Posted:
Gone are the days when a solitary
serial showing marital rape among
all the traditional happy fare triggered a debate in the telly world
and outside it. Today, the tube is
digging out more such nudgenudge topics... and not a whimper
can be heard from audiences. From
homosexuality to sexual harassment, to roping in an adult movie
star on its reality show, TV seems at
home discussing these once hushhush topics.
After Hrs asked experts
from the telly world what
they thought about the tube's
new bold avatar. Sukesh Motwane,
programming head, Zee, feels it reflects the progressive mindset of
the audience. "As a channel, we
wish to actually understand some
of th taboo subjects set in the sociocultural backdrop, and the outcome," she says. One of Zee's recent show Punarvivah is based on
re-marriage, which in turn highlights society's attitude to a divorced woman or a widower in India. "Audiences always want to see
reality. And today's TV channels
are bold enough to not shy away
from realistic subjects.
Besides, audiences want a
variety of
content, and
if it involves
stories that
they can relate to, it helps
and also creates
valuable content.
How long can one expect audiences
to watch saas-bahu sagas or just
rona-dhona?" explains Sukesh,
adding that "taboo topics if served
with the right mix of drama, not
just make for good shows, but also
helps create awareness."
Producer Siddharth Tewary
feels that there's also a need to keep
pace with an audience that's already used to seeing realism in
their films as well. "TV viewers
have certainly matured as the level
of exposure has increased over last
two decades," says the
producer who has Navya
and Phulwa to his credit.
"Serving the same kind
of soaps gets repetitive to an audience that has access to variety of
channels and programmes. Even
the reach of TV has grown and
caters to a variety of audiences.
People who watch TV are far more
in number than people who watch
films in theatres. These audiences
are both traditional and modern,
with a generation that discusses all
these taboo topics openly," he adds.
Creative head Rajita Sharma
says, "It's a positive change. Society is opening up to sensitive issues. Since serials have a wide
reach, it's good to address such topics but with the right mix of
drama and sensitivity as
they can actually bring
about a positive change in
our society, " she said.
Just recently, Balika
Vadhu tackled kleptomania in one of its episodes,
while Parichay is in the
midst of grappling with
false rape charges, and
from the look of it,
there are more skeletons ready to spill out
of the TV's closet!
Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
Vasudha
Bollywood
