In praise of older men

In praise of older men

Every week, one TV serial or the other skips a generation to grow younger. However, it's the older men who are scoring with audiences.

There's the gentle lover boy in Jab Luv Hua, there's the sulky looking Aditya who is hoping Chandni will look at him again and forsake her fiance, and then there is a host of young men, across channels who look at though they just came out of a shower. For all their youth and exuberance, these young TV characters don't really stand a chance against the older men on TV who are more charismatic and well, dare we say it, better looking? Even as television drama does everything to get younger, it is ironical that the leading TV male stars of today are not these young bucks but TV veterans - albeit not all that old. Joining Mihir (Ronit Roy) is Ram Kapoor in Kasam Se, and Rohit Roy in Viraasat as well as Aman Verma and Amar Upadhyay (in the same serial). The lead male character in Zee's popular Saath Phere is Saloni's husband, hardly a teenager by the looks of him. Both Kasauti Zindagi Kay and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, although over populated with younger generations, still depend on the old faithfuls like Cezanne Khan and Anoop Soni who plays Parvati's husband

All of these male stars have been around for a long while - read at least 5-6 years. Yet, they are playing the lead romantic roles while their younger co-stars languish in nowhere land. In Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thhi, the male characters who were supposed to become the leading lights such as Gautam, Karan and Saahil have been embroiled in family warfare while it's left to Mihir to be involved in the love triangle. Similarly, in Kasam Se, it is Ram Kapoor's character who is at the heart of all the heartburn. What has happened here? Is it that we don't like younger men? Or do audiences prefer the older variety? Certainly the audience for prime time Hindi TV dramas seem sold on the latter. Housewives, who make up the majority of viewers for daily soaps, who have been loyally watching their K serials do not seem much impressed by the younger generation of men. Give them Mihir and Mr.Bajaj any day.

The fact that a new serial such as Viraasat is also dependent on old TV hands like AmarUpadhyay and Aman Verma and the new thriller, Akela also features an old TV favorite, Sudhanshu Pandey, reinforces the perception that for all its youthful appearance, Indian TV serials are heavily dependent on the 'older' men to attract viewers.

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