prime time head turners

Prime time headturners

TV women usually follow stereotypes. They are either weeping willows or middle-class Jassi-me-toos

SOMASHUKLA SINHA WALUNJKAR Sunday, March 05, 2006   You thought Indian soaps could do nothing better than bring 'unrealistic' images of an elitist, opulent India into predominantly middle-class living rooms? Well, if you were to believe in the TAM data that reflects what India is watching week after week, you'd think, only kanjeevaram clad women living in their gilded cages rule hearts. It's an irony, considering that with the dawn of satellite TV and even pre-satellite TV, reel rebels did capture audiences' attention. So there were "normal women": a housewife (Rajni, DD), a journalist (Shanti, DD), a police officer (Udaan, DD) and a professional (Tara, Zee TV) trying to live with dignity.   Satellite channels brought with them a role revolution. As women shed their staidness, just like their scantily-clad counterparts on MTV or Channel V discarded their clothes, soap protagonists too went the way of the Bold and Beautiful (think Banegi Apni Baat, Zee). Protagonists of soaps shed their inhibitions and staid look and took to power dressing and designer wardrobes. This may have been reflective of the impact middle-class girls were making in real-life boardrooms.   Afternoon soaps too came into their own with the lunchtime dose of drama and intrigue offered by Shanti and Swabhimaan to name some. The bitchiness of most of these new reel models had a negativity which reeked of everything but women's empowerment.   In the 90s, TV's female protagonists seemed to wield power in boardrooms (Swabhimaan) before a crop of soaps that glamourised adultery took over the skies. Neena Gupta's Saans breathed a whole new dimension into family sagas by bringing middle class infidelity out of the bedroom into the living room. Serials like Hasratein, Heena, Kora Kagaz, et al, glamourised the new code of morality wherein extra-marital relationships were not the exception, but the rule. Just when viewers had begun wondering where all this spouse-swapping would lead, the small screen found Ekta Kapoor.   The actual divorce from middle-class realities perhaps got the final seal with the 'K' stamp, which has deluged Indian television since 2000. The K serials churned out by Kapoor did for television what the IT explosion did to the job market. Her Balaji Telefilms first fed the masses with an unrealistic, gilt-edged portrait of the Great Indian Family with its Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi soaps. But Kapoor also inspired other production houses and even stepped in to create a hunger for a place in this affluent, 'other' India with designer me-toos. "In films the woman is viewed only as a glamourous prop. On television women rule. They are making decisions. That is women's empowerment," says Kapoor.   "We made Tara at a time when people were not prepared for a strong woman like her. Miilee (Miilee; Star Plus) is out to carve her own identity in a man's world. That makes her an achiever," feels producer Vinta Nanda. On Zee, Dr Simran (Astitva) and Kareena (Kareena Kareena) did start off as independent working women in 2004, but halfway down the line the stories lost their froth and became soggy family melodramas.   Just when one thought that Indian soaps could offer no variety, it took one ordinary-looking face to strip away the layers of artificiality from the greasepaint and well made-up faces that the other family dramas were beaming. The bespectacled Jassi did bring in a whiff of reality and it symbolised Indian television's remarriage to realism and credibility. Only like a lot of good things, Jassi's realism didn't last. She is today a good bahu juggling a career and appeasing her sulky husband! (sulky???😛ya rite..😡))   Not that there's reason to push the panic button yet. The 'Indian middleclass girl' is still trying to infuse an element of credibility, and is now thriving in various shows across channels — Kittu Sab Janti Hai (Sahara One), India Calling (Star One), Saat Phere (Zee TV), Yeh Ladki Anjani Si (Sony), Millee (Star Plus) and Shanno Ki Shaadi (Star Plus).   In the end it's not enough to help sell soaps to Indian homes, one also has to be viewed with dignity.

talk about appeasing your hubby..jassi knows it best 😉

This content was originally posted by: a4j4ever

Prime time headturners

TV women usually follow stereotypes. They are either weeping willows or middle-class Jassi-me-toos

SOMASHUKLA SINHA WALUNJKAR Sunday, March 05, 2006   Just when one thought that Indian soaps could offer no variety, it took one ordinary-looking face to strip away the layers of artificiality from the greasepaint and well made-up faces that the other family dramas were beaming. The bespectacled Jassi did bring in a whiff of reality and it symbolised Indian television's remarriage to realism and credibility. Only like a lot of good things, Jassi's realism didn't last. She is today a good bahu juggling a career and appeasing her sulky husband! (sulky???😛ya rite..😡))

i recently heard an interesting quote:

when the dogs bark, the mountains don't come down...

so my reaction..... let the barking dogs be😆 😆 😆

heheheee " a good bahu juggling a career and appeasing her sulking husband" . My sentiments exactly, this has been my point from the beginning of the show when Jassi was shown falling for Armaan. He was always sulky used to getting his own way and even now nothing has changed. Nice to know others share this viewpoint. 👏

when has armaan sulked 😕 ...he has only got angry 😳 or impatient 😳 ....but i dont think he has ever stayed aloof from things or has withdrawn.....sulk would mean to be silent and childishly refuse to smile or be pleasant to people because you are angry about something that they have done....when has armaan behaved in a childish manner...of course he was impulsive and arrogant and insensitive but he has never been sulky or would never in future sulk over things😳
 ...anyways..i love armaan and my lowe wouldnt decrease 😳 any bit because people all him all different names like "EYESORE"  (yeah, like the fat uncle saint was a greeek god 🤢 ) ......and rotten egg and a chauvinist pig 😡 (some random newbie) Edited by Buffie - 18 years ago

if arman is " sulky" then what will u call the K-serial heroes 😆 i cant find names to describe them
boneless/spineless,characterless,cry babies......u can add everything
someone said they like kzk ...well well well.....anurag basu the most cry baby ,spineless character ,if he is there then arman is sure "sulky" 😆

So we all know that the article writer doesn't know his a's from his b's. But can anyone blame Armaan for being so sulky? If I had a wife who did whatever she wanted to and never listened to me or talked to me, I would be a bit sulky too. 😃

Do you guys always have to drag in K serials? 😕

jeezz...lolzzzz........oh well, egoistic, insensitive, impulsive describe Armaan better than 'sulky' though....lolzz

But its good he has a wife like Jassi who thinks of the long term - if she hadn't penetrated gulmuhor, Armaan would never achieve his dream - once again, she shows more business acumen.... 😆

This content was originally posted by: jprasad

So we all know that the article writer doesn't know his a's from his b's. But can anyone blame Armaan for being so sulky? If I had a wife who did whatever she wanted to and never listened to me or talked to me, I would be a bit sulky too. 😃

i would be angry jp!😛and ok soo who doesnt like sulky armaan?his nose looks really cute then..😳