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| Soap fatigue sets in as sagas drag on |
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If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story. Filmmaker Orson Welles could well have been commenting on Indian telly shows. The neverending saas-bahu sagas and perpetual flow of singers crying hoarse on talent hunt shows, feel many, have come of age. Many celebs, including TV stars, believe that time has come for a few programmes to pack up and bid adieu. For starters, Niki Aneja of Astitva Ek Prem Kahani fame, believes that the mother of all soaps Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, "shouldn't be dragged". "It's nothing, but regressive television. The makers can try out something new with the same starcast. It's enough now," says Aneja adding that she would "never be part" of it. Affirms ad guru Alyque Padamsee, "There is no novelty left in the serial. Even the stars and characters have become repetitive and boring." TV queen Mandira Bedi, who played Mandira in the serial, believes that Kyunki... has lived its life. "I acted in it, but the serial has lost its entertainment value. You can't salvage it with generation jumps," adds Bedi. Kyunki... is not alone. According to restaurateur A.D. Singh, Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin has also lost its viewers because of "innumerable twists and turns". He further adds, "As a viewer, I would've loved to see Armaan and Jassi as a pair. But it's frustrating to see them apart." Adds actor Sajid Khan, "A serial can't afford to continue running if it's no longer entertaining." He says, "Personally, I don't watch Jassi... but many believe that it should go off air now. And I am only following people's verdict, which I hope is genuine." Interestingly, it's not only the sobbing sagas making it big on the celeb chopping list. But the latest flavour of the season, reality shows, too rank high. Fashion designer Rina Dhaka, for one, slams the favourite Indian Idol, terming it as "too predictable". She says, "It should be stopped now. The programme brings some bad singers who just come and scream in your ears." But you can't be more mistaken if you thought it's only Hindi soaps and talent shows which are not finding favour. For model-turned-emcee Manpreet Brar, English soaps like Baywatch and The Bold and the Beautiful are "too mindless" to watch anymore. "They have been showing the repeat telecast for a long time now. Even if they re-format the whole show, it should be pulled off air now," says Brar. Theatre personality Arjun Punj, on the other hand, believes that the entire saasbahu package of serials should move out. Says Rina, "We need to grow out of these petty saas-bahu jhagdaas." Punj affirms that these soaps are taking us backwards. He further says, "They should make room for more youth-based shows. The saas-bahu sagas have made TV a tad boring. Who is interested in all this?" he questions. Is anybody listening? |
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