TOI: Hum sath sath hain

Hum saath saath hain!

A huge joint Gujarati family... thats so very common in tele soaps.AT explores the trend...

Shruti Jambhekar


All happy families have the same story.A family that prays together,eats together,stays together and stands by each other in tough times.And welcome to this near perfect Gujarati family in most soaps on General Entertainment Channels (GECs).Yes,most of the soaps based on Gujarati families showcase the joint family culture where the women love rolling out theplas and khakras with great ease and the men bring the moolah home.Right from the soaps like Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka or Kyunkii... Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi,and now Gulaal,Ram Milaye Jodi,Hamari Saas Leela,Saath Nibhaana... Saathiya,Sanskar Laxmi,Krishnaben Khakrawala all of them represent the strong family bonding within Gujarati families.But how true is this tube talk
Why do producers prominently focus on Gujarati joint families in these shows Ask Rajita Sharma,producer of Ram Milaye Jodi,she tells,Gujrati families are usually business oriented and family members run a business together.As they work together,they also end up living together under one roof (and in most cases it happens to be the ancestral h o m e ).For television soaps,joint families are also attractive because one can deal with more characters and the complexities add more life to the storyline.This d e f i n i t e ly adds more value to the serial.
Interestingly,women take a big slice of life in all these soaps.Asitkumarr Modi,producer of various soaps that showcase Gujarati families says,Gujarati family shows not only focus on joint families but also strong women in the family.They not only take a part in decision making or put forward their views,they
also actively participate in festivals.Inter-personal relationships are quite strong in Gujarati families.
And,how comfortable are actors in relating to this jointfamily story-telling Actress Apara Mehta says,It is not just in soaps,whenever Im travelling to Gujarat for my plays,I have met people who come and tell me that they are the family of 20-40 persons staying together under one roof.Gujaratis prefer being in a joint family and it could be either due to business or emotional bonding.Even when I was married to Darshan (Jariwala ),we stayed with his parents,brother and sister-in-law at Santa Cruz.So I feel,it is not just a reel talk but thats reality of Gujarati community.They find it easy to function like that. Even actor Deven Bhojani has similar views,Its an age old tradition to live in joint families among Gujaratis.Even today,there are joint families in Gujarat and thats why soaps showcase it and audiences can actually identify with it.I consider myself lucky to be part of such shows and in return get so much of love and affection from the viewers.
Needless to say,as long as the TRPs are riding high,its the family that matters.
shruti.jambhekar@timesgroup.com