends looking for love — barely conceal their sources.
Bollywood’s influence manifests even in plotlines, story sequences and show promos.
Sample this: not very long ago, an entire episode of Dil Mil Gaye centered at a situation in a disco, where the some of the show’s characters get bullied by two brawny chaps dressed as cowboys. The episode came within weeks of Imran Khan-starrer Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, where the Arbaaz Khan-Sohail Khan cowboy act was one of the highlights of the movie.
Bunty Aur Babli released in May 2005 and by the end of the year, there was a show on TV, Yeh Dil Chahe More, which was about a young boy and girl running away from home in pursuit of their dreams. Coincidence? Unlikely. TV also routinely takes recourse to popular film songs — the most memorable instance being Tujhe dekh dekh sona which, at one point in time, nearly became an anthem in Kasamh Se. In fact, filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt, who made Kalyug from where the song originates, nearly sued Balaji Telefilms for the same!
It’s in the reality TV-game show format of content that Indian television displays its Bollywood fixation. From Nach Baliye to Indian Idol to SaReGaMaPa, Hindi film songs are the staple of very song-and-dance-based programme.
While Bollywood stars as anchors of reality TV shows is old hat, the trend today is for every game show to host Bollywood actors as guests. In fact, these ‘guest appearances’ have even begun stretching themselves into serials — Himesh Reshmiya recently made a token visit to Jasubhai Jayantilal Joshi’s joint family, while Abhishek Bachchan was seen in Balika Vadhu.
This is a far cry from the Doordarshan days of TV, when content borrowed and referenced a lot more than Bollywood. Yes, the Sunday feature film and Chitrahaar might have been big draws, but TV was a smorgasbord of Bollywood, original content (Buniyaad, Nukkad, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Karamchand, Mr Yogi, Intezaar, Wagle Ki Duniya, Udaan, Jeevan Rekha) and content sourced from literature (Srikant, Darpan, Malgudi Days, Byomkesh Bakshi, Ganadevta, Nirmala).
It’s not surprising that filmmaker Saeed Mirza (who directed shows like Nukkad) is miffed with the state of Indian television. Attacking the ‘Bollywoodisation’ of virtually all aspects of Indian life, Mirza says of TV: “It is in denial mode. It will not record 90% of what the people are going through. Nobody looks around at the man on the street anymore.” He adds that as even news nowadays is only about India Shining. “Any news apart from this is put aside. Entertainment will only follow suit.”
Explaining Indian television’s obsession with Bollywood, adman Partha Sinha, managing partner of BBH India, says it’s a function of the way entertainment is structured in Indian society, with Bollywood perched at the top of the hierarchy. “Our idea of entertainment is defined by movies, and we do not have popular music outside film music,” he says.
However, he doesn’t think it’s merely a function of audience demand. Blaming entertainment professionals squarely for fuelling the Bollywood fixation, Sinha says, “The ultimate destination for everyone is Bollywood. All TV actors want to be Bollywood actors, and song writers and script writers all want to move to the big screen. We end up borrowing so shamelessly because of this hierarchy. And by doing so, we are increasingly giving legitimacy to that hierarchy.”
While it’s easy to apportion blame on TV for its seemingly unimaginative approach, those in the business of grinding out content for a demanding and fickle audience are quick to defend at least some of what’s going on. “There are just 13-to-21 plots in life,” says Shailaja Kejriwal, EVP - content, NDTV Imagine.
“Obviously, every creative person would like to create something original, but it is important to remember that television today is about daily shows. Tamas and Buniyaad were weekly shows, and there was only one channel. To create an episode every day, there might be influences from films; whether this is morally right or ethical is for each of us to decide for himself or herself.” She does, however, concede that the dependence on movies is large. “For some it may just be the easier way out,” she adds.
What makes Bollywood such an attractive proposition for the TV industry is its perceived bankability. Danish Khan, assistant VP & Head of Marketing, Sony TV, points out that Bollywood provides both instant buzz as well as a safety net to broadcasters. “It’s a hedging strategy.
For example, you use a star as an anchor because you know he has a certain following and you are sure to get eyeballs of his fans,” he says. And therein lies the rub. In an extremely competitive environment where the first guy who blinks runs the risk of ruination, no one in the industry is willing to stick the neck out. The stakes are simply too high for any experimentation.
Says Khan: “TV is a medium that needs to cater to almost everyone watching, so when you are everything to everyone, then you can’t have a differential product.” It’s also pointed out that in the Doordarshan era, the economies made it conducive for that talent to come to TV, whereas today economies favour the movement of talent to Bollywood. “We do have some great talent but those few cannot run 100 channels. We need a larger pool of talent, and to attract them, we need to create the economies,” Khan insists.
All eyes, meanwhile, are focused on Tujh Sang Preet Lagai Sajna, the show that’s replaced Kahaani on Star Plus. The new show is about two childhood friends, a zamindar and a farmer, whose jigri dosti turns sour - and how their grandchildren fall in love with one another. Sound suspiciously like Subhash Ghai’s Saudagar, starring Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar. Those who’ve watched the show insist the similarities don’t end there.
At least in the foreseeable future, the Indian television industry is in no danger of losing sleep over content. The next-gen blockbuster, with its roots in past Bollywood blockbusters, is already on its way.
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