Marriage in ITV serials: A criminal motif or a shifted perspective? - Page 8

Originally posted by: Viswasruti

Indian TV serials with marriage-related criminal themes

The majority of ITV shows revolve around love, marriage, divorce, and the unexpected turns in various relationships.

Usually, Indian serials feature dramatic plot lines involving betrayal, love triangles, and even contract marriages, with a heavy emphasis on melodrama and heightened emotions.

Since long, with the entry of Ekta, Indian TV serials depict a very different definition of marriage. Take the show Kkusum as an example. In this serial, the character Abhay has four wives; Kumud, who was married to Garv, had affections for Kshitij, and now that she is married to Kshitij, she has feelings for Garv. Kali is marrying Nakul solely for the purpose of taking revenge against Kumud. (very confusing) Not only Kusum, but numerous serials in many languages are playing with the concept of marriage. They are simply portraying marriage as a tool for taking revenge on someone !!??

Some critics argue that TV serials can sometimes oversimplify or sensationalise marriage, potentially impacting viewers' perceptions of family relationships.

Others believe that TV shows should be viewed as entertainment and not necessarily reflective of real-life situations.

The portrayal of marriage on television can also spark discussions about cultural values, societal norms, and the evolving dynamics of relationships.

Recently, we have seen ITV serials (esp, EK serials) with horrific schemes against their own family members, such as murders, doing harm to Bahus or Saas, and even little children.

How would such criminal tendencies depicted on television serials impact the viewer in particular, as well as society as a whole, in the long run??

Like seriously why is marriage a joke in ITV serials . It just irks me out

It's like they are teaching our young girls , if a rich , handsome and tall guy marries you for revenge, STAY in the marriage because you both have chemistry and will fall in love someday

As time goes on ITV gets regressive

Originally posted by: Prizi

Today, unfortunately, a lot of mainstream TV has shifted toward repetitive tropes — glorifying regressive mindsets, melodrama for the sake of TRPs, and twisted relationships that often border on disturbing. It's heartbreaking to see strong narratives replaced with kitchen politics and toxic dynamics wrapped in glittery sets.

But it's not that good content doesn't exist anymore — it's just that most of it has moved to OTT platforms or gets overshadowed by high-TRP soap operas. Maybe it's time we as audiences start demanding better again — the kind of shows that made us think, feel, and remember them for decades.

TV once made legends out of ordinary characters. Now it's time we ask: where did all the storytelling go?

Urgh movies these days make my blood boil

There is an ongoing show on dangal channel. The title is something like brahmachari ki biwi

There the dude is obviously brahmachari. His wife idk how they got married but she's from rich family. She's meek submissive, every epi her mother in law tries to throw her out but she has no expression other than sad one and just "mummy ji aisa mat kijiye". Only her sasur supports her. His one dialogue "bechari ko kya galti hai"

And this fls brother in yesterday's epi accused his wife of having an affair and their baby as illegitimate baby. The wife was like I did ivf- like she didn't bother to infront him wtf. And also after accusations she was begging him to understand her, touched the husband repeatedly with one single tear in her eyes

Apart from the fact that they butchered something like brahmachari in that show, the fact that a victim has to defend her "crime" was disgusting. Like pretty sure majority wives will show middle finger to their husbands and leave them to die if they accuse them of affair - atlst I want to think desi women aren't that weak and weirdo

Also of course serials made for women has to show men are the savior and only defender against all the evil women. Wtf is this misogyny

Originally posted by: Phir_Mohabbat

There is an ongoing show on dangal channel. The title is something like brahmachari ki biwi

There the dude is obviously brahmachari. His wife idk how they got married but she's from rich family. She's meek submissive, every epi her mother in law tries to throw her out but she has no expression other than sad one and just "mummy ji aisa mat kijiye". Only her sasur supports her. His one dialogue "bechari ko kya galti hai"

And this fls brother in yesterday's epi accused his wife of having an affair and their baby as illegitimate baby. The wife was like I did ivf- like she didn't bother to infront him wtf. And also after accusations she was begging him to understand her, touched the husband repeatedly with one single tear in her eyes

Apart from the fact that they butchered something like brahmachari in that show, the fact that a victim has to defend her "crime" was disgusting. Like pretty sure majority wives will show middle finger to their husbands and leave them to die if they accuse them of affair - atlst I want to think desi women aren't that weak and weirdo

Also of course serials made for women has to show men are the savior and only defender against all the evil women. Wtf is this misogyny

Nowadays, the dominant theme of these soaps is anchored on the patriarchally established myth – “aurat hi aurat ki sabse badi dushman” (a woman’s greatest enemy is another woman herself). The tv shows gaining the highest TRP like Anupama, Gum Hai Kisi k Pyaar mei, Udaariya, and Imile to name a few, have all been following the same pattern.

As we can see, the plot of most prime time daily serials remain rooted in the animosity between two women, most often over a man. Of the two women, one is always the present wife of the man, and the other mostly remains an extra marital lover or a former flame.

The wife is portrayed as homely, carrying the burdens of parampara, pratishtha, and anushasan, (tradition, customs, discipline) along with izzat, and sharam (chastity, honour). The other woman is caricatured as evil – the housebreaker, playing all sorts of gimmicks to woo the man [ normally a good-for-nothing type!] create trouble and insult his wife, take revenge on her for being in his life, and to morally degrade her.

This way, the women in these serials remain dependent on a man as well as prioritise the man by fighting one another to have more space and say in his life. This ensures that the male characters remain paramount in power as well as decisive stature. That is the fundamental issue in the life of an Indian TV serial woman character, and the creators would never let her get out of this misogynistic tendency's acceptance!