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Television serials are flooded with social issues, from child marriages to female infanticide and domestic violence. Kalpana Sharma finds out if this is the real India we live in.
A10-year-old village girl is forced into marriage, even as her cries go unheard, weaned away from her dolls and friends. A scene out of popular soap Balika Vadhu, which talks about child marriage, violence against women and oppression of the weaker classes.
Mind you, these tele-tales are not always fictional but perhaps a mirror to reality. An NRI tale of exploitation, Geet Hui Sabse Parayi reminds Harbains Singh of an incident within his extended family, "My cousin's daughter was engaged to a guy in Canada. When the girl reached there after a lavish wedding, the parents realized that he stayed in a shack." He hopes the serial alerts families to such cases of fraud.
TV enthusiast Samridhi Katyal remembers a feeling of revulsion when the serial Pratigya showed an educated small town girl who fought against eve teasing, marry her oppressor. A social activist believes this is a reality that women in such areas face. Some succumb to them, others learn to fight. Confesses the channel source, "While we have seen women give up their self-respect, despite being educated, such episodes also help hike TRPs."
Some serials manage to walk the tightrope and reinforce the social message without diluting its entertainment value. The audience's hearts choked when Ammaji from Na Aana Is Desh Laado wanted her son to remarry because his wife couldn't bear a child; when the single mother protagonist Jyoti faces hardships when she wants to remarry. Sunjoy Wadhwa, the producer of Balika Vadhu, would have us believe that such shows go beyond the hype. "The show was born out of the writer's need to reflect the practice of child marriage and lack of women's empowerment in Rajasthan. It's rampant in many states." He shares that reportedly, two child marriages were called off thanks to the show. In Rajasthan, the public created a ruckus on the eve of the marriage and it had to be called off.
While such social ills are a reality in many parts of the country, how much of this is aptly conveyed. How much of it touches the audience? "None," says Ranjana Kumari, Center for Social Research. She explains, "The upper middle-class doesn't really relate to the issue. They might feel attached to it for the moment, but then move on."
What exactly is the kind of reform we look forward to from television? Admits Bhuvan Ribhu, activist and legal advisor of NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, "It's a positive initiative to bring such issues to our drawing rooms. However, it's important to audit what's depicted. It would be wrong to romanticise a serious issue. The disclaimer should clearly state that the act is a crime and mention the years of imprisonment or fine that it carries. This can further help the cause."
Meanwhile, television bahus also remain difficult to relate to. Where, in India, do we see women who deck up in kanjeevarams throughout the day, even sleeping in all their finery. Their only other preoccupation is gossiping. Says activist Teesta Setalvad, "TV has not been fair to women. They are either shown as victims or vamps out to get male attention!
There's a lack of women of substance on TV, someone who has a mind of her own without being vicious." She also feels that issues such as public education need awareness too. "I recently visited a public school in Mumbai and was disgusted to see it functioning in a vegetable mandi. Next to it was a choked bathroom that was smelling." To reinforce a positive message, the channels probably need to focus on the positive effects of reform, showing happy families and children being educated. After all, to quote Robert Coelho, 'Good attracts good!'
A10-year-old village girl is forced into marriage, even as her cries go unheard, weaned away from her dolls and friends. A scene out of popular soap Balika Vadhu, which talks about child marriage, violence against women and oppression of the weaker classes.
Mind you, these tele-tales are not always fictional but perhaps a mirror to reality. An NRI tale of exploitation, Geet Hui Sabse Parayi reminds Harbains Singh of an incident within his extended family, "My cousin's daughter was engaged to a guy in Canada. When the girl reached there after a lavish wedding, the parents realized that he stayed in a shack." He hopes the serial alerts families to such cases of fraud.
TV enthusiast Samridhi Katyal remembers a feeling of revulsion when the serial Pratigya showed an educated small town girl who fought against eve teasing, marry her oppressor. A social activist believes this is a reality that women in such areas face. Some succumb to them, others learn to fight. Confesses the channel source, "While we have seen women give up their self-respect, despite being educated, such episodes also help hike TRPs."
Some serials manage to walk the tightrope and reinforce the social message without diluting its entertainment value. The audience's hearts choked when Ammaji from Na Aana Is Desh Laado wanted her son to remarry because his wife couldn't bear a child; when the single mother protagonist Jyoti faces hardships when she wants to remarry. Sunjoy Wadhwa, the producer of Balika Vadhu, would have us believe that such shows go beyond the hype. "The show was born out of the writer's need to reflect the practice of child marriage and lack of women's empowerment in Rajasthan. It's rampant in many states." He shares that reportedly, two child marriages were called off thanks to the show. In Rajasthan, the public created a ruckus on the eve of the marriage and it had to be called off.
While such social ills are a reality in many parts of the country, how much of this is aptly conveyed. How much of it touches the audience? "None," says Ranjana Kumari, Center for Social Research. She explains, "The upper middle-class doesn't really relate to the issue. They might feel attached to it for the moment, but then move on."
What exactly is the kind of reform we look forward to from television? Admits Bhuvan Ribhu, activist and legal advisor of NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, "It's a positive initiative to bring such issues to our drawing rooms. However, it's important to audit what's depicted. It would be wrong to romanticise a serious issue. The disclaimer should clearly state that the act is a crime and mention the years of imprisonment or fine that it carries. This can further help the cause."
Meanwhile, television bahus also remain difficult to relate to. Where, in India, do we see women who deck up in kanjeevarams throughout the day, even sleeping in all their finery. Their only other preoccupation is gossiping. Says activist Teesta Setalvad, "TV has not been fair to women. They are either shown as victims or vamps out to get male attention!
There's a lack of women of substance on TV, someone who has a mind of her own without being vicious." She also feels that issues such as public education need awareness too. "I recently visited a public school in Mumbai and was disgusted to see it functioning in a vegetable mandi. Next to it was a choked bathroom that was smelling." To reinforce a positive message, the channels probably need to focus on the positive effects of reform, showing happy families and children being educated. After all, to quote Robert Coelho, 'Good attracts good!'
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