In the heydays of the soap, back in 2000, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi introduced in its story a character - Baa - who was the epitome of love and warmth; she would forgive the worst of enemies, embracing them as her own. At the same time, she was fair and just and would call a spade a spade even when the kids of her own brood did wrong.
Cut to 2009, Baa is pass. Instead, the grandmother of your favourite daily soaps are scheming, menacing characters, like Ammaji of Na Aana Iss Des Laado or Dadisa of Balika Vadhu, who are not only orthodox in social practices but often conniving enough to play villains.Purnendu Shekhar, the writer of Balika Vadhu, does see it as a paradigm shift but attributes it to the story structure. "Many shows these days address social issues especially in our rural interiors. And usually it is the older women in the household who, due to illiteracy, blindly follow practices like child marriage or female infanticide. Hence they become the evil factor on the show," he explains. Producer Rajan Shahi of Sapna Babul Ka'Bidaai on Star Plus agrees. He says that often the grandmother - like the Naani on his show who dislikes one of her granddaughters Ragini because she has a dark complexion - is only a victim of her situation. "The naani grew up with a belief system that to have a dusky girl-child is a bane for the family, and she is following it, never mind if the child is her own blood." But Meghna Mallik, the popular Ammaji on Colors' Laado, says that while her character's menace chiefly stems from illiteracy, Ammaji is also a larger-than-life personality to attract audiences. "It's to lend her an enigma that she has been made so evil. Unlike Daadisa of Balika Vadhu who also has a softer side to her personality, Ammaji is evil. And it's her cruelty towards one and all, irrespective of whether it is a child or her daughter-in-law, which draws the viewers. In such shows, the grandmother takes the centrestage unlike before, when she sat in the background and just bore the brunt of everyone else' decisions. She is like Gabbar Singh and Gabbar could not have become popular if he had a heart," she smiles. The popularity of such characters also marks the emergence of matriarchs in television soaps. Shekhar says that traditionally, women are the ones that run a household. "Add to that, the struggle they may have faced in managing the house without a man, like Dadisa or Ammaji did, and you have a powerful figure who also becomes the decision- maker of the family," he says.
But Pratima Kazmi, who portrays the Naani in Uttaran on Colors, does not believe that her character, who misguides her granddaughter Tapasya against the protagonist Iccha, veers away from the traditional image of a grandmother. "Naani may not be like Baa who used to willingly embrace strangers into the household but she loves Tapasya like any other grandparent would. She wants the best for her and is willing to go to any extent for that. But the viewers don't see this because the protagonist is Iccha and not Tapasya."
We're sure a lot of real-life grandmothers would be venting.
Kumkum Bhagya
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Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
