Gen leaps r our desi soap 'seasons'

Till not very long ago, Indian audiences associated a season two, three or six only with American sitcoms and shows like Friends and American Idol, but not any more. Today, desi shows too come in seasons
Our very own Indian Idol had its season two not very long ago and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is also getting divided into separate seasons.

Ditto for KBC which came back after a few years and is now planning to have another season once Amitabh Bachchan is ready with his dates by the end of the year. Then there are serials like Hum Paanch, Office Office, Boogie Woogie etc who further demonstrate that the season business has finally arrived on the Indian TV scene.

"In India we have seasons only for reality shows," says Ashwini Yardi, head of programming for Zee TV. "Yes, we did bring Hum Paanch back but that can't be called a seasonal break because it came after a pretty long time. Seasonal breaks are after almost every six months, every year."

But then what's the reason behind producers and channels not making the proper seasons? "There is fear of losing the viewers' interest if one takes a break," explains veteran serial maker Ravi Rai. "A serial like Kyun Ki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is capable of having seasons. But then they too have not taken a chance."

But then the question 'If Rachel in Friends is loved equally in all the seasons, why can't the same happen to beloved Indian screen characters too?' comes to mind. Well, no one has an answer to this, but an expert says, "In India, we have a different kind of season called 'time-leap'. We bring in a new season by jumping few year ahead."

Well, that explains the scenario more or less. Our makers continue to make a show look fresh by introducing a new star cast and story line. But this development cannot be termed as a season break because during a second season the story will start exactly from where it stopped the last time. No new characters or storyline are added. The reason behind no proper seasons could be that viewers haven't digested the fact that the same story can continue to keep their interest levels alive.

Ashwini Yardi further points out that most of our serials are dailies which means the actors in the soaps are over exposed, hence the curiosity factor of seeing them again in the next season is lost. So, according to her, seasons in serials will come but only when we have weeklies during prime time just like they do in the US.