Dear Jhanvi,
I think it is an obsession on the grand scale, and this for a couple of virtual characters over whose fate we have ABSOLUTELY no control. And as for the idea that we can influence the writers of PR by stopping watching PR and thus lowering the TRPs, those suggesting this have no idea how the TRP system actually works. (Please see the link to a good article on this: http://amic.org.sg/blog/2011/01/12/broadcasters-must-pay-to-expand-trp-system-india/)
The Indian TRP system is based on just 8000 viewer homes ALL over India, and the govt. now wants this raised to 30,000! For a country of 1.2 billion, where at least 200 million cable connections exist. So, we have NO way of making Ekta Kapoor (a prime example of a super-manipulative TV boss) and her minions change course if they do not want to.
Reading some of the posts today was a scary experience. It is not right that so many people should be turned inside out at the whim of the CVs. Not that this is something new, or even an Indian phenomenon: in the 19th century, Americans used to throng the wharves where ships from England used to bring the latest instalment of Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop, and all of America wept when Little Nell died. The problem now is that communication is practically instantaneous across the globe, and so we are forced to agonise or rejoice every second in front of our PC/laptop screens.
I am told that even for Indian TV soaps, such a fatal attraction (I apologise for quoting myself!) is not common, and that it is in fact unique for this track of PR. If so, this is because Arjun and Purvi have been so extraordinarily well developed, written, cast and acted. We connect with them viscerally, rather like falling in love oneself, but free of all the attendant complications that arise in real life. It is really surreal.
I am not going to stop watching PR as some advise, for one should not shy away from unpleasant experiences, and then again, as the Greeks always said, pain is a catharsis. But I resent having my mood spoilt for a couple of foolish kids: a boy who cannot react quickly enough and drastically enough in a crisis, and a girl with a tendency to see the worst in him. And I see no point in spending time and effort reading tea leaves or sheep's entrails like Catharine de Medicis, trying to second guess the CVs. So I shall cool it till things become a little clearer, and I have inflicted only a couple of short responses on the forum today.
As for you, if this is what you mean by "wean myself off a little :)", I wonder what you are like when in full flow! This said, I loved your "Arjun's Promise" of today. Isn't it curious that while we know that most Indian TV serials, and the Balaji productions in particular, are chaotic at best and incoherent at worst, we still try to analyse every pronouncement by the major characters as if it was the Oracle of Delphi speaking, or at least a Talmudic text?To conclude, I was intrigued to note that the tide is turning as far the wholesale and vehement condemnation of Arjun, as a wimp or a coward or worse. is concerned. There is a distinct sign of opinion softening as far as he is concerned, probably thanks to the SBB segments showing Rithwik's amazingly mobile face and his mastery of the tragic look. So Arjun looks so pathetic and devastated that hearts are beginning to go out to the poor boy once more. Whereas I, who spent so much effort defending him with total conviction, would have liked to have given him a solid kick in the seat of the pants for being so stupid in a crunch situation. But then I am breaking my own maxim of not theorizing (or reacting) without data, and so I shall revert to waiting and watching. I am sure better times lie ahead.
Shyamala
Originally posted by: soapwatcher1
😆 Shyamala, tell me about this all consuming interest in this new hobby! I catch myself sneaking a peek at this page to see if Tanya has put up her update as of yet 😃
I have to admit I am intrigued by all the wonderfully edifying posts from the other members as their words paint perceptions and nuances that I have managed to miss. Sigh, I better get back to my precise and definitive numbers, boring in comparison to the drama enfolding on PR but reel is different from real.😭
Sports
