Let’s skip twenty

Let's skip twenty

Nuzhat Aziz

It seems like television soaps are fixated with the number 20 — that's why most generation leaps are 20 years. But if industry insiders are to be believed, the number has more to it than just facilitating a fast forward into the next generation.
"Twenty is a mixed number and has two cycles. It generally means delays, but for some it can be extremely favourable, particularly for those in the entertainment industry," explains numerologist Niraj Mancchanda. "Twenty adds up to two, a number ruled by the Moon. And the entertainment industry as a whole is ruled together by the Moon and Venus, significators of the numbers two and six respectively."
But Sandiip Sikcand, the creative head at Balaji, insists 20 does not hold any particular significance. "Leaps are generally introduced to bring freshness to the story line. New characters are brought in and the track becomes interesting. I think the '20-year syndrome' probably owes its origin to the old Hindi film jargon of 'bees saal baad'. Whenever there was a change in the storyline, it would always be 20 years later. I guess the television industry has picked it up from there."
With leaps apparently a sure-fire formula for pushing up sagging TRPs, most producers succumb to the temptation. "Once the story line takes a flow and certain characters are established, the purpose is achieved. You can't keep stretching the story line. That's when a leap is required. I really don't know why we generally take the 20-year-leap, but I guess it's just a term given by the telly industry," says Kavita Barjatiya, producer of 'Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki...' on Sahara.
The only soap brave enough to break away from the magic figure seems to be 'Tumhari Disha' on Zee, which has decided to take a 25-year leap. Says producer Rupali Guha, "It was the decision of the channel to take a 25-year leap in the story. I don't think 20 or 25 years makes any real difference. There was a research conducted and we decided to change the flow. We would like to call it a re-launch more than a generation leap. I sincerely feel that the main story ends after the 50th episode. But one has to keep reinventing."