Telly copycats on the prowl

Rehashed flicks are a way of life in Bollywood. Starting from plots, stunts to costumes, all have drawn inspiration from Hollywood. We have often seen our heroes do an Arnold Schwarzenegger or a Ben Affleck. Just when we thought an overdose of Hollywood was not palatable, the television industry jumps into the copycat bandwagaon. However, this time it's not Hollywood but Bollywood that is providing the inspiration to small screen. A vicious circle indeed.

Star Plus' show Sapna Babul Ka... Bidaai is a rip off of Sooraj Barjatya's Vivah. As in the bollywood flick, Bidaai too is the story of two sisters Sadhna and Ragini. Sadhna is the adopted child in the family. Since she happens to be prettier than Ragini, their mother treats her as a step daughter. This similarity is not confined to just one soap.

Zee's new show Hamari Betiyon Ka Vivaah is set in a Punjabi backdrop and is based on a mother's inherent anxiety to find suitable grooms for her four daughters. Does this ring a bell? You have guessed it right. Inspiration for this soap is Gurinder Chadda's Bride and Prejudice. Some times Bollywood masala is weaved in to boost the TRPs. Banoo main Teri Dulhan bears a striking resemblance to Om Shanti Om. It started off with the incorporation of the re-incarnation concept and a couple of songs like Chhann se jo toote koi sapna and Tumko paya hai to. But the show went further and added another track from the Shah Rukh Khan starrer. And this time it was the title song of the film. In line with OSO, the show also has the special appearances by the television stars of different shows being aired on Zee TV.

The blatant copying spans plots, songs and characters also. Simple Kaul aka Pam of popular serial Shararat is playing Ashwariya Rai of Dhoom 2, in UTV's show Sun Yaar Chill Mar. The pretty lass is not just enacting the doe eyed beauty's mannerism but interestingly shares the same screen name "Sunheri" as that of Ash in the movie.

Simple says, "I play Sunehri who is a rich girl and she does things in her own way. She even uses "like" that Ash mouthed in the movie."

Rajan Sahi, producer of Sapna Babul Ka... Bidaai agrees to have drawn 'inspiration' from Barjatya's flick. "you can say that our story was been inspired by Vivaah. But with every episode our story takes a new turn." he says.

Zee TV's popular soap Saat Phere's story writer Purnendu Shekhar holds the channels responsible for the adaptation of Bollywood themes. "Writers are not the sole decision makers. The channels have a big role to play. Their intervention in each and every aspect of the soap often distorts the original story line. the channels think that the formula which has worked fairly in films has a better chance to do well in television also."

Shamik Mallik, the creative head of Sab-Sony TV, feels there is nothing wrong in writers taking story ideas from Bollywood. "We are facing a shortage of writers. that apart, there is a time crunch in television, which increases the pressure on our limited writers, who are working on four-five projects at a time. So, it's justified if they borrow ideas from movies," he says.

"It's not the fault of one person, but the entire system. There is a lack of original writers now-a-days and as channels also encourage Bollywood themes, both the sides are equally responsible," reasons Purnendu Shekhar.

Well, we cannot blame the television industry alone as their sole aim is to sell the slots and keep the business running. Till viewers put a firm foot down and send the TRPs dipping, channels will continue to serve old wine in a new bottle.