Hey guys, I found this description of Indian serials on Wikipedia.org and I found it really funny, so I thought I would post it here:
Indian serials are often stereotypical, both in storylines and in characters. The ideals of the quintessential Indian Family are often given fanatical attention to, which lines being written in grand, melodramatic tones, drawing in references to events in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, the typical Indian Woman, and other similar themes. Balaji Telefilms has often been frowned at for repeating the same essential storylines with different characters and sets (altering the sequence of events and their intensity) to create more and more serials.
One of the first serials created by the banner was Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (literally, Because the Mother-in-Law was once the Daughter-in-Law), the story of the fictional industrialist family Virani, the apple-of-their-eye son Mihir, and their loyal and subservient (i.e., quintessential) daughter-in-law, Tulsi, his wife. An almost immediate release was another serial called Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki (loosely translatable as The Story of (all) our Homes), also a story about an industrialist family—albeit, the "Agrarwals"—also about the apple-of-their-eye son—this time, "Om", though it is essential to note that later in the series the lives of all the brothers of the families and their wives were dealt with extensively—and yet again, their loyal and subservient daughter-in-law, "Parvati." The storylines are loosely parallel, though the writers continually attempt to "shock" their audiences with rapes, extramarital affairs, murders, conspiracies, and kidnappings—in all serials, though at different points in time. A standard feature now is the 20-year-jump, where one epoch in the series ends at a stalemate and continues in the next episode with all the characters and surroundings twenty years older, the effects of ageing being shown by white dye in strands in the hair of the women of the family, and not-so-subtle hints of grey around the gentlemen's moustaches and sideboards.
Another slightly unreal aspect of the Indian serial is the "face-change operation". A typical scenario is one wherein an accident happens to one of the protagonists, with him/her waking up in hospital with a new face, one that is most often the result of the antagonist scheming with an evil plastic surgeon who creates an entirely new face for the hapless hero(ine). The protagonist invariably loses his/her memory, which leaves him/her vulnerable to the antagonist's schemes, and this, along with the 20-year-jump, helps create scenarios such as a missing darling son of the family now being one "converted" to one of the enemy camp, with further clichd themes as the Indian Mother's Yearning for her Son helping to create about a month's worth of material, which inevitably ends in a reunion scene with lots of happy tears. (😆😆😆)
Dialogue in Indian serials, in addition to being largely melodramatic and filled with historical and religious references, is widely thought lacking as far as dialogue goes. If seen very carefully, one would notice that there is, in fact, little or no conversation that takes place during the 30-odd minutes of a typical Indian soap opera's episode. Actors' lines in scenes are often delivered one large monologue at a time (even longer in scenes of "conflict" between the protagonist(s) and the antagonist(s)), there are often dance scenes based on the exact same encountered in the parent film of the song (this being less parody and more of a filler, often seen during idle amorous fantasies of the "goof" of the cast), and features elaborate sound effects, which are actually repeated in different serials which are under the same banner.
For example, female antagonists often enter the room with screeching cat noises being played in the background, perhaps an allusion to the character's invariable cattiness; though often antagonists that are well-known and widely-spurned by the TV-seeing public often have their distinctive entrance sound effects: in the serial Kasauti Zindagi Kii, whenever the character 'Komolika', began to scheme and soliloquise and/or entered a room, a playful, almost vampish strain of gaudy music was played to an amorous play of her name. This was keeping in with the effect her heavy makeup, thick, bristly fake eyelashes, and garish contact lenses portrayed the character as.
Male antagonists that are young often have Indianised strains of rather obscure hip-hop songs working for them in the background, and those that are older often have deeply resonating kettle drums booming in the background. (😆😆😆)
Sex has never been dealt with on screen, although it is ironic considering so many characters are exposed as having extramarital affairs. There has never been a kiss, heterosexual or homosexual, in an Indian soap opera in any language in any form whatsoever. This is seen as being consistent to the extreme conservatism that India is filled with.
The camera often spins wildly from character to character during scenes in which shocking news is revealed, shaking vigorously when a character faints, and showing the same slap hitting the same cheek thrice during a confrontation, keeping in sync with the overall melodramatic touch most of the serials prefer to incorporate.
History
Indian serials first began with the introduction of the television set in Indian homes: the first soap opera on the State-run channel, Doordarshan (the only television channel that existed at that point in time), was Hum Log, a story of a family comprising of three generations. It was urban, it was middle-class, and it was new, and till today, it, along with Buniyaad, is considered among the best-made Indian serials to be seen by an Indian audience.
In the "old" Star TV channel of the Star Network, certain serials like Saans and Kora Kaagaz broke the mould and gained artistic as well as commercial success; serials on Zee TV like Taara and Banegi Apni Baat (which featured among the early work of renowned Hindi/Tamil actor Madhavan), too, were of the same privileged fate.
In public opinion, other serials that "broke the mould" at one point in time are Astitva: Ek Prem Kahani (Zee TV), Yeh Meri Life Hai (Sony Entertainment Television), etc.
"The K Phenomenon"
Based on predictions made by celebrity astrologer/numerologist/tarot-card reader Sunita Menon, almost all serials made under the Balaji Telefilms banner are supposed to begin with a 'K', regardless of what language it's made in. This is believed to be Creative Head (Ekta Kapoor)'s 'lucky alphabet', and consequently, the K Phenomenon was born. Examples are Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki, Kasauti Zindagi Ki, Kkussum, Kavyanjali, Kahiin to Hoga, and so on.
An exception is, however, Hum Paanch, a comedy about a family of five sisters, their bent-on-their-getting-married but loving stepmother, and their father, who talks to their dead mother via a framed photograph hung on a living room wall. This is probably because the show was created and shown in an entirely different time—the late nineties—presumably before Ms Kapoor met Ms Menon. It is interesting to note that despite all the stereotypical content K-serials contain, they are all immensely popular with the masses, which is believed by some to be a result of the initial K.
Further information
No Indian serial so far has dealt with issues such as the legislative system, the medical system, rural issues, etc., and though some are set within legal/medical/rural contexts, it has storylines, once more, largely based on marriage and family, or rather, the concepts of marriage and family in the traditional Indian context.
Neither has an Indian serial dealt with homosexuality or AIDS, burgeoning issues in India that are being swept under the carpet by the moral police. An ironic fact, considering Ekta Kapoor, Creative Head of Balaji Telefilms, which is believed to produce the largest number of Indian soap operas, was quoted in a film magazine in an interview as saying one of her favourite shows was Queer as Folk (unavailable for purchase in India, incidentally), and that the actor who played Brian, Gale Harold, was one of her favourite TV drama actors.
However, in commercial terms, Indian serials almost always do well. Not many Indian serials ever end—and so, writers are forced to stretch storylines over a generation or more to cope with the lack of character-exploration/situation-exploitation. Many Indian serials run for over five years, and, analogous to Bollywood film stars being deified to Godhood, many soap opera stars are treated with a demigod-like quality. The actress who played "Tulsi Virani" in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Smiti Irani, stood to be elected as MP in the 2004 General Elections from the Delhi constituency of Chandni Chowk, and it was hoped by her party, the BJP, that her popularity would help them out in that largely pro-Congress area. Unfortunately she lost, and the seat, along with the entire election, was won by a massive pro-Congress vote.
Hindi TV Shows
