Buas are the new villains on TV

Till now it was the evil mother-in-law, a jealous daughter or a scheming brother/sister-in-law hailing from rich households who made life miserable for the sweet, simple heroine in most soaps. Joining this evil gang is the bua. (paternal aunt). In many of the recent serials — Solaah Singaar, Zaara, Paraya Dhan, Betiyaan, Kuch Apne Kuch Paraye and Kulvaadhu — the new villains are the buas.

Says Sandeep Sikand, creative chief head of Sony TV, "The focus is on characters who can lure viewers. The wicked saas is always famous. To give a twist in our new show, Kulvadhu, the character of the bua is negative. At first it was the maussi (maternal aunt), but later we felt the bua would be a more influential negative character."

Anirudh Pathak, the script writer for Kulvadhu, has his own take. "Fiction is born from the cradle of fact. As a writer, I try to base my characters on real life. In Kulvadhu too you can say that about the character of a bua. In my research I found many instances wherein buas are responsible for family feuds. Hence the thought arose. I must admit though the writer alone cannot take this decision. He has to consult the creative head of the channel, the producer of the show and the director. Finally, it's a joint decision."

While Pathak is adamant about his research and blames buas for family miseries, Dheeraj Kumar, creator of another anti-bua show, Betiyaan that airs on Zee TV, has a different stand on this. "Oh please! Buas are not the source of evil in society. In television, someone has to be bad. So this time it's the bua. I had a very fruitful relationship with my aunt. In Betiyaan too we have two buas who are not hardcore villains. They are eccentric. Finally, it's all about the TRPs. If the audience likes a character then the show is a hit, otherwise the network chops it. Currently, the bad buas seem to be a hit."

Shushmita Mukherji, who essays the character of a negative bua in Kulvadhu says, "It's sad that in our industry we idolize some and demoralize the others. When we bring some character to life, like say of a bua, we ignore the social implication it would have on millions of viewers." So it's up to the audience to treat it as a serial and not take it to heart. Because as long as the TRPs rise, the buas will have to remain bad. (Sampurn)