Dont change yourself for anyone - Page 2

It is time TV soaps showed leading ladies not changing their maiden name. But what to do. Soaps which has a working heroine does not top the charts, this change will take its own sweet time.

Thanks. I do think TV needs a revolution like it's happening in Bollywood. Hindi cinema -- and regional cinema too -- is exploring bold, unconventional themes and getting a good response which means there is a sizeable audience for realistic shows.

Someone here criticised me for my comments but I do think Ekta Kapoor's married heroine has become the template for all shows to follow. Ekta came at a time when TV was ultra bold. The show Tara, for instance, had a heroine who smoked and drank. ( I don't necessarily advocate this but am not judgmental about it either) And EK took a 180 degree turn and brought in the saree-mangalsutra, bhashan-giving, ultra conservative Tulsi.

Tulsi's look in Kyunki ( I can't bear the long, dangling mangalsutra, it is so unaesthetic) became the default look for Hindi TV soap heroine. And since then we have had 100s of clones of Kyunki because that is seen as a guarantor of success.

A whole generation has grown up post-Tulsi that has not seen the really good shows that many of us saw on Doordarshan. Today's audience wants OTT drama non-stop and anything that is subtle gets the thumbs down. Worse, other producers have taken the formula and made it worse with bhoot, black magic and absurd twists and turns,

I admit that EK's couple chemistry is superb. No doubt about this. But why make the script so rubbishy? I was asked what is wrong with YHM. Plenty I'd think,

For a start who in real life can escape the noose -- there is only one court in our serials and everybody gets the death sentence. There is no such thing as an appeal and the higher court -- jump into a gorge and re-surface without a scratch? Who in real life can jump into gorge -- for the second or third time-- and find herself in Australia with a random family? How did the Female Lead get her travel documents? Where there no police verifications? If she did get her travel documents legally, she must have had to contact the Indian High Commission which would have automatically got in touch with her relatives in India. If she didn't do that, she has illegal papers -- which makes her liable to be charged with cheating and forgery.

In this age of tighter than tight security, the characters fly in and out of India without proper papers. The child mothered by the female lead is the exact copy of the child born to her husband and his ex-wife. How is that possible at all? Her step child, also in Australia, changes her gender and becomes a big star and travels around undetected.

I have no quarrels at all with the idealistic heroine who embodies goodness. But why not set her in more realistic situations? Why not tell the same story without a super-stylised, OTT narrative?

I like Swa because she is today's girl. She rides a scooter, is self-reliant, very intelligent -- a departure from good equal to dumb -- and yet is grounded and has strong values.

The MIL is manipulative but she is so natural in the way she dresses and talks without villainy gestures and gaudy get-up. She's independent, strong and has a full-time career. Meghna is a delight to watch and looks beautiful even without the usual embellishments.

I was so happy when Swa spoke of getting a stay order in Ahuja's case. Such things do not happen on our TV. It's straight death sentence or acquittal.

I like Swa staying with a Muslim family and her conservative parents accepting it. It's done matter-of-factly and not as a statement.I really love her relationship with her adopted brother.

If they had stuck to Swadheenta Ramakrishnan I would have been really, really happy. But I guess that's too much to ask for.

Thanks again for starting the topic. I didn't think I'd root for Appa but he 's really grown on me.

It has killed the society at various levels. You talk about YHM. I will talk about DABH. People will come to kill me if I say it is not Sandhya but Sooraj was the inspirational character of DABH. And there is so many things wrong in the way the IPS officer Sandhya Rathi is portrayed.

But as you said I like lawyer Swa. Her profession is given a dignity it deserves. I am happy I watching Dahleez.