Men reclaim spotlight - An article

Move over whining female protagonists suffering at the hands of a cunning mother-in-law. Soaps are now shifting focus to the men. No more mere eye candies or background props, male characters are now playing significant roles on Indian telly. With husband-wife relationships turning out to be the mainstay of most soaps, television's men seem to be getting their due importance and screen space finally. And new soaps like Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Bhagyavidhaata, Bidaai, Pavitra Rishta, Jyoti, Bandini and Sajan Ghar Jana Hai, only confirm the trend.

Talking about this change in perspective, Rajesh Joshi, story, script and dialogue writer of Kyunki, Kahani, Kasauti and Kumkum fame, who is currently writing for Bandini and Pavitra Rishta, says, "Television programming is currently experimenting with a variety of stories and relationships. Saas and bahus are still there, but today stories are more dynamic. Husband-wife relationships are getting more importance than before," he observes.

Television programming, according to Rajesh, is dictated by trends, and today the trend is about men getting a greater say in the story. "Soaps also reflect the complex nuances of urban relationships, where both the partners do not hesitate in seeking comfort elsewhere if the marriage they are into doesn't work," he adds.

With parivaar themes ruling on GECs, it's difficult to ignore men altogether, feels Shailja Kejriwal, head of content at Imagine. "Mihir-Tulsi, Om-Parvati and Bajaj-Prerna relationships were one of the main stories of Kyunki, Kahani and Kasauti respectively. But other relationships got registered better and took the focus away from husband-wife relationship," she reasons. Shailja however, admits that with husband-wife relationships getting noticed, the male characters automatically have more screen presence.

Star's senior creative head Anupama Mandloi, attributes this change to realism creeping into story-telling today. "Today the stories are more real and relatable for the common man. Husband-wife relationships are all about adjustment and growth and hence offers a lot of complex and dramatic nuances and subtexts," she reasons.

With soaps opting for realistic story telling and with men getting more focus than ever, marital discord, bigamy and extra marital affairs too are seeping in to soaps. Producer-director Rajan Shahi of Bidaai and Yeh Rishta admits that he is happy that the programming has moved to exploring multi-dimensional relationships as this makes for interesting viewing. "There are so many dimensions and facets to husband-wife relationship, thanks to the change in trend, viewers are getting to see good stories and identifiable relationships."