Our Serials--Lets Introspect !

After 58 years of being a Republic Nation, where has India reached and what are the areas where we need to work to achieve the glory of past??. They say media is a great way to bring awareness in people as it has the power to reach millions and bring about a new change in the society. TV often is termed as medium of women for they show women in a sorry state most often.

Let’s see whether our serials are aware of the fact that they are influencing people and their thought process. As a nation we are striving hard for self reliance and self sufficiency, education for all, equality among its citizens, free of all apartheid and respect for women. So how much have we achieved it and how much is left is for us to ponder upon after we got our Independence?

Lets see all areas of concern and their depiction by makers of small screen...

1.Self reliance/sufficient: Are we free from external control and constraint and are our shows are showing this or giving us hope in this regard? The answer is a simple NO! There are very less number of shows where women can take decisions on their own and in most of them if they can, then we know them by the name of Vamps! On the other hand, we have shows as Balika Vadhu, which talks about child marriage but it showing it at the same time and may be glamorizing  it! Or the latest offering Bandini or Yeh Rishta.. where a girl  can't even talk to a boy!2.Education: Education is our fundamental right and every citizen of has the right to  be educated. Government is trying hard to achieve its goal by "Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan" and Teach movement. But have we achieved what we targeted, NO again, as our shows are more indulgent towards love, marriages and child marriages, dealing with plastic surgeries and most recently with Ghosts and black magic ! Many shows have taken up this trend and now the new show Shree on Zee is all about a Ghost and how it is behind a girl! They have never given studies and education a priority. They say Media is a face of society, so is this our society and if it is, then can't we change or influence people and their thinking ? If pen is termed as mightier than a sword, so TV should be mightier than all!3.Equality: Still a dream. Very often the rich treat the middle class as inferior, middle class treats the poor class as inferior, one group treats the other as inferior, and it goes down to even the poorest lot. Instead of ridiculing such practices, our serials in a way are encouraging such things and trying to tap the emotions to get the TRP’s. Uttaran a new show is showing a girl Iccha fighting for this only, she wants to get her destiny tattooed on her hand, as she fails to achieve it in real. The girl is helpless in the world of so called elders and educated people, so she takes her own route. Bandini again is against this very human rights as well, so as most of the shows.4.Color and Caste: We judge people by their qualities and not by their skin color - this is taught to us since childhood. But is it  true ? In real with heavy heart again the answer is No, if we go by what our serials are showing these days. Take the example of Saath-Phere and Bidaai one of the most successful shows of recent times and you know what not the protagonist has gone through here, to get married in both the shows. Caste is another area of concern and we all know how Viraj in the show Jeevan Sathi, is facing the troubles,  thanks to her own father. So here as well serials are not helping society in any way!5.Women liberation: Women are badly hit in all the areas mentioned above, and they are at receiving end of all. So talking of Women liberation looks like a distant dream, but even if you dare then it will be taken as “Women should hate Men”. In our shows if you are a working woman with ambitions and goals, then either you are an antagonist or your husband will have an extra-martial affair. This is what the show Grihasthi is all about while in Banon Main Teri Dulhann, Sindoora is after the property of her brother and she is also a business woman. Is anything left to be said?

So let’s introspect on this Republic day!