Interesting Article..DMG mentioned

😊 I found this interesting article..sorry if it has been posted before 😳

Indian TV perpetually on Bollywood's support system
8 Nov 2008, 0021 hrs IST, N Shatrujeet, ET Bureau
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3687093.cms

It's inevitable that Star Plus decision to pull the plug on long-running soaps
Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
would have resulted in a collective sigh escaping Indian TV viewers lips.

In the case of the shows loyalists, the sigh would have been one of dismay.

But the dwindling appeal of the two soaps suggests that with a majority of TV viewers,
the sigh would have signified relief.

The more optimistic, in fact, secretly harbour the hope that with the soaps coming to a close,
one would finally see the back of the much-cloned saas-bahu sagas.

For the Indian television industry, though, the closure of Kyunki... and Kahaani...
throws open a few critical questions.

Where will the next-gen TV blockbuster come from?
Has the saas-bahu formula wrung itself dry, and if so, whats the next big idea?
And most importantly, in which direction should television head in search of inspiration?

Time will reveal the answers to all of this. But one thing TV viewers can be certain of.
Indian television will continue to be in thrall of a force thats more domineering
than any TV saas could ever aspire to be Bollywood.

Indian televisions dependence on Bollywood is visible in virtually every form of TV content.
Take the names of TV soaps, for starters. Kyunki... and Kahani are two shining examples.

The former is a straight lift from the 1970 Leena Chandavarkar-Lalita Pawar-starrer
Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, while the latter is a reassembly of Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani,
which is the name of not one but three Hindi movies 1947, starring
Leele Chitnis, 1970, starring Balraj Sahni and Rakesh Roshan,
and 1988, starring Rishi Kapoor and Govinda.

Period drama Dharam Veer borrows from Manmohan Desais 1977 potboiler of the same name,
while titles like Dil Kya Chahta Hai incidentally, a story about four young friends looking for love
barely conceal their sources.

Bollywoods influence manifests even in plotlines, story sequences and show promos.

Sample this: not very long ago, an entire episode of Dil Mil Gaye centered at a situation in a disco,
where the some of the shows characters get bullied by two brawny chaps dressed as cowboys.

The episode came within weeks of Imran Khan-starrer Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na,
where the Arbaaz Khan-Sohail Khan cowboy act was one of the highlights of the movie.

Bunty Aur Babli released in May 2005 and by the end of the year, there was a show on TV,
Yeh Dil Chahe More, which was about a young boy and girl running away from home
in pursuit of their dreams. Coincidence? Unlikely.

TV also routinely takes recourse to popular film songs
the most memorable instance being Tujhe dekh dekh sona
which, at one point in time, nearly became an anthem in Kasamh Se.

In fact, filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt, who made Kalyug from where the song originates,
nearly sued Balaji Telefilms for the same

Its in the reality TV-game show format of content that Indian television displays its Bollywood fixation.
From Nach Baliye to Indian Idol to SaReGaMaPa,
Hindi film songs are the staple of very song-and-dance-based programme.

While Bollywood stars as anchors of reality TV shows is old hat,
the trend today is for every game show to host Bollywood actors as guests.

In fact, these guest appearances have even begun stretching themselves into serials
Himesh Reshmiya recently made a token visit to Jasubhai Jayantilal Joshi's joint family,
while Abhishek Bachchan was seen in Balika Vadhu.

This is a far cry from the Doordarshan days of TV, when content
borrowed and referenced a lot more than Bollywood.

Yes, the Sunday feature film and Chitrahaar might have been big draws,
but TV was a smorgasbord of Bollywood, original content

(Buniyaad, Nukkad, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Karamchand, Mr Yogi, Intezaar,
Wagle Ki Duniya, Udaan, Jeevan Rekha)
and content sourced from literature (Srikant, Darpan, Malgudi Days,
Byomkesh Bakshi, Ganadevta, Nirmala).

It's not surprising that filmmaker Saeed Mirza (who directed shows like Nukkad)
is miffed with the state of Indian television.
Attacking the Bollywoodisation of virtually all aspects of Indian life,
Mirza says of TV: It is in denial mode.

It will not record 90% of what the people are going through.
Nobody looks around at the man on the street anymore.
He adds that as even news nowadays is only about India Shining.
Any news apart from this is put aside. Entertainment will only follow suit.

Explaining Indian televisions obsession with Bollywood,
adman Partha Sinha, managing partner of BBH India, says
its a function of the way entertainment is structured in Indian society,

with Bollywood perched at the top of the hierarchy.
Our idea of entertainment is defined by movies,
and we do not have popular music outside film music, he says.

However, he doesn't think its merely a function of audience demand.
Blaming entertainment professionals squarely for fuelling the Bollywood fixation, Sinha says,
The ultimate destination for everyone is Bollywood.

All TV actors want to be Bollywood actors, and song writers and script writers
all want to move to the big screen.
We end up borrowing so shamelessly because of this hierarchy.
And by doing so, we are increasingly giving legitimacy to that hierarchy.

While its easy to apportion blame on TV for its seemingly unimaginative approach,
those in the business of grinding out content for a demanding and fickle audience
are quick to defend at least some of whats going on.
There are just 13-to-21 plots in life, says Shailaja Kejriwal, EVP - content, NDTV Imagine.

Obviously, every creative person would like to create something original,
but it is important to remember that television today is about daily shows.

Tamas and Buniyaad were weekly shows, and there was only one channel.
To create an episode every day, there might be influences from films;
whether this is morally right or ethical is for each of us to decide for himself or herself.
She does, however, concede that the dependence on movies is large.
For some it may just be the easier way out, she adds.

What makes Bollywood such an attractive proposition for the TV industry
is its perceived bankability.
Danish Khan, assistant VP & Head of Marketing, Sony TV, points out that
Bollywood provides both instant buzz as well as a safety net to broadcasters.
Its a hedging strategy.

For example, you use a star as an anchor because you know he has a certain following
and you are sure to get eyeballs of his fans, he says. And therein lies the rub.
In an extremely competitive environment where the first guy who blinks runs the risk of ruination,
no one in the industry is willing to stick the neck out.
The stakes are simply too high for any experimentation.

Says Khan: TV is a medium that needs to cater to almost everyone watching,
so when you are everything to everyone, then you can't have a differential product.
Its also pointed out that in the Doordarshan era, the economies made it conducive
for that talent to come to TV, whereas today economies favour the movement of talent to Bollywood.

We do have some great talent but those few cannot run 100 channels.
We need a larger pool of talent, and to attract them, we need to create the economies, Khan insists.

All eyes, meanwhile, are focused on Tujh Sang Preet Lagai Sajna,
the show thats replaced Kahaani on Star Plus.

The new show is about two childhood friends, a zamindar and a farmer,
whose jigri dosti turns sour - and how their grandchildren fall in love with one another.
Sound suspiciously like Subhash Ghai's Saudagar, starring Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar.
Those who've watched the show insist the similarities don't end there.

At least in the foreseeable future,
the Indian television industry is in no danger of losing sleep over content.
The next-gen blockbuster, with its roots in past Bollywood blockbusters, is already on its way.