Hindi TV Serial - Phir Subah Hogi - A girl trying to break free from a repressive tradition

For the past few years now, there have been some shows coming up on television that are breaking the traditional saas-bahu or reality series model on TV and highlighting some of the problems that are there in the country. For example, Balika Vadhu, even with all the dramatics still portrayed the problem of child marriage and other ills that are present in our society and also show from time to time, some actions that can break these customs.
Phir Subah Hogi is another such serial that showcases the problematic customs of some regions, such as in the Bundelkhand region of central India, where the original dance form of 'Raai dance' was meant to be for the gods, but over a period of time and due to the acute poverty, this got converted into a tradition meant for the rich people and then into the flesh trade, where a rich guy could do a custom called 'Sardhakai', meant to showcase the entry of the girl into the trade under the control of a rich thakur. It has been accepted for many many years now, but there are girls from time to time who want to break free and lead a normal life, have a normal marriage rather than be doing this trade.
So, Sugni (played by Gulki Joshi), is more educated than others from her community and cannot stand this custom. She is struggling against the customs, and is also attracted to the Thakur Vikram Singh (Varun Badola) who supports her and her family on many occasions, and then expresses his love for her. It is more difficult for her to express her love, but she does so, and now they have to face the expressions of many others in the community. Further, as per the show, eventually the Thakur Vikram Singh will turn negative, and will cause her more problems.

Hindi TV Serial - Na Aana Is Des Ladoo - The elections are near, and Sia is also expecting a baby

The scene is cast in Na Aana Is Des Ladoo. After a long period where it seemed that Sia had given up the fight, she is back in the bitter fight against Ammaji and is standing up against her in the local elections. Something that is troubling Ammaji to a large extent, since she believes that the women of the village would vote for Sia and make things difficult for her.
Raghav is providing full support to Sia in this, and standing up to his mother, something for which she blames Sia, believing that Sia has taken her son away from her. Further, Raghav was a strong person she had, and so this is causing her more problems. Attempts were made to get Raghav away from the campaign, including by attacking him and causing injuries that would prevent him for supporting Sia. However, all this does not deter Raghav and he decides to continue to stand by the side of Sia, including when aspersions were cast on her.
Sia is trying to empower the women of the village, so that they can fight the injustices being done on them, and some of this message is starting to get through to the women, in a couple of cases, women are shown as standing up to their husbands.
Further, the police presence in the village is troubling Ammaji, since the police is preventing injustice being done, and preventing people such as Joginder from causing problems and doing vote fraud. However, Ammaji has one last card up her sleeve. She goes out and claims that she would want people to vote for Sia, especially since Sia is expecting Raghav's child, and she hopes that his action will make sure that all the menfolk will vote for Ammaji, and make them also prevent their wives from going out to vote.

Hindi TV Serial - Bandini on Imagine TV - Sarang trying to get close to Monghi, and DM hiding a secret from Santu

Bandini is a popular serial on Imagine TV, but is slowly starting to meander with new stories getting created now in order to keep the serial ongoing. So it is starting to happen with Bandini. DM knows the truth about Santu, and about the fact that she did not kill Arjan. And then there are events that seem a bit stretched.
So, Sarang is shown as a money hunter, whom Birwa had known in college but had left when she found out that he was after her money. However, later he comes after her, and then pursues Monghi when he finds out that Birwa will do anything to prevent Sarang from spoiling Monghi's life. Birwa is however careful, she has transferred all her belongings to Monghi before the marriage so that Sarang cannot get hold of all her valuables and belongings after the marriage. She tells this to Sarang with some relish, and he of course is shocked to know this; but the result of this is he starts to pursue Monghi again, and she seems to be falling under his spell even though he has shaken her confidence once. However, all Birwa needs to do is to tell DM about the truth, and DM will do whatever it takes to stop Sarang, but she does not do that.
On the other hand, another story is happening with regard to some secret that DM knows. This is related to a Dr. Megha who comes to their house to treat Nandini, and then it turns out that DM was avoiding her since DM apparently shares some secret with her in the past, and does not want Santu to find out what the secret is. But like any other secret, this secret will also be sure to be revealed soon.

Hindi TV Serial - Desi Girl - A new reality show on Imagine TV, getting city girls to live in villages

The majority of India lives in its villages, and the life in villages is very different from that of its towns and cities. There are more activities related to agriculture, farming, animal care, getting water, etc than are present in cities (in fact, some of these activities are not even there in the cities). It is often said that true life in India is like that in the villages, and so you why not come up with a concept where you take city girls, unused to life in the villages, and make them do stuff in the villages and spin a reality show around it. So, you will have activities related to milking cows, dealing with the yuckiness of cow dung (including making cakes from this cow dung), cooking food in the traditional style (without the comfort of modern cooking styles).
So you take 8 glamorous girls from the modern city life (the girls being Sambhavna Seth, Kashmera Shah, Roshni Chopra, Monica Bedi, Anmol Singh, Rucha Gujarati, Ishitta Arun and Aushima Sawhney), and transplant them with rural families. The test - they have to show through numerous tasks that they are suitable for living in the 'real' India.
And then they go through numerous tasks, with a process of elimination removing them from the reality show one by one. Some of the other tasks that they would need to do are: bathing the cows and buffaloes, eating the oily food, washing clothes. In between, you can see that they are not used to doing tasks such as these and complain, but this is the format of the show and they have to do this. And like any other reality show, they all want to win and reach the end.

A sample video from the serial 'Desi girls' on Imagine TV:



Link to more videos on Youtube (link)

Hindi TV Serial - Zara Nachke Dikha - Another reality show on dance, on Star Plus

There are a number of dance shows that are currently ongoing, all in the form of reality shows. This is a show on Star Plus, with a large number of contestants drawn from television. The show was launched last year, and this is the second season of the show. The show started on the 1st of May, 2010, and appears on weekends, at 9 PM on Saturday and Sunday. The teams are split into teams of men and women, also called 'The Battle of the Sexes' (with the names of the boys team being Mast Kalandar boys, and the girls getting called as the Massakali girls). As would be quite obvious, the boys and girls compete with each other in terms of dancing, and these could be individual dances or group dances. These performances are then evaluated by the judges over the 5 separate rounds that happen over the weekend, and then the team with the highest scores gets to select a member of the opposite team for elimination - and if they impress the judges, they can save themselves from elimination.

The judges for the show are:
Shilpa Shetty Kundra
Arshad Warsi
Vaibhavi Merchant

The contestants are:
Masakallis (Girls Team)
Aditi Gupta [who was Eliminated in the show held on June 5, 2010)
Mukti Mohan
Rakhi Sawant (with all her drama being in full form)
Hazel Crowney
Rashmi Desai
Kritika Kamra
Sangeeta Ghosh ( Captain)
Sanjeeda Sheikh
Sparsh Khanchandani (Kid)

Mastkalandars (Boys Team)
Aamir Ali (Captain)
Abhishek Avasthi
Raj/Akkshat Saluja
Kapil Nirmal
Karan Kundra
Angad Hasija
Siddhesh Pai
Sushant Singh Rajput
Ayush Mahesh Khedekar (the Kid)

Hindi TV Serial - Na Aana Iss Des Ladoo - Has Ammaji really got transformed after learning that Amba is her own daughter

Is there really a transformatation in Ammaji after she got to learn that Amba is her own daughter ? It is hard to believe that somebody as strong willed as Ammaji will not have the capacity to withstand shocks, but it would seem that the makers of the serial are trying to show that maybe she can also change over a period of time. In this case, Ammaji spent a lot of time tracking down who Amba is, what are her origins, and finally tracked down the Daima of Amba, somebody known to her. This was the same Daima to whom Ammaji had handed over Amba soon after she was born; and this was the same Daima who told Amba later about how Ammaji was her real mother and had handed her over after she was born; thus causing a huge amount of hatred to be formed in Amba against Ammaji.
Now, Ammaji has got to know about Amba, and this is causing a huge amount of emotional turmoil in her; she now understands why Amba hates her; but is there a real change of heart ? That one cannot be sure, and it is doubtful whether anyone knows. The makers of the serial can change the situation anytime, say for example, a couple of weeks later, they can show that this transformation was fake and was meant to find out all those in the household who were supportive of Amba.
For now, Ammaji is trying to be supportive of Amba to some degree, so that when Jogi comes to say something that is against Amba, Ammaji scolds him and sends him away, she tries to act more supportive of Amba; and also comes into view Amba when Amba is sleeping, with the makers of the serial showing her giving a tender look. However, by now Amba refuses to believe that Ammaji can transform in any way; and has sworn to teach the oppressed women of the household how to speak up for themselves and protect their rights; starting with Sia.

Hindi TV Serial - Behnein on Star Plus - the fight of 4 sisters against many odds

As usual, for any serial, there has to be drama, there has to be intrigue, there has to be relatives plotting to steal money and property, and there has to be tension between a daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, with the husband getting stuck in between.
In the case of this serial, it is a serial that takes the life of 4 sisters, whose parents died in a fire caused by a short circuit. However, this fire would not have taken their lives, except for the case of the aunt of the girls, their father's sister, who hid the key to the room in which the parents were. The sister, Nimma Fai, had decided that the fire should let the parents die, and so it happened when the parents die. Now she wants the sisters to get married off so that she can take the property for herself.
The sisters are basically straight, but it is not necessary that all of them are fully strong, as the second eldest sister Smriti is weak in the head, and this gets further enhanced when her mother-in-law hides the medication she needs. Smriti has given birth to a baby Prem, but when it seems that her mental health could cause problems, her mother-in-law Kamini forces her to go to a mental health institution; at this, eventually the husband, Mihir would be marrying another girl Mansi to give care to Prem. However, Mansi is after his wealth, and to prevent this, Smriti's elder sister (Purvi) married Mihir (one wonders how she could get married since Smriti's marriage was not dissolved) to the shock of Amar, with whom Purvi was supposed to be married to.

Hindi Serial - Bidaai - Alekh gets to know the truth about Sadhana and leaves his mother

Things finally seem to be looking up for Alekh and Sadhana. Vasu had tried her best to ensure that Sadhana was out of the life of Alekh, by giving her Rs. 5 lakh to sign the divorce papers for her divorce from Alekh, along with the condition that Sadhana would not talk about this to anyone. And since Sadhana then refused to tell Alekh about this, Alekh in turn was angry with Sadhana, angry enough that he was ready to get divorced and marry Mallika (who Vasu wanted to get married to Alekh). In the midst of all this, Ragini got the shock of her life when she got to hear of everything that Sadhana had done, and she went ahead and told her own family all about this. And so there was a plan made to get Vasu to reveal all this to Alekh so that he would finally believe that Sadhana was the correct one, and that Vasu was the one who was driving everything.
So, in the engagement party of Alekh and Mallika, before the actual engagement could happen, Sadhana's mamiji, who had resolved to do everything to ensure that Sadhana and Alekh get back together, goes to the party, and after first starting off things on a very polite and friendly note, confronts Vasu about her role in the divorce. Finally, they are able to provoke Vasu to the extent that she reveals all about her role in ensuring that Sadhana was forced to sign the divorce papers. When Alekh hears this, he is upset, and wants to go and get his wife, Sadhana back (he was always in love with her, but was angry about why she was willing to divorce him, and not tell him the actual reasons). Vasu states that she will not let Sadhana get back into the house, at which Alekh says that he will not let anything come between him and Sadhana. Finally Sadhana seems to be heading for happiness.

Jyoti on NDTV Imagine - finally standing tall and refusing to bend down any more

For some time now, the show called Jyoti has been showing Jyoti as bending in front of different pressures, although she stands up for what she believes is right (so she stands up for her sister Sushma against Sushma's husband Brij, even though Brij has been ill-treating Sushma). She takes a lot of pressure in her inlaws family for this, especially for the Choti Ma (called CM) of the household, who believes that Jyoti has been neglecting her husband (who is visually handicapped). Things reach a point of no turn when Brij convinces Jyoti's husband that Jyoti had been seeing Brij on the sly, and he should not depend on Jyoti. This is enough to convince all that the relationship with Jyoti needs to be ended, even though Jyoti is now pregnant.
For some time more, Jyoti takes all this with pain, not really fighting back; but now they are showing her to be fighting back much more vehemently - she for example stands up for her rights at the time of the marriage of her brother even though CM, who is going to be at the wedding, asks Jyoti not to come. She replies back strongly to CM, tells her that she is not going to take any more shit from her, and even gets the support of Uday (who is from her inlaws family, and is also her brother-in-law (sister's husband)).
And then when the time comes for her to sign the divorce papers, she refuses since she states that she will now only support the truth, and the truth is that the divorce affidavit has a wrong statement, and she will not support that wrong statement.

Behnein, Star Plus’s new evening show - 4 daughters

Behnein, Star Plus’s new evening show began with a lot of pomp and grandeur. The occasion for all the celebrations is the Sangeet ceremony of the eldest daughter of X family, Purva (Alisha Khan). We are introduced one by one to the four daughters of the house-Purva, Smriti, Akashi and Anokhi. Their parents Sevantilal and Y shown to be extremely loving parents who look upon their daughters not as burdens but as treasures that they have nurtured with a lot of care and thought. The heartening aspect of this family was the bonding that was depicted between parents and kids. It came across as very real and warm.

Each daughter is shown to be unique in a particular way and this adds to the drama of the show. Purva the eldest child is shown to be very loving and respectful. She is excited at the prospect of getting married to her best friend Amar. She is a cleanliness freak and is forever trying to reduce the clutter around her. The most important thing in her life is a silver pendant gifted by her parents and she always kisses it before anything important because to her the locket stands for their love and blessings. Smriti the middle child is a complete contrast to all her sisters. She is nervous, lack confidence and has a weak physical and immunological constitution. Her husband Mihir is totally devoted to her but her mothe-in-law and sister-in-law hold her in contempt.

The second youngest daughter is Akashi (Adaa Khan) and is the most beautiful among all siblings. She has tremendous love and respect for all her siblings and is not scared to speak her mind. Anokhi (Ojaswi Oberoi) is the youngest child. Vibrant and fun loving, she is passionate about dancing. She shares a great rapport with Amar and also learns dance from him. Apart from the siblings, the other important character of the Shastri household is Neema Fai (Ketaki Dave), elder sister to Sevantilal. Sevantilal respects her immensely but is unaware of her real side. Besides being vindictive, she is also very authoritative and has the last word about any decision. The four sister are immensely scared of her.

The Sangeet ceremony beings on a happy note but ends disastrously as Purva’s parents die in a fire. Shattered and heart broken, the sisters get their first dose of reality when Neema Fai forbids them from performing the last rites of their parents. The siblings however chose to assert themselves and perform the last rites. This angers Neema Fai who tells them not to go against her commands any more as she now controls the property. Now it will be up to the siblings to face the trials and tribulations that will face them successfully and hold on to their bond of sisterly love.

A tale of two serials that talk about the plight of women in our society!

The very real portrayal of the status women of women in small town and rural India is a heartening aspect of prime time Hindi serials. Two shows, one quite well established and the other relatively new, springs to mind. The first one is without a doubt Na Ana Is Des Mere Lado that airs on Colors. Ever since it began its telecast, this serial has touched many new highs in terms of story and concepts. Its portrayal of the many female characters that lend the show its distinct flavour is commendable. The drama that unfolds in the lives of Ammaji, Sia, Jhumar, Santosh and others is totally believable.

Ammaji is of course the antagonist who in her effort to remain the sole power of her family and her town, assumes a very ‘male’ persona, not just in her attitude but also in her gait and mannerisms. Her bete noire and the show’s main lead, Sia, is her exact opposite-as virtuous as Ammajis is evil, as right and good as Ammaji is wrong and bad. Sia is the conscience of the show who is on a mission to change Ammaji and her evil army. Her trials and tribulations are very real. Thus she continues to love her husband who cheated her in the worst possible manner and now stands by as a mute statue while he marries another. Then there is Santosh, married to Ammaji’s elder son Joginder who is impotent but the blame of childlessness lies on Santosh and she accepts it silently. On the one occasion when she seeks reassurance and love from her husband, but all she gets in return is a strong push. The violence, the prejudice and bias, the culturally limited role and prestige that is such a big part of most Indian woman’s life is portrayed brilliantly through this serial.

The second show is Star Plus’ new show Pratigya. Here too the male protagonist Krishna struts around terrorising the heroine Pratigya all in the name of love. He is obsessively in love with Pratigya and has deluded himself into believing that she too loves him back. The fact that men often either misunderstand or chose to ignore the resounding “No” coming at them from the opposite sex is intelligently brought forward. For Krishna it is enough that he loves her and Pratigya has no choice but to love him back in his mind. He beats up her fiancé and manhandles anyone who tries to intervene between him and the love of his life.

Krishna’s psyche and attitude towards life and women can be easily understood once we become acquainted with his family members. The women of his house are completely subservient to the male members to the extent that Krishna’s mother considers it normal to be physically abused by his father. The tyranny of the male gender and the social bias against women that exist in our society till date is sensitively and sensibly portrayed in this serial.

Ek Veer Stree Ki Kahani…Jhansi Ki Rani - on Zee TV

Historicals are very difficult to pull through given the fact that the audience already has a definite opinion of the story one is about to narrate. It is almost next to impossible to carry out an interpretation that will closely fit into the collective imagination of the person or the period. Ek Veer Stree Ki Kahani…Jhansi Ki Rani, is Zee TV’s attempt to capture the essence of a woman who is revered and much adored till date in India. Indeed Laxmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi is for many India’s Joan of Arc-the brave lady who fought the oppressive British rule and took part in our very first Freedom movement.

It must be said that the channel, the producers of the show and the different creative heads by deciding on this particular historical figure took on a huge risk. The charisma of Jhani ki Rani is such that she is known through the length and breadth of the country. To capture the essence of such a dynamic and much loved character required a tremendous amount of guts and skill. To the credit of the entire team of the show, they have pulled it off. In fact it can even be said that their interpretation of Laxmi Bai has helped to strengthen the aura around her. The makers of the show have put more focus on characterisation than on the setting or on costumes. They have tried to delve into the psyche of this young girl/woman who rose above her ordained position to carve out a name for herself in history.

The makers of the show are keen to capture the entire social and political milieu of the story that helped to give a Laxmi Bai a distinct personality and they are doing so superbly. The attention to detail is evident in the characterisation of the principal cast. Thus be it the child yet rebellious Manu (Laxmi Bai was born Manikarnika, nicknamed Manu) or the young girl of twelve, queen of Jhansi Manu; there is a distinct persona that comes across. Manu was born in Bithur where her father worked in the court of Peshwa Baji Rao II. She grew up with the young Nana Sahev who was her friend and taught her to ride horses and sword fight. She then moves to Jhansi at the age of thirteen to the court of Maharaja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar. Her idyllic childhood comes to an end with this important transition as she finds herself surrounded by court intrigues and politics as the Rani of Jhani.

The handling of the various schemes underway to render Gangadhar Rao ineffective by his own clan and the British rulers is very interesting to watch. Luckily, the treatment of the court politicking and intrigues has not been reduced to shams and melodrama-filled sequences. As a young bride, we can fully empathise with Manu who is on the one hand trying to cope with a much older husband and on the other hand keep at bay the gorgeous courtesan Moti Bai. As her timely intervention once again saves her husband, it places her in a path of confrontation with Moti Bai. Who will win ?

In Hindi serials content is king, or should we say queen!

The emergence of woman as the centre of narration is perhaps the most heartening aspect of Primetime Hindi Television Serials. And with the passage of time women characters are being etched in their true colours. The striking aspect of all these stories is the fact that they are superb pieces of story-telling. Content is truly king (or should we say queen) in Indian Television. The many unknown (and some known writers) who with their gift of imagination and their powerful pens are able to not only transport us daily into the lives of a ‘Akshara’ or a “Lali” but make them an extension of our ‘real’ world. With the same stroke of pen they have the power to make us fall in love with one character while making us hate another.

In this context I find the situation of Bindiya (Bhagyavidhata, Colors) and Tapasya ( Uttaran, Colors) strikingly similar. In both cases they are married to unwilling partners. While the background to the two marriages are very different (while Bindiya’s husband married her at gunpoint, Tapasya got married to her husband holding the knife over her best-friend’s head), the treatment received by both are almost same. Both husbands are willing to go to any lengths to get rid of their respective wives. While Bindiya’s husband is reluctant to even share the same room with her and expects her to stay in the cowshed; Tapasya’s husband Veer misses no opportunity to shower her with cruel hard words. The lack of respect shown to these two women by the two most important men in their respective lives is at times downright shameful.

But herein we get to experience the mastery of the writers. In Bindiya’s case, she has the viewer’s sympathy and we are all rooting for her; praying for her moronic husband to develop some sense that will help him see her for the wonderful person she is. But in Tapasya’s case the exact opposite sentiment is extracted from the viewers. For the viewer she is evil personified, where no punishment is big enough for her; egging Veer to dump her and return to his true love, Ichchya. We say “bravo” every time she is put in her place. But do we ever stop and consider that at the end of the day these two apparently different characters are standing at the same cross road of their lives. Married to uncaring and unloving husbands, their future is full of uncertainties. But such is the mastery of writing that we are unable to stand back dispassionately and see things as they are. It is the writing that makes Bindiya a ‘heroine’ and Tapasya the ‘anti-heroine’. So here’s to the coming of age of Hindi Serial writing and may they spin a million such wonderful stories of women-flawed, imperfect, ordinary and yet so real, so you and me.