Hey guys,
This is the letter I wrote last night with help from shahni4, aperture, rooj-i and all your collective thoughts from the petition thread.
Feel free to use it...and also leave behind/ send me comments or suggestions...
If I make changes I will version them...
Also if you have written letters please add them to this post...I will try to collect them in the beginning of the post...
If you have email addresses give them to me so that I can post them here too...
Rivs
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Letter #1 - Rivs/AP/Nina/Rooj (Version #1)
Dear Zee,
Your latest tag line is Jiyo Zee Bhar Ke which I absolutely like, but I am wondering if you realize that the reason that a lot of people are attached to Zee is soon going to die.
I refer to my favorite show Kasamh Se (KS). It has been recently heard that a new track is going to be introduced here to attract back the viewers that were lost since the drama (that I refuse to repeat) that happened on October 3rd of 2006. I just want to bring it to your attention that this new track will do nothing but lose the remaining of the audience you have. I have my reasons to believe this and I would like to share them with you below.
I belong to an online community of KS fanatics and the reasons below are our collective views of why this move will be bad for Zee.
- Jai and Bani: For us KS equals Jai and Bani (JB) and JB equals KS. The minute this equation is changed it would mean the end of this show for us. Most of us were initially attracted to this story since it told a very mature love story of two souls who due to circumstances were trapped in a loveless marriage. Their character strengths, however, were seen by the other and eventually appreciated. This started one of the best told/ depicted love stories on Indian screens. The respect they had for each other, culminated into love, which is so pure that they are willing to sacrifice their every happiness for the sake of the other. On March 22nd 2007 this love story reached its zenith when the main protagonists declared their love for each other and renewed their marriage. Between now and when they got married exactly a year ago a lot of things changed in their relationship, there were many ups and downs (and bloopers and half baked experimentations), yet their love triumphed. Now at this point, if there is even an indication that their love will put through more test in terms of separation, we do not think that we would appreciate that and for most of us this would mean the death of our belief in true love and soul mates.
We strongly believe that this is that best pair ever in the history of the Indian Television. The actors who play Jai Walia and Bani Dixit have also been felicitated in numerous award shows for their depiction of these characters. This just goes to prove our point that the audiences love this pair. The life that Ram Kapoor and Prachi Desai infuse in to these characters is commendable. The onscreen chemistry shared by these artists can be paralleled by none. Even in the scenes shown so far, we have failed to notice any chemistry between Jai and Pia (initially when they were engaged) or between Bani and Pushkar (when they were friends) or even Bani and Tarun (who are now rumored to be paired).
Seeing either of the leads with another (experimented in the past) has caused an audience uproar and a direct effect on the TRP (discussed below in point 3). There are rumors now of separating this pair and that too pairing Bani's character with her current husband's best friend is not going to go well with the audience. We request you to look into this and reconsider this decision as this will definitely not be in Zee's or our (audience's) interest.
- Audience Demographics: One of the biggest achievements for KS and Zee has been the wide range of audience that this show has garnered. This serial is just as popular amongst school and college going students as it is with middle aged housewives. Our online forum has representation from all over the world, all age groups and also male audiences of various age groups. The most common reason that this serial has attracted so much audience appreciation is the way the main characters were written, portrayed and played. It is not uncommon to hear girls gushing that they want to marry a Jai Walia, or young boys aspiring to be like Jai Walia. I personally know of women, who secretly and sometimes openly, yearn for their hubbies to turn into Jai Walia and men who wish that their wives loved them and their families like Bani Walia does. The fact that despite a huge family and married couples, the story stuck to the its modern treatment and not falling into the trap of the run of the mill Saas- Bahu soap has kept the audiences hooked on to this show.
- TRP and Twists: When KS first started it topped TRP charts for a long period of time. In fact, it was the first Zee serial to achieve this in a long time and due to certain twists that were experimental (we cannot believe that they were well thought decisions) the TRPs have dropped. It is our understanding that twists are introduced to better the TRP's but with KS we have always seen a dip as an after math. And in order to make things better, half baked storylines have been introduced to bring back the audience. If you look at the recent TRP graph of KS, you will notice that every time there was a good scene with JB in it (despite the presence of body doubles), the TRPs have improved. But with any indication of a separation, audiences have lost interest.
We understand the importance of TRP and its effects on how the story changes. In the past the TRP's fell whenever they were being separated. The divorce fiasco happened and then the ONR (one night Rape because that's what it was).The show which once used to be in the top 5 and brought Zee into the TRP map is now no where to be found. What does this indicate? Audiences are not happy with the treatment rendered to the show period.
- Relationship Presentation: Something that has been a direct result of certain experimentation and twists is the way some of the most sacred relation ships have been handled in this show. This causes nothing less that disgust and distaste amongst the audiences. There are some examples below to indicate our point. we cannot reiterate how many times we cringe when sacred relations are maligned in this serial
- Sisters - Which sister in her right mind would drug and rape her Brother In Law let alone seduce him while he is still married to her own elder sister.
- Mother/ Child - The shradh of Jai Walia, the betrayal of Bani by Pia, need we say more???
- Husband/ Wife – Rashi getting her husband married while she is still alive and that two when the two people involved in this marriage were not even willing to marry. The abusive relationship Rano and Sahil shared for some time. The on again/ off again marriage between Jigyasa and Aditya and now JB. Father/ Son – The endearing relationship that Jai Walia and Pushkar shared in the beginning of the serial was lost somewhere in the middle due to all the fun twists that get added due to spur of the moment decisions.
We understand that KS is not the only serial that has made these mistakes, but what we fail to understand is the lack of attempt to fix them when the mistake is realized. At one point Rano/Sahil were on the verge of a divorce, how did the love suddenly reappear? How come no one thought it appropriate to say sorry to Jai when it was revealed that the ONS was a result of drugging? It may be easy for the people who write the stories to forget these details, but the audience does not.
We have witnessed other Zee serials work out these issues in a reasonable manner.
- Facts are jokes: One last thing that also applies to other serials is the way certain facts are portrayed. It bothers us to see a 3 month old premature baby delivered and surviving just a full term baby. We understand creative liberties, but shouldn't there be a limit to such creative liberties? It also constantly bothers us that the information shared in the serial is never researched. A diabetic man is guzzling down alcohol like no man's business. Bigamy is treated like it's the trend of the day. And where in the world can a wife sign over legitimacy to an unborn illegitimate child???
The point of this letter is to express our love and concern for a serial that we have come to love and appreciate. We cannot seem to be able to let go of this and we definitely do not want to give up on it now.
And in this effort to bring back KS to its initial glory, we the citizens of this forum are willing to pitch in as much as you want. We happen to have some very creative writers who have written amazing stories with JB and the other characters in KS. We are willing to offer our services to help pull KS out of this mess and then move it forward in a direction that will keep it going forever. In fact, why not use IF forums as a focus group and make Zee truly international?
Thanks
IF/ KS Forum Member - XYZ
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Effort #2 - Ziddi aka Mamta has started an online petition....Please sign this one and encourage you family and friends to sign too. They may not be able to sign the petition on IF since they are not members...but this should be open to all...JOIN US in our efforts to save KS
Guys please sign the petition we have almost 200 signatures and my goal is to have around 500-1000 signature and send them to Zee TV/Balaj etc. So they can be aware of our alert in the future.
I have posted in the Member Lounge, and Viewbie Section also.
https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/kasamsejani/
Letter #2 - Sun29 (Version #1)
dear zee,
I presume that you are in part the people who realized that JaiBani together was your trump card for the simple reason that they created magic on screen like none and the accolade and increased TRPs coming your way proved to you that you have given the audience the most endearing and made for each other couple of television history and present...and we are eternally grateful to you....
Hence,i it is difficult for me to believe that you are going to be responsible in breaking this magical relationship with the impending marriage of tarun sablok and a very much pregnant mrs. bani jai walia...which happens to be your future storyline..and this news has been the dagger that pierced the millions of heart who call themselves as KS addicts......including me...just in case you are unaware let me point out to you that Kasam Se for nearly 98% viewers is not jai and bani,jai or bani,jai vs bani,it is simply JAIBANI,...and these fictional charaters are very close to our heart,their love and relationship is equally cherished by all of us...and the ire that has been evoked due to this is quite evident by the uproar created on india forum a community of online members who are bound together by the same passion KS=JAIBANI....in case you need to feel the heat please visit the india forum..KS section...
ZEE TV has always promised quality and till now also kept their word...to cite a few examples we have serials like sailaab,haasreitein,astitva,banegi apni baat to your credit....brilliant works ...then why is the channel making such huge compromises now on its prime slot by showing one night rape of a brother in law by his sister in law,gross miscarriages,and now cross marriage.we have always admired zee shows becoz they were ever minus the regressive storylines and balaji tried and used plots and masalas...the shows were refreshing...something to look forward to...then why is KASAM SE becoming another run of the mill balaji show,,were'nt we promised something different....does the channel have no say at all...at present you have other shows in the top 10 slots why are they there without all these gross depictions of people,relations and emotions....with a good storyline that has a start and end a show can sustain viewership unlike KS which has hurried and half baked plots and has become a show with blooper galore...not one or two..
I can clearly understand that a show to run you need twists and turns but i trusted you to come up with something unique especially with the world cup...so how unique is seperating uniting the protagonists for every reason under the sun repeatedly...why are the other ccharacters not explored why only jai bani while rest are party fillers..your other show justifies the roles of each and every character to the full eg SAATH PHERE.... where as KS all we can predict is when are jai bani next seperating
Whoever suggested that a bani tarun marriage will spice up viewership needs a serious reality check...if u have discovered jaibani...where can u see any spark or chemistry between bani tarun they are so bland together that it does not make any difference whether they are together or seperate (no offence to pawan shankar who is a brilliant actor and i am his huge fan after siddanth)...
People are threatening to completely quit KS if this storyline ever takes place ..you have to under stand that the audience who watch KS are not people who have nothing better to do hence watch..but inteliigent,mature audeince who are housewives or professionals and make sure their work is wrapped up before 9 so they can watch this show, are extremely passionate and invest their time and effort in what you give us in the name of entertainment...please do not adhere to strategies that leave a bad taste in the viewers mouth after 30 mins of the watch.....
This letter is an attempt of one of the anguished KS loyalist to try and save one show Kasam Se a beautiful love story and includes the feelings of thousand KS FANS across the globe.....we trust Zee to take the necessary steps and give back our Kasam Se...after spending an year with the show we assume we have a say in what is happening..rest i leave with ur channel to very soon sort out.....
thanking you,
sincerely,
KS fan.
Cricket
Anupamaa
