Hindi TV Serial - Uttaran - Tapasya back, trying to make things right

The serial has had multiple time leaps so far; in the past there was a time leap of 10 years where both Tapasya and Ichcha got older, and had much more complications in their life. Ichcha was seen as the good and honest one, but inherently stupid (my view) while Tapasya was seen as the more selfish one, and in this selfish nature, she could go to any extent and do acts that are termed as evil. In all this, she was supported by Nani, who fed all her desires and made her more selfish and amoral. By the time of the next leap, Ichcha had murdered Avinash, who was threatening Veer at that time, and was sentenced to prison. In this duration, Veer, who had a memory loss, was re-married by his mother (who had a distaste for Ichcha) and who brought up Ichcha and Veer's son to be extremely selfish and arrogant.
In this next time, for a period of 18 years, Tapasya was away from the serial, as was Rathore. Further, Ichcha was out of prison at the end of this period, and the set of children were all adult now, Meethi, Mukta and Yuvraj. Things are a bit complex in their interactions, especially since Jogi Thakur is now poor, while Damini is now rich. There are more complications in this story, with Yuvraj finally being sent to prison on a rape charge, where testimony is being provided by his own mother Ichcha.
Meethi was against her own mother for quite some time, but now things are more reconciled. She is also in love with Vishnu, from their past, but things are not quite what they seem to be. Mukta, who has started believing in the goodness of Ichcha, sees that there is something suspicious about Vishnu, but is still to gather all the information that is necessary to change things. In between, is the story of Mukta and Tej Singh (another evil character), where Tej Singh wanted to marry Mukta, but Tapasya (entering the serial again) takes the place of Mukta and gets married to Tej Singh. She wants to reconcile Veer and Ichcha, something opposed by Gunwanti, who is feeding a medicine to Veer to ensure that he does not remember his past, but he has started remembering a few things, and in between remembered Veer fully.

Serial makers need to look before they ‘leap’

Leap, is a small word, but one that has become the favorite tool for serial makers, writers and producers. In fact in the world of Hindi serials, nothing works like a leap. It is the most followed trend in terms of story-track development that has provided a fresh lease of life for many a serial. As soon as the powers that be in channels and production houses realize that a particular show is falling of the charts of TRPs, they introduce ‘leaps’ to bring in fresh faces and fresh story ideas into the serial.

Of the current serials, shows like Kis Desh Mein Hai Mera Dil and Tujh Sang Preet Lagayi Sajana from Star Plus, Aap Ki Antara and Jhansi ki Rani from Zee Tv, Betyab Dil Ki Tamanna and Jeet Jayenge Hum from Sony, Uttaran and Swarg from Colors and Bandini from NDTV Imagine are some of the leading shows who have already undergone major leaps. For shows like Uttaran and Aap Ki Antara it had the main protagonists growing up age-wise. Take for example Aap Ki Antara, the story of an autistic child. Here the leaps have benefited the show tremendously. With the logical progression of Antara’s chronological age, the serial too has taken leaps into the future. Antara has grown from a four year old to a pre-teen in one such leap. This has helped to not only take the story forward but has also introduced new twists and turns. Now the same serial is poised for another leap as Antara will now become an adult.

However leaps also take place when the makers of a show feel that in its present state the particular serial has exhausted its level of drama and story tracks. It then becomes necessary to take a leap so as to introduce new elements, new characters, new plots and new characters/faces. Take the case of Bandini, NDTV Imagine’s show that has taken a leap. As soon as the makers found out that viewer interest was hitting a plateau and that the present level of dramatics had run its course, they decided to bring in a leap to infuse fresh blood into the show. The Dharamraj-Santu love story had already realized its pinnacle (marriage) and the Hiten-Toral-Khemi-Arjan four sided love story had become too tangled and muddled. So there was a leap and the element of separation was introduced to Dharamraj and Santu’s story; while Arjan was removed from the other one. Post a ten year leap Santu has returned to her home to find new equations and new realities.

How well a leap works depends on the logical justification behind it. However, channels and production houses need to be careful for a popular trend if used often can become repetitive, monotonous and lose its sharp edge. In short serial makers, ‘do look (into the scope of the story) before you leap’.