I'm not in the least surprised that we are at the bottom. The show has been on for a long time now and the aspect that had most of the viewers tuning in at first - me especially - was the tension filled relationship between Ahem and Gopi. The way the characters were portrayed at the time showed possibilities of a passionate relationship once the characters were in love. However this hasn't happened much. The romance aspect of the show has been downplayed and the lead couple (I refuse to treat Rashi as parallel leads from now on!) have been ushered into comfortable middle age before they have had a chance for their romance to blossom.
They went from suhaag raat to parenthood in one fell swoop. I felt short changed when the CVs decided that the loyal viewers deserved a bhaang filled SR that Ahem wouldn't even remember until he was confronted with the pregnancy. And from then on the storylines focussed on the empowerment of Gopi (which has now gone by the wayside) but peppered with little sprinkles of romance that didn't really amount to much. Yes we loved them and raved about them but they weren't really enough to keep viewers tuned in. Other soaps do have a lot more in terms of romance so that would explain one reason why viewers have changed the channel.
We didn't get to see the touches between a couple newly awakened to each other that I was expecting to see before Holi last year. First Anita came and ruined everything and then we had a pregnancy. Yes we love Meera and she has brought a new aspect to the Modi family and the leads but it was rather rushed and made us miss out on other things that excellent FF writers have instead provided us with.
And another big reason is that UrShi KKs are not going to hold the viewers much. People watch the KKs because they are interesting but the expectation has always been that UrShi will be caught or that Rashi will be reformed. This doesn't happen and we are subjected to more of the same. The plans may differ slightly but the outcome is alawys the same. Gopi cries, Koki blows and Ahem smoulders (admittedly he looks gorgeous but it's not enough!)
The viewers want progression rather than regression. All I see is that our CVs are unable to think of innovative and original ways to hold our attention so therefore are going back to the old staple.
Anupamaa
