the Thinker

I do not how many of you (as I am not sure whether hindi serials are as popular in South as they are in the other parts of the country), watch the 'K' series. For those who do not know, 'K' series is a popular denotation for the Balaji brand of serials always starting with the letter ' K '.

I remember few years back when they launched a serial called ' Kyunki Saans bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, '(When translated -'Since the mother-in-law was also a daughter-in-law some time back' ), the entire nation, and mostly women (maximum housewives, dadimas etc) glued themselves to their T.V sets and watched eagerly.

I shall not conceal the fact that when the serial began I too was an avid watcher but over the time the serials lost their charm. Today I am fed up of an excessive 'K' dose and also the 'J' dose( ' Jassi jaisi Koi Nahin ' ). But I know people who still watch such serials religiously.

Somehow, even these serials are altogether a different breed from the serials like 'Bold and the Beautiful' or for that matter 'Santa Barabara,' which were launched by Star,when for the first time they came to India. I definitely do not mean that the english variety showcased by Star plus then, was very different from the hindi variety they are feeding their audiences now.But the cultural dose is definitely different - in the sense, you shall not find those extended rituals, colourful 'zardosis' etc. in the english variety.

However,in a way, all these serials somewhere, share the same platform. A ultra-rich family of businessmen, a scheming mother, a good-hearted father (or vice-versa), a handsome son (most of the times-the hero) with a heart of gold (surprisingly his mother's genes never gets into him!), a middle-class girl, who cakes up her face with make up (and looks good enough for the handsome guy to fall for her), a house full of aunts, uncles, cousins (too much of population expansion!Phew!).

Then came along a slightly different variety, a year back I guess- called 'Jassi Jaisi koi Nahin' (translation again - ' There is no one like Jassi ,').Heard the tale of 'The ugly duckling?' Well, Jassi is somewhat a similar story, which seemed refreshing at first but now it is as stale as possible (according to me, i.e.).

However I still keep wondering what fetches these serials viewers. Certain common and recurrent trends that could be noticed among most of these serials are catalogued below.Feel free to contradict if you guys do not agree:

1. Most of the serials ( ' K ' series and the like ) have the guiy from a rich family and the girl from a middle-class family.

2.Most of the times the Guy's mother is the villian, she rejects the girl as she wants her son to marry the girl whom she likes ( who later turns out to be the villian most of the times).

3.The heroine is most of the time "adarsh" ( cultured, rooted in values) and "sanskari" (rich in her principles), opposed to the vamp (mother's choice, aha!), who hates the guys' huge family, and wants him to break apart from it. Byways, some of our old hindi films are similar in this respect- I don't now whether you folks have heard of this movie- 'Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaye?' (Translation - 'The Perfect bride is the one whom the Guy likes'). Don't get scandalised I have simply heard about the movie and not seen it.

4.Suddenly in between the story goes off track - the guy might killed and the family mourns for a temporal period, immediately after that - plans for the heroine's remarriage begin.

5. Surprise! Surprise! Actually the hero never died, he comes back on public demand and claims his wife back. (Sometimes I wonder whether these are zombies or not!).

6.Incase, he comes back he would always be suffering from Amnesia -"main kaun hoon, kahan hoon," (Who am I, where am I), and stuff. The peculiar part is the frequency with which he loses his memory, one car accident, one blow on his head-that's enough! I remember I fell from the bed several times during my childhood, wish could have lost my memory at least once, then I could told my mother " I don't remember what is homework? What is it actually? "

7. Incase, the hero actually dies, which is a near impossibility, a duplicate is ready to enter the scene. Sometimes I wonder whether the Balaji tribe believes that duplicates are found in wholesale and retail markets, you can get one whenever you need one.This one also applies for the heroine.

8. Other aspects of the plot - one character will be having an inevitable affair, notwithstanding the fact that his wife is an epitome of virtue.

9.Atleast one rape is bound to happen in the household, as it is believed that the TRP's jump when such a thing happens.

10.Final move, when mothing moves forward in the serial - one common step - go 20 years in advance. The hero-heroine's children grow up and they have their own affairs and move forward in a similar pattern till the prducer decides that the serial should fast forward to another 20 years.

11.Ps- one common trend of Balaji serials, you shall always hear one or another song from Tusshar Kapoor's (Balaji head, Ekta Kapoor's brother), movie as a theme song in the background. Whether you like it or not, it shall unfailingly play.

12. And ofcourse, how could I forget the inevitable ' K ' with which every serial begins. Films too seem to be following the trend, especially Karan Johar and Rakesh Roshan's camp.

So that's the entire bandwagon- want respite- you have the remote. Next channel - Sony - "Today's highlights" - 'KKusum.'

Thanks REFLEX, for that compliment towards the end of your comment.But I guess by the time I decide to direct one, all the ideas (especially the ones I mentioned) would have been exhausted to their fullest.Yeah I remember Junoon, Ajnabi and what not. Also Swabhimaan.Rage of their times. I do not about the Tamil version but these serials were dubbed in Bengali, sounded hillarious.  

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hey hi!!!
i know...the serial craze is kinda in its peak even here, in s'pore! i got a friend who still regularly reads the updates of Kyunki.... she's so mad of it she's even told me the story and i could catch everything that you've said in the blog! and this jassi craze, omg, even yesterday she was telling me about how she doesn't like this huge make-over of jassi (she watches the serial online!)
and reflex, ya i remember that junoon thing, the title song esp. (pidivatham, pidivatham...)lol, and the names...keshav kalsi, adithya dhanraj, seema, vishal, vaishali...thankfully those were the only serials to watch then..now tho, we have such an amazing variety, and topping the list is metti oli!!!  

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I remember I fell from the bed several times during my childhood, wish could have lost my memory at least once, then I could told my mother " I don't remember what is homework? What is it actually? "

:)) Hey..this sure is funny.Made me giggle non-stop.lol
Nice post!:)  

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Hi Vani, how are you, welcome to my blog.As I told REFLEX, the serials most of the times start off well,but end up on a sorry note, remember the chewing gum that goes on and on. Or the cow that goes cudding.

HI Xena, You too-welcome to my blog. I am glad to know that you found parts of it funny. Thanks. But then if we sit to think it is actually true, isn't it? We never manage to lose our memory even before exams whereas these people lose it so often.  

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:) Nice post..enjoyed reading it. Am coming to your blog after a long time...(I am relaxed now..;))..I don't watch too many hindi mega serials but I hate them in Tamil. There is this whole series in the night from 7pm that gets on my nerves and the plots are more or less same down south too!! afterall, you can't be too different when you want to be really cunning and wicked!!These serials are heights of wickedness!!  

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Hi Anu, welcome after a very long time, byways I was planning to visit your site today as well. You are right, these serials start to bug after a certain point of time.  

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ha ha ha! funny one...but these serials have become a pain for me when at home.And i wonder how so many people can get crazy about some crappy stuff being shown... just one more example of the power of mass media!!!  

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I guess we blogged on the same topic around the same time. Thanks for visiting mine by the way.
You know my views on this..so I guess I wont take the space here.
Personally, I think the quality and theme of TV serials is so bad that even if someone paid me my currently monthly salary to watch them, I wouldnt. Its just that bad. And lotsa things gotta change before I get anywhere close to even considering them.  

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Hi sriram, mass media has several other avenues to offer. But it seems people only get attracted to such things.

Hi Last blogger, welcome to my blog, quite a coincidence that you wrote on the same topic, that just proves how much these serials (whichever language they are in) bug us all.  

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