The Things Indian Daily Soaps Have Taught Me

Disclaimer: I have honestly watch on two shows with serious viewer loyalty... one is the show we cant talk about and the other is Rangrasiya...
This viewership has nothing to do with the lead pairs or the production house or the writers.The promo caught my eye... my brain said it seems to be a different concept for Indian show... and I said lets try it!!
Fortunately or unfortunately... the writer of the both the shows was common. But through the two soaps that I did watch faithfully... there are some great insights I have had about how to make a daily soap.

• Pick up dozens of Mills & Boon and find a dark compelling character who is the hero. Mommy, daddy issues always help keep the darkness intense but he must essentially be misunderstood, i.e. coconut shell maine nariyal paani. If M&Bs don't help, find a copy of the good old Shakespeare's work.
  
  
• Get a female character who will be the chalk to the guy's cheese, the oil to his water... mainly sits in a whole different box from the guy.
  
  
• After you have memorized the characters, put the M&B down and re-watch family dramas and understand its nuances and the game of kitchen politics.
  
  
• Find tons of loose sheets and a creative team to brainstorm and pen down the characterisation, habits, clothing and temperament. Ensure you don't mention the names of the M&Bs you read and the sites you checked to gather this information. Make your conversation as fluid as possible to make it look like it just came to you over a cup of chai!!
  
  
• Get the discussed details down on loose sheets. Don't bother numbering the pages or binding them. It look like more work and you seem and feel more creative when you hold the sheets loose!!
  
  
• While penning the character down, limit the discussion to why he and she are like this. The points must not go into what they will do as the story progresses because of them being like this. That not creativity!!! The past that the viewers don't see and only find out from promo interviews is what the brainstorming sessions must focus on.
  
  
• Spend ten months discussion "Woah Aaisa Kyu Hai" with your team and leads and get the look right!
  
  
• If time permist write the tracks for the first 3- 4 months but always keep shape on the pages for any changes.
  
  
• Sell the "Woah Aisa hai aur Kyu Hai" idea to the interested or needy channel and tell them its a love story. BAS! Describe the characters and say ab how these two will fall in love is what the show is about! BINGO... you got the deal!
  
  
• Show the lead to be rich and well off but only give him five pair of clothes to wear.
  
  
• Show many workers in their house/ haveli but ensure the family is always cooking in the kitchen and can't afford help for that!
  
  
• Follow your notes religiously for the first 3-4 months and give interviews to tell the viewers how hard you worked on penning this story down.
  
  
• Introduce support caste as the strength of the story line and make them feel important too.
  
  
• By then if the show gains viewership... leave notes lying on the table and allow them to fly off. Alternately, you could also lend then to chote on the sets to serve samosas and kachoris to set wale.
  
  
• It's not mandatory to have your introductory notes and not watch your episodes to write the story ahead.
  
  
• You should be creative and use out of the box thinking to come up with innovative ideas and it doesn't matter if it does not flow with the ongoing track. Remember fools don't understand creativity.
  
  
• Depend heavily on your own mood to decide what the characters will do in the episode today. So what if the brooding dude wants to giggle or the silent damsel becomes chirpy. It's called improvisation not out of character behaviour. And anyways who remembers what was written down in the brainstorming sessions.
  
  
• Forget about the so called strong supporting cast, who apparently were essential to the story line. Give them some vegetables to cut or 5 expressions to emote.
  
  
• Introduce tracks after tracks before wrapping previous tracks at rajadhani's speed. Audience must get so confused and worried about having missed something that they must be forced to rewatch old episodes on YouTube to clarify the same.
  
  
• Make episode notes on multiple sheets and tell the director to shoot them in any sequence.
  
  
• It's ok if sometimes notes from multiple shows that you are writing get mixed up. Yeah public hai.. yeah kuch nahi jaanti hai.
  
  
• And if people complain then tell them... Dekha na hai to dheko!
  
  
• When you run out of inspiration on how to take the story forward... say itna paisa main itna hi milega!
  
  
• Then ponder.. I just don't understand why these western shows take such long breaks to just write one track. Hum tho 5 -6 shows saath maine likhate and karate hai!!

Hi Jules,

Originally posted by: zeffy2k2

Hi Jules,

That is super hilarious! Aapne toh pura character analysis kar diya, not abt the people on-screen, but behind the scenes! Unki mehnat ko kissi ki nazar na lage!

Thanks for bringing a huge smile on our face! Loved it! 😆😆

P.S The bullet points - 👍🏼 No one would skip any content while skimming through!

Main Majboor thi!!! Of late I am been cursing myself for investing time in these shows!!

Originally posted by: jules

Main Majboor thi!!! Of late I am been cursing myself for investing time in these shows!!

Originally posted by: zeffy2k2

Agar yehi baatein sunn ne walon tak pahuch jaaye toh...

Chill ji, TRP auties kabhi nahin aage badhne dengi! Alas, hum jaise log get victimized!

You know I get the game of TRP for business and profits but when you try making changes to the story or take the story forward you work in a haphazard manner.. like you were a new recruit who hasnt even watch an episode before...that I dont get

Yeh kya yaar u want GH to be out of work, u have done a complete character analysis of a certain Creative... his every show starts with a bang and after the initial 5/6 months period the show lose kts steam... like u I also started watching the 2 said shows just bcz the promos were appealing but both the shows met the same fate... I must say that GH must have an excellent PR skills that having such mediocre or rather non existent creative skills he manage to grab new shows with such consistency.

Originally posted by: jules

You know I get the game of TRP for business and profits but when you try making changes to the story or take the story forward you work in a haphazard manner.. like you were a new recruit who hasnt even watch an episode before...that I dont get

Originally posted by: farheen75

Yeh kya yaar u want GH to be out of work, u have done a complete character analysis of a certain Creative... his every show starts with a bang and after the initial 5/6 months period the show lose kts steam... like u I also started watching the 2 said shows just bcz the promos were appealing but both the shows met the same fate... I must say that GH must have an excellent PR skills that having such mediocre or rather non existent creative skills he manage to grab new shows with such consistency.

RR could have become an amazing show if they would have stuck to the original intense love story track and could have used Tarun Khanna as the main villain efficiently but instead they start mixing every ingredient available together to make a dish which is simply awful.

He does have a skill and it is mainly because he doesn't work to develop the story line!! He thinks good start is full done!!
RR did have great scope but when I look back I feel they really rushed through the story and now they have nothing to show, keeping the story line

🤣🤣🤣👏

Originally posted by: zeffy2k2

You get the game of TRP? ! 😲

On a serious note, It's a faulty system being implemented and the creators are forced to changes their stories to meet the demands of some family households, who indirectly determine the fate of the show! I am sure they have a brilliant team, cast to support it, but alas they are forced to make the necessary changes, thereby disappointing their loyal fans!

Sorry about the late reply, got caught up!

The viewship game is what drives the television industry across the world... shows that follow the season format get cancelled when they dont garner enough viewership. Here they hit panick button and roll out damn story lines to garner trp.

The issue is that the web viewing and the format of recording shows for later viewing is not something that gets accounted for and till the television industry doesnt accept that as the growing trend... the game of numbers will always win!!