Soapbox’s new saviours

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Mala

@Malashetty

Voyager

Posted: 19 years ago

Soapbox's new saviours

After Jassi, most entertainment channels have latched on to the middle-class girl as the main protagonist

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Small screens' iconic middle-class girl Jassi might be close to riding into the sunset (the channel has reportedly decided to take it off air shortly) with her Prince Charming, but she has left behind a significant trail of middle-class working girls with stars in their eyes. The list is huge and growing (with some more under production): Sahara's Kittu Sab Janti Hai, Sony's Ek Ladki Anjani Si, Star One's India Calling and Ye Dil Chahe More, Star Plus' Shanno Ki Shaadi and Zee TV's Saat Phere and Kasamh Se. Sometimes the Jassi formula hasn't worked for immediate me-toos like Zee TV's now-off air Kareena Kareena and MTV's first soap Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi. And much before ugly duckling Jassi made being unattractive and middle-class a matter of national pride, Ekta Kapoor had made a tentative effort at showing a middle-class girl's journey into the world of riches in Kkusum, until of course it ended up being yet another saas-bahu caper. Sahara One's Kittu Sab Janti Hai and Sony' Ek Ladki Anjaani Si are both about hopes, dreams and travails of average middle-class girls and the desire to do something 'extraordinary'. Newcomer Ami Trivedi's 'extraordinary dream' in Kittu Sab Janti Hai is to become a hard-hitting journalist. After a nationwide audition, producer Manish Goswami zeroed in on Trivedi. "Kittu's the story of a middle-class girl. What sets Kittu apart is the fact that it's set in the media world. No other soap has done that. It's about real characters," says Goswami. Tarun Katial of Sony admits that while "Ek Ladki Anjaani Si is about a middle-class girl, but her journey is so unexpected from what viewers have seen that we feel the show will crack a new genre." Star One's India Calling and Star Plus' Shanno Ki Shaadi have similar robust, cheerful and nourished on lassi-and-parantha middle-class heroines. Star India COO Samir Nair admits that while it is difficult to pinpoint any "one formula" that's a sureshot "winner on TV, audiences of late have shown an inclination to connect more to shows about real people." That's where the middle-class 'girl' comes handy. So everyone is trying to get a share in the 'middle-class' formula. Coming up on Star One very soon is Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka and on Zee, another Balaji production Kasamh Se. Vivek Behl, creative head, Zee TV, says, "Kasamh Se has been given a special treatment."

And as long as the girl-next-door's screen fairytale grabs enough eyeballs, no one is complaining. Until the next big wave that is.