Posted:
First things first, I'm going to be honest and tell that I am not a regular viewer of this show, but I do catch a scene or two every now and then since the show aired while changing channels or when I am procrastinating. This is my first post in a very long time on any forum, and what drove me to write it is my complete and utter frustration over some aspects of this show and Indian shows in general. While this is in no way a bashing post, I may vent a little bit.
Recently I have started watching more of Swaragini, and since this is an Indian daily soap, watching 2-3 episodes basically gives you the gist of the entire show. At least to me it does. It's not hard to guess a story when it gets dragged for weeks on end. My main issue with this show and basically every other Indian show these days is it's regressive approach towards women and their negative stereotyping.
I remember the old days when the Indian Television Industry came up with some very interesting and refreshing shows that people remember to this day. Before Ekta Kapoor basically destroyed all sense and rhyme with her Killer K shows. Since the past few years, almost every show that I have had the misfortune to comes across and starts with so much promise ends up getting on the same track as all the other shows on other channels.
Excess of negative female characters - Check
Useless side characters - Check
Similar romantic scenes and story lines - Check
Wasted potential story lines - Double Check
Pointless melodrama - Check
Never ending family politics - Check
Male characters being used more like brainless mannequins than being useful to the story - Check
Women acting like doormats in the name of goodness - Infinity Check
All around negativity in a show - All the checks in the world would be less for this one
No matter how a show starts, sooner or later there comes a time when these factors come into play in each one of them. It disappoints and frustrates me to no end to see how women are being portrayed either only as doormats or complete bitches. There's no balance. But Swaragini took it one step further by trying to portray a delusional psychopath as a misjudged victim of her desires and not the immoral, malevolent and depraved criminal that she is. Every time Ragini comes on screen, I have this strong urge to go to the makers of this show and shake some sense into them to stop depicting her character as if what she has done is no big deal and show her for the complete and utter bitch she is. The background music during her scenes basically speaks "victim" . I don't know if others feel that way but that's what the music and songs during her scenes make me feel. And her constant crying and preaching that she's not wrong but is being made to act this way for her love. Give me a break. Nobody has a gun to her head. If she doesn't want to be bad, as she says herself, then don't be bad, simple. But a girl who can readily send her mother to jail for a crime she didn't commit just for the success of her plan to ultimately seduce her husband into bed with her is as evil as anybody can get. I mean, that's basically what all this is about for her isn't it? To sleep with Laskhya as his rightful (yeah right) wife?
And Lakshya. I don't even know how to put his stupidity into words. Ever since the beginning, Lakshya has seemed like the most weak character to me on this show. I know there were and probably still are many Lakshya-Swara supporters, but honestly, I never saw their appeal. For me, these two never worked. I was actually glad to see them separated because Laskhya is basically a spineless character and I wouldn't want to put any girl through being with him forever. I remember when he was supposed to be getting engaged to Ragini while he actually loved Swara, even then he didn't have the courage to speak up for himself. He just kept mum till it was too late. And when he and Swara finally did get together and he claimed to love her, he was the first person to fall for Ragini's lies and declare Swara as the culprit. Is that how people in love act like? The way he just jumped the Ragini-Is-Pure-As-Ganges bandwagon makes me feel as if he is too dense to even know what love means. As if not believing her wasn't enough of a slap to Swara's love. He treats her like shit half the time. humiliates her, and calls her a liar and manipulator every chance he gets. It's like he's a robot and is programmed to the "Ragini is right" settings by default.
I don't know the full story surrounding Sanskar and why he acted abnormal in the beginning of the show. What I've gathered is that he loved someone and Laskhya did something that caused him to lose his girlfriend and he was doing all that to take revenge. Anyway, as far as I have seen him, he seems like the only character on this show who has a spine and stands up and fights for what he feels is right and also has the courage to admit when he's wrong. The rest of the characters, oh dear God, they are the most simpleminded bunch of people I have ever seen. They are not contributing anything at all to the story except boring me to death. Their usefulness is limited till giving unwanted inputs over issues that don't concern them.
And Swara. She has disappointed me the most. Her character and revenge agenda had so much promise, but the writers just don't seem to know what to do with it. What is even the point of the whole fake marriage angle? This story line is so vastly recycled in basically every show and there was so much the makers could have achieved by introducing this to Swaragini but they have spectacularly failed. Ragini basically proved her to be a characterless drug addict and tried to kill her and all we hear her talking about is getting her parents back together. Where did all her claims of getting even with Ragini and exposing her lies in front of everyone go? Where is her master plan she discussed with her grandmother? Frankly, her claims of being courageous and knowing what she's doing make me laugh now. She has no plan at all. Her fake wedding to Sanskar is serving no purpose except showing she has chemistry with him. Her so called sister is a killer, and instead of doing the right thing and exposing that psychopath, she keeps getting all soft and mushy over her. In what world is anyone THAT good?
What I'm trying to say through this post is that am I the only one who feels this way or are there others out there who do too? If so, why do we still watch these shows? Is it because of the good looking male leads and their chemistry with the female leads? Does romance in a show help ignore all it's flaws? Are viewers actually okay with seeing such regressive story lines and weak women as long as they get a good love story to go with it? Doesn't the excessive and unwanted negativity in these shows put you off? Can romance alone sail the ship of an entire show? Because as much as I enjoy a good romance like every other person, it really puts me off if the supporting story lines and plots have nothing to offer. After a few weeks of watching the same romance repeatedly, I stop watching a show altogether. Especially when the female leads are so dense and act all noble when they are basically the biggest fools and are tolerable as long as they provide a cute scene with the male lead.
It's sad to see that in recent years, some very good shows with potential got axed due to not generating enough TRPs before they even properly began. Whereas Ekta type shows which are showing the same old recycled story lines with different faces go on for years on end and people actually like watching them. Unfortunately, Swaragini falls in the same category. But judging by the TRPs I guess people are okay with the way the show has been shaping up. I would have liked to think that time has changed and people and societies are progressing. But, I guess it's different with the TRP audience and those we come across on such forums, because since I became a member of India Forums, I have across some very delightful and strong minded viewers who understand the frustration behind these daily soap stereotypes and want to see a change in the dynamics of the television industry.
Avid watchers and fans of the show, I apologize if my post offended you. Please know that it wasn't my intention. I just wanted to share my views and know the opinions of others around here. I am in no way bashing Swaragini. I watch this show every now and then too. I am merely stating some of my observations regarding my issue with the lack of a concrete story line. Even though I enjoy watching Sanskar and Swara's scenes together, that alone is not going to keep me hooked to the show for very long.
Recently I have started watching more of Swaragini, and since this is an Indian daily soap, watching 2-3 episodes basically gives you the gist of the entire show. At least to me it does. It's not hard to guess a story when it gets dragged for weeks on end. My main issue with this show and basically every other Indian show these days is it's regressive approach towards women and their negative stereotyping.
I remember the old days when the Indian Television Industry came up with some very interesting and refreshing shows that people remember to this day. Before Ekta Kapoor basically destroyed all sense and rhyme with her Killer K shows. Since the past few years, almost every show that I have had the misfortune to comes across and starts with so much promise ends up getting on the same track as all the other shows on other channels.
Excess of negative female characters - Check
Useless side characters - Check
Similar romantic scenes and story lines - Check
Wasted potential story lines - Double Check
Pointless melodrama - Check
Never ending family politics - Check
Male characters being used more like brainless mannequins than being useful to the story - Check
Women acting like doormats in the name of goodness - Infinity Check
All around negativity in a show - All the checks in the world would be less for this one
No matter how a show starts, sooner or later there comes a time when these factors come into play in each one of them. It disappoints and frustrates me to no end to see how women are being portrayed either only as doormats or complete bitches. There's no balance. But Swaragini took it one step further by trying to portray a delusional psychopath as a misjudged victim of her desires and not the immoral, malevolent and depraved criminal that she is. Every time Ragini comes on screen, I have this strong urge to go to the makers of this show and shake some sense into them to stop depicting her character as if what she has done is no big deal and show her for the complete and utter bitch she is. The background music during her scenes basically speaks "victim" . I don't know if others feel that way but that's what the music and songs during her scenes make me feel. And her constant crying and preaching that she's not wrong but is being made to act this way for her love. Give me a break. Nobody has a gun to her head. If she doesn't want to be bad, as she says herself, then don't be bad, simple. But a girl who can readily send her mother to jail for a crime she didn't commit just for the success of her plan to ultimately seduce her husband into bed with her is as evil as anybody can get. I mean, that's basically what all this is about for her isn't it? To sleep with Laskhya as his rightful (yeah right) wife?
And Lakshya. I don't even know how to put his stupidity into words. Ever since the beginning, Lakshya has seemed like the most weak character to me on this show. I know there were and probably still are many Lakshya-Swara supporters, but honestly, I never saw their appeal. For me, these two never worked. I was actually glad to see them separated because Laskhya is basically a spineless character and I wouldn't want to put any girl through being with him forever. I remember when he was supposed to be getting engaged to Ragini while he actually loved Swara, even then he didn't have the courage to speak up for himself. He just kept mum till it was too late. And when he and Swara finally did get together and he claimed to love her, he was the first person to fall for Ragini's lies and declare Swara as the culprit. Is that how people in love act like? The way he just jumped the Ragini-Is-Pure-As-Ganges bandwagon makes me feel as if he is too dense to even know what love means. As if not believing her wasn't enough of a slap to Swara's love. He treats her like shit half the time. humiliates her, and calls her a liar and manipulator every chance he gets. It's like he's a robot and is programmed to the "Ragini is right" settings by default.
I don't know the full story surrounding Sanskar and why he acted abnormal in the beginning of the show. What I've gathered is that he loved someone and Laskhya did something that caused him to lose his girlfriend and he was doing all that to take revenge. Anyway, as far as I have seen him, he seems like the only character on this show who has a spine and stands up and fights for what he feels is right and also has the courage to admit when he's wrong. The rest of the characters, oh dear God, they are the most simpleminded bunch of people I have ever seen. They are not contributing anything at all to the story except boring me to death. Their usefulness is limited till giving unwanted inputs over issues that don't concern them.
And Swara. She has disappointed me the most. Her character and revenge agenda had so much promise, but the writers just don't seem to know what to do with it. What is even the point of the whole fake marriage angle? This story line is so vastly recycled in basically every show and there was so much the makers could have achieved by introducing this to Swaragini but they have spectacularly failed. Ragini basically proved her to be a characterless drug addict and tried to kill her and all we hear her talking about is getting her parents back together. Where did all her claims of getting even with Ragini and exposing her lies in front of everyone go? Where is her master plan she discussed with her grandmother? Frankly, her claims of being courageous and knowing what she's doing make me laugh now. She has no plan at all. Her fake wedding to Sanskar is serving no purpose except showing she has chemistry with him. Her so called sister is a killer, and instead of doing the right thing and exposing that psychopath, she keeps getting all soft and mushy over her. In what world is anyone THAT good?
What I'm trying to say through this post is that am I the only one who feels this way or are there others out there who do too? If so, why do we still watch these shows? Is it because of the good looking male leads and their chemistry with the female leads? Does romance in a show help ignore all it's flaws? Are viewers actually okay with seeing such regressive story lines and weak women as long as they get a good love story to go with it? Doesn't the excessive and unwanted negativity in these shows put you off? Can romance alone sail the ship of an entire show? Because as much as I enjoy a good romance like every other person, it really puts me off if the supporting story lines and plots have nothing to offer. After a few weeks of watching the same romance repeatedly, I stop watching a show altogether. Especially when the female leads are so dense and act all noble when they are basically the biggest fools and are tolerable as long as they provide a cute scene with the male lead.
It's sad to see that in recent years, some very good shows with potential got axed due to not generating enough TRPs before they even properly began. Whereas Ekta type shows which are showing the same old recycled story lines with different faces go on for years on end and people actually like watching them. Unfortunately, Swaragini falls in the same category. But judging by the TRPs I guess people are okay with the way the show has been shaping up. I would have liked to think that time has changed and people and societies are progressing. But, I guess it's different with the TRP audience and those we come across on such forums, because since I became a member of India Forums, I have across some very delightful and strong minded viewers who understand the frustration behind these daily soap stereotypes and want to see a change in the dynamics of the television industry.
Avid watchers and fans of the show, I apologize if my post offended you. Please know that it wasn't my intention. I just wanted to share my views and know the opinions of others around here. I am in no way bashing Swaragini. I watch this show every now and then too. I am merely stating some of my observations regarding my issue with the lack of a concrete story line. Even though I enjoy watching Sanskar and Swara's scenes together, that alone is not going to keep me hooked to the show for very long.
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