The housewife who was addicted to these soaps, seems the hardest hit in a household now. Or so it seemed. Interesting revelations of mothers-in-law who controlled TV remotes getting nothing worth it to watch have emerged from the producers-workers-channels strike in Hindi tellyland.
I heaved a sigh of relief, but with some disinterest obviously, when I heard Kyunki...the aging pioneer of saas-bahu serials would be off air. Towards last weekend however, I asked around what happened in its final episode. No one around me had watched the last episode! Time was when the glorious Buniyaad, the classic story, ended on TV, and my family and relatives scampered to catch up with its last episode.
Kyunki...began on a domestic note, but went on to play God, killing its protagonist, bringing him back to life, introducing the filmy vamp who is not just an outsider plotting against families, but insider plotting against her kith and kin, making sure that the sound of lightning is not limited to rainy seasons in a year, but episode after episode, with every commercial break.
In TV serial industry jargon, weekly serials are known to be `shot like films' on `outdoor locations' where people move, while in daily serials, it's the camera that moves.
I did watch Kyunki...that despite being regressive, was tolerable for a couple of years. Over two years after that, I would catch up with an episode once in a while in spite of the storyline going haywire. The makers ran out of ideas soon. So Baa became a monument, while Tulsi and her lot would go through a generation leap with greyer hair, only to return to less grey hair after a chunk episodes with characters getting pulled off air, put back in, vamps and villians vanishing to return, with those dying sure to return from the dead some day, replacements done in a jiffy with an accident and plastic surgery...Uh...am sure God shows some patience when s/he makes look-alikes and plots.
Ekta Kapoor redefined the word regression with ample use of technology in the 21st century. She may be the czarina who brought a channel its TRPs. But to inspire women to return to kitchens and home politics rather than think progressive! One has to draw the line somewhere.
Serials like Baa, Bahu aur Baby and Sarabhai vs Sarabhai were only a welcome respite. This one, despite being a thrice a week soap, kept my family glued to TV over weekend dinners.
The arrival of Jasuben Jayantilal Joshi ki Joint Family among others in NDTV Imagine, only ushered in a change. Even they have started getting lethargic over the weeks. They are nothing compared to those gems of stories we had for serials - Nukkad, Buniyaad, Hum Log, Waghle ki duniya, Phir Wohi Talash, Mullah Nasruddin, Appu aur Pappu, Kile ka rahasya, Lifeline....wish those times came back!
So when I heard Tulsi would vanish from the screen and that Parvati had left long ago, I sent out a prayer...to please bring in something good for that slot. Kyunki's end was pathetic, bordering on bizzare.
So what am I doing now?
I have more time on hand than ever before. More time to read. More time to catch up with news (on TV and online), and lifestyle channels I watched occasionally before. Am glad I can even go down into the courtyard of my building, to meet neighbours. Even neighbours seem to sleep early, eat early and cook early.
As for men, I am sure they are back at getting more control over remotes, like they did during IPL's last season and do it every cricket match day. My heart goes out to women who have to give in to cricket these days.
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