New TV serials

Two refreshingly different shows on Indian TV that claim to break the mould. Is that really so?

No decent serial to watch on TV? All look the same? We zoom in on two shows which set out to be different... but are they really?
Consider this: Saas-bahu conflict. Scheming vamps. Suffering heroine. That's what we saw on our TV sets for many years, from 2000 onwards. (Does anyone remember Star Plus' Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi or Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki? Or have the serials been forgotten ­ deservedly ­ like bad dreams?)Now consider this: Village settings. `Burning' social issues such as female foeticide. General gloom and doom. That's what we've been seeing on our TV sets for the past three years, ever since Balika Vadhu (Colors) became a runaway hit.
And finally consider this: Our very short letter to Hindi TV channels. Dear Star Plus, Sony, Colors etc. Can we please see something different? Thank you.
Yours sadly, viewers. TO BE FAIR, when it comes to serials and soaps, it isn't as if there's nothing else on TV. There are a few crime shows on Sony which get good ratings.
There are a few other serials (such as Saas Bina Sasural ­ doesn't the name say it all?) which are different and which do decently in terms of popularity.
But in the world of Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs), where nothing matters except ratings, to be different is akin to tempting fate. A `different' serial will usually not hit the really high spots in the ratings chart.
Or so many nervous channel executives believe.
Audiences seem fixated on regressive, traditional (as in resistant to change), clichéd serials, they claim. Case in point: at the time of going to press, the country's No. 1 show is the singularly depressing Sathiya Saath Nibhana (Star Plus) about a simple bahu having a really hard time in her sasural, which is peopled by at least two very scary women and one very uncaring husband.
But two recent serials which appear to be bucking the trend are Bade Achche Lagte Hain (Sony) and Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon (Star Plus). Of the two, Bade Achche... is the real bona fide hit. Already the No. 1 fiction show on Sony, it's racing up the TRP charts across channels. The success of Iss Pyaar Ko... is more modest though by no means unremarkable; currently it is the fourth most-watched serial on Star Plus.
Both shows are supposed to be primarily love stories with the family as a side show instead of being family sagas with a bit of love on the side. Moreover, the MATURE LOVE WHAT THE SHOW IS ABOUT Bade Achche Lagte Hain launched on Sony May-end this year and has become a certified hit. It's the story of a 30-plus middle class working girl called Priya (she takes coaching classes; come on, everyone can't be a rocket scientist, can they?) who falls in love with a 40-plus rich businessman, Ram, after an arranged marriage with him.
WHAT WORKS The fact that the heroine works and wears kurtis and jeans and doesn't look like a walking-talking jewellerycum-wedding-saree store. That the male lead is fat and everyone (including our heroine) makes fun of his portly frame. Says Ram Kapoor who plays, well, Ram, “I told the scriptwriters not to be subtle about my weight but to go ahead full steam. That kind of realism is very attractive to male members of the audience.“ The idea of two relative strangers finding love after an arranged marriage is equally real, he adds. On her part, Sakshi Tanwar, who plays Priya, found the idea of mature love very attractive.
The initial clashes between the two also made for lively viewing.
WHAT DOESN'T Ram and Priya just got married in a ceremony that seemed to last several centuries. So many tears were shed, they could have irrigated an entire farm. Also, doesn't the mother-in-law look like she's going to turn into a scheming saas? Can the serial's pace quicken a little please? And can the focus stay on the lead pair? LOVE AAJ KAL NAVYA The serial on Star Plus is a love story of two young people from traditional families and how they move ahead with their relationship while maintaining their values. DIYA AUR BATI HUM A new offering on Star Plus, about a man of modest education who helps his wife to fulfil her dreams of becoming a civil servant (while braving much ridicule). KUCH TO LOG KAHENGE Soon to be seen on Sony, it is a love story between two doctors. The rumour goes that it's a bit like the old Pakistani serial, Dhoop Kinare, which became very popular GEET HUI SABSE PARAYI This serial on Star One is about a young girl's arranged marriage to an NRI which turns out to be a farce. She runs away to save herself and also to finally find true love.