Posted:
Originally posted by: Sweet_Krishna
It is the age of SM.. Fans/viewers are there to bombard you on twitter, FB, youtube, insta, fora like this the moment they find something which takes them out of their comfort zone. Such feedback which is for everyone to see exerts pressure on makers who then to continue the show with good TRPs compromise with story line. In 90s there was no SM/social media. And actors were not hero-worshipped with such craze. Also they looked like us not like chiselled hunks/divas of today. People didn't watch a show for an actor but for story line. And that era churned out bold shows like Tara, Banegi Apni Baat, Hasratein, Saans, Sailaab, Heena,Swabhiman, Mahayagya , Justjoo etc. We were shocked by their boldness but we accepted them as realistic. If SM were at that time, I don't know how would have they fared? Either directors would have shut them down or changed the story line to keep the show floating. 😆 I am yet to see anything as bold as hasratein on TV. It crossed all the limits .😆
I don't think it's just SM that plays a factor here. It's the audience demographics as well.
I'm in my late 20s. Now in the 90s I was a kid and if my parents stopped me from watching a show I didn't have too many options of finding other ways to watch those shows. I've only started watching 90s shows in the past several years on YT and other websites.
But in today's day, if my parents were to stop me from watching a TV show I have many ways of watching still. I can go online, go to a friend's place, sneak over to some public place where they may be airing this TV show on TV (like say an electronics store or a restaurant or cafe). But I have options.
Not only that, but if we go into society as a whole, we are seeing a backwards progression in our society. In the 90s yes a divorced woman would be unacceptable, but most society women kept it to themselves and their close ones. Today a divorced woman is shunned openly and society women nag and gossip about her. In those days a woman could go out at night with male friends and feel safe, not today.
And I don't live in India, but I've seen it nonetheless. When I used to go to India as a child, my parents had no qualms with me and my cousins running over to the park 3 streets over, even after the dark. They always would say "just stick close together" and that was more out of concern that one of us didn't get lost more than anything else. Last year, my cousins stopped their children from going to the park across the street after the dark without them. When I asked why, they said it's not safe. When I probed, I learnt that as they had grown up they realized that they didn't feel safe in the most safest of places any longer.
Taking both into account, in the 90s these shows were more acceptable because the audience was more mature. They were more accepting of these things as well. They understood it was real and even if they had problems, I doubt they would take to SM and bash and troll. They would probably respectfully put across their point and move on. But today, those same shows would get bashed and trolled and forced off air because society as a whole has grown intolerant and the audience demographics have changed as well. I mean as a 15 or 16 year old kid if I watched Saans or Hasratein I probably wouldn't be able to understand the depth of the emotions and relationships, but as a 25, 30, 35 year old I can understand it better.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
