Band, Baaja & TRPs on prime time soaps
Amrita Mulchandani, TNN | Aug 19, 2012, 12.00AM ISTThe sheer visual extravaganza that a marriage track in a telly show involves ' the colourful wedding rituals, lavish sets, custom-made wedding trousseau for the lead couple (and their extended/immediate families), an ensemble of new characters or even a cross-over episode or two with lead characters from other soaps shaking a leg at the wedding functions, a liberal dose of drama ' ensures max eyeballs.
Since Indians, believe in celebrating every festival and occasion with great joy and pomp, show makers use wedding tracks to establish a greater connect with the audience. Now it seems like the wedding season on TV, with top prime time dailies, Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha, Hitler Didi, Ek Doosre Se Karte Hain Pyaar Hum, Teri Meri Love Stories, Madhubala ' Ek Ishq Ek Junoon, Devon Ke Dev...Mahadev, Alaxmi ' Hamari Super Bahu getting the knotty edge.
"As a nation we love weddings, so we like to watch them on TV too. Wedding tracks are colourful, full of drama and song-dance sequences and these tracks garner high ratings as they are high points of a story. Plus, the audience also relates to the happiness of the characters of the show," says producer Sudhir Sharma of Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha.
Producer Nikhil Sinha whose Devon Ke Dev Mahadev had a TRP-tripping wedding track says, "Marriages offer a visual treat for the audiences. Wedding tracks appeal to audiences because of the strong emotional and cultural connect they establish with the audience and also because of the high drama. Marriages in TV shows not only bring in TRPs, they also add a feel-good factor to the show."
Typically when a storyline of a show is on the verge of reaching a stagnation point or requires a little dramatic turn, the wedding tracks serve the requisite purpose by acting as a catalyst and taking the storyline forward. "Marriage tracks take the story to another level. Weddings add a lot of Entertainment value and audiences love to see them," says producer J D Majethia of Ek Doosre Se Karte Hain Pyaar Hum.
But haven't marriage tracks become cliched in TV soaps? Isn't it high time producers experimented with something different to grab the viewers' attention, even when they shoot a wedding track? What about audience fatigue? "Every soap follows the same formula during a wedding track ' visually appealing sets, designer costumes, lots of song sequences, celebrity guests. The audience expects all these elements and we don't diappoint them," shares Majethia.
And in case you thought the wedding fever was short-lived, hold your breath. Prime time shows like Pavitra Rishta, Balika Vadhu ' Kacchi Umar ke Pakke Rishte, Love Marriage Ya Arranged Marriage, Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hain, Dil Se Di Dua... Saubhagyavati Bhava?, Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? have wedding tracks lined up, complete with all the laughter, romance, tearjerking and dramatic moments that keep the soap addicts hooked to their sets. Bring on the popcorn box and revel in The Band, baaja and baarat, while channels and producers dream of better and bigger TRPs!
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