A thread on Appreciation

Many might agree or disagree as you read this and I'm open to any kinds of criticism or debate.

I honestly don't know why I feel the need to write this but I feel the situation right now needs an eye opener like this. I see a lot of disappointment, lost enthusiasm and snitching going on in the DMG forum on the serial and couldn't really bear to see it any longer. Why are people leaving the forum because the lead pair is going through a rough phase?? I know addiction to a serial/soap is a common thing. Honestly I've experienced it too, but just with DMG and no other serial. It's given me sleepless nights, miserable weekends and stimulating conversations.

But then I realized that it was consuming my life, taking over my work and ruining my personal life. Not just that but everything that happened in the serial affected me, I could almost tear my hair apart in frustration because I thought the soap was going to hell, so much so that I decided I was not going to analyze it anymore. I will not allow myself to dwell on why the characters did what they did, why the storyline is heading the way it is, why the loopholes and twists are not as effectively woven as they should have been. In short I stopped EXPECTING. And because of that I stopped criticizing. I now appreciate whatever I'm made to see because for a moment there I forgot how hard it is to pull off a 22 minute show.

I come from the world of television where lights camera and action is just a faade and the real deal is a whole lot more that meets the eye. I know the hard work that goes on behind the scenes, the umpteen number of hours and skilled manpower it requires to get almost the entire nation swooning over your serial. When DMG first started out, they had to make an impact, they had to strike and strike hard because they were going against every common conception people had of a soap. They had to get out of the clutches Sanjeevani had on peoples mind and carve a niche for themselves, and they achieved that in a really short span of time. For any serial to garner a faithful audience they make sure they get it right in the first three months and then they tend to slack, because they know they have had the audience fall in love with their characters, their plot and their dialogues even. I will not stoop to say DMG has slackened, because they still have that faithful audience, ones that turn to IF and other forums to discuss the happenings on the serial, ones that faithfully upload videos and events revolving around the actors lives and the serials, ones that watch all the re-runs just to catch a glimpse of their favorite stars again and again.

Many of you'll might be downright dejected because of where the serial is right now, having turned DMG into a video game and having turned your favorite character Dr. Armaan into a street fighter. Just for one moment I would want to shed some light on the fact that it is extremely difficult to choreograph fight sequences, and make it look as believable as possible. True it's not WWF here, and the other fighters are comical to say in the least, but it takes a lot of courage to turn your lead actor one that people are so used to and so immensely crazy about, into someone completely different. Must I say he's done a brilliant job, no, because that everyone knows. How many tele-stars could have pulled off a street fight? How many serials have given you a ring side view? How many serials dare go there in the first place? I've written about this in the post Aarti wrote on Directional touches and I repeat myself. It's extremely hard to shoot outdoors. Without the standard lighting system you have in your sets and without your orthodox two shots and OTS, shooting in dim lighting, having fast action shots, and POV's where the actor pretends the camera is the other fighter is hard as hell.

I will not find fault with Riddhima's repetitive "Armaaaan" or Armaan's stone-cold turn around all of a sudden. I will appreciate that the guys behind the camera are taking us out of Sanjeevani every once in a while, I will appreciate the actors for their commendable performances, I will appreciate the fact that they are always upto something new.

PS: I want you thank you, yes you, the one reading this post right now, because you made it through my almost never ending bhashan. Thank You.

👏
Very well expressed Missy.
👏 and a second round of applause for actually posting something to this effect here...😉

You have to appreciate the good things. As you mentioned the Directorial Post did just that, I guess you can say this works both ways; if you can have that post then as a viewer you can express the disappointments too. I guess people are disappointed because of the inconsistent characterizations, may be they just haven't been developed properly an example- when they showed him as a kick-boxer, it becomes a bit of a shock! Simply because that is so different to everything that has been shown about him so far. All they've given is a few comments from Rahul and some *punching* scenes. Almost as an after-thought.

But the fact is DMG has always tried to do things differently and that is commendable because I understand there is so much risk in doing something thats not common norm. You comming from the TV world, put forward some interesting facts which the normal viewer woudn't be aware of, so thank you for this post.

Hey Michelle (if i may call you that, if not will stick to Missy), good post there and an eye opener and informative as usual.

I was also desperately trying to stop letting the serial take over my life believe me. That suggestion about not analyzing everything too much and not having expectations, will take that up and ease down, thanks for that. That was very much needed.

We get so lost in discussing the nitty gritty of the character and criticizing that we sometimes tend to forget the overall picture. One does need to appreciate the effort going in to treat the viewer to something different every once in a while. I didnt know all the difficulties of getting the shots right, shooting outdoors and all that. Kudos to the team for attempting something different as usual. 👏 👏. It is only right we express appreciation for all the effort put in, even if we have reservations with characters and potrayals. The hard work and the courage to attempt to do something different need to be applauded.

PS: Bhashan??? please one of the most interesting and informative posts I have read in a while which makes you want to read some more. It gets over all too soon if you know what I mean. Keep the posts coming, absolutely love reading em and getting a different perspective, especially since you are from the industry and add so much more to the post since you know it first hand, been there done that.

Oh and in a way isnt it a tribute to the serial and its makers that ppl are unable to stand even a hint of pain and separation between the lead pair, and every slip up or episode which doesnt measure up pains people. Speaks volumes on how successful the ppl behind the serial have been in what they set out to do 😊 and also for the acting abilities of the actors in it.

hmmmm very well said.. it was needed here thanks..... 😳

nice post!! 👏 I appreciate the team n u too for giving us a good point of view

@missy.Thanks for bringing us to the minute details of the telly world for which they take so much pains to show a 22mt show.Expressed brilliantly.
Iam sure you wld feel very low as having the experience on rearing a show,when many of us comment so callously without giving two hoots on what all hard work has been put in to make the show diffrt from what is been flooded in other channels.
And I understand how hard it is to be different & steer away from the comparison of the earlier show "sanjeevani".

And yes, have to stop the habit of "expecting" too much.
Appreciate the actors & the ppl behind the camera or otherwise.

Thank you for giving us a nudge,& making us aware of the hardships.

nice post...missy22... 👏
but one thng i wanna clear here dat..ppl hav right 2 Xpress thre views ...how dey feel abt the character n the storyline.....as long as hard work concern so ur quiet right .....dey actually work soo hard 2 move there audiance..n thnk we alwayz Appreciate dem...

a very good post, missy!! 👏 👏 and an eye-opener as well!
as swasti put it, people have been disappointed mostly because of the inconsistent characterizations.. n that's why, while critisizing the creatives or the actors, they tend to forget the hard work that these people must have put in to make that twenty-two minute episode, for which they should be appreciated..

I must thank you for putting up this brilliant post!

never ending bhashan?? nah, it wasn't!! totally loved reading it! keep'em coming, girl!

@Missy: Thank you very much for this enlightening post. So easy for us to criticize...your post is very much needed to see the other side also.. 👏

Yeah, they do take us out of Sanjeevani hopsital and take us outdoors to give that nice variety in the serial. Next time we will appreciate the efforts going into all this thanks to this eye opener post of yours...thanks once again 👏 👏 👏.

Please keep these wonderful posts of yours coming 😃

@missy...very well written and well timed post! You always come up with the perspective frm the other side of the fence, which, at times like these, is very necessary. And refreshing too! So this 'bhashan' as you call it is much appreciated.

Like Gina said, in our enthusiasm and ardour for the show and its characters, we tend to forget what goes into making it successful and every lil (& big)discrepancy disappoints a lot! But since u are familiar with the sweat and hardwork that goes into it, pls do keep coming back for a reality check more often. I do enjoy reading ur take...

I am sure besides other constraints, being made to work on tight budgets and getting the right effects w/o too many resources can't be easy either for the actors or the director!

But all said and done, I don't think the show has lost its capacity to give us those goose bump moments yet! And we still keep coming back for more...