Siddhima/JeRan Unbreakable Bond:Old Is Gold - Page 96

Most people have average looks.Despite this the male and female protagonists of TV shows are generally very good looking. Madhav, the male protagonist of Dil Ki Nazar Se – Khoobsurat has plain looks for a change. It's indeed a positive trend that the average looking central character is gradually gaining predominance on Indian television.

In Zee TV's Afsar Bitiya, the heroine Krishna was simple looking but highly intelligent. She was at times taunted for her dark skin. In Sony TV's Amita Ka Amit, the heroine Amita has extra pounds and a common placed countenance- people often don't notice her inner beauty which is that of an extremely honest, ethical and forthright girl.

Likewise in Sony TV's Dil Ki Nazar Se – Khoobsurat (Shashi Sumeet Mittal Productions )- Madhav who was shown in the first episode as a very bright kid who can recite complicated play dialogues with lan is sadly given the role of the prince's horse just because he has ordinary features and a dark brown complexion. His friend Rahul who is a cute and fair kid is promptly given the prince's role though he can hardly articulate the dialogues. The fat boy of the class is delegated the role of a rock.

In real life we also often treat not so good looking people with a bias. Fair and good looking kids are thronged by admirers who pull their cheeks. Plain looking kids often tend to be cruelly ignored despite their talents. The creative team of Dil Ki Nazar Se – Khoobsurat in its debut episode brought to the notice of the viewers that this kind of discrimination is unfair and wrong.

Just like the parents of little Aradhya, the parents of a beautiful child often instill in their offspring's mind a superiority complex. Aradhya's mom openly tells her that a little princess like her can be paired with only a prince. Nor is she admonished when she doesn't like to see an ugly face on TV, nicknames dark complexioned not-so-pleasant faces as 'the brown ghost' and goes to the extent of even being terrified on seeing them.

It was praiseworthy when they showed a lady firmly telling Aradhya's indulgent parents that they should be ashamed that they are applauding their doted daughter instead of scolding her when she taunts Madhav on stage as the brown ghost. The fact that Aradhya's parents also got a call from the principal may make other principals aware of the fact that they need to take prompt stern action for cases like these. The anguish of Madhav who tries hard to wash off his dark complexion with soap after been insulted on-stage was touchingly done.

The writers did a good job while delineating the child characters in the first episode. Primary school kids were realistically portrayed. It was slightly disappointing though that the characters grew up in the end of the first episode.

The title of the show Dil Ki Nazar Se – Khoobsurat aptly conveys the essence of show which says that we should focus on inner beauty rather than the outward appearance of a human being. Inner beauty often falls on the blind spot in this world. Outer beauty often sadly camouflages undesirable traits of a person to a superficial beholder.

Connecting the plot points of a child Aradhya growing into a teenager was done well. The little girl pins on the soft board of her room a sorry card- in the next shot the board metamorphoses into a board for teenagers on which it's etched 'one of these days I am going to get myself organized'. In the same room a grownup Aradhya is shown applying makeup.

In the forthcoming episodes we will see Aradhya falling in love with a radio jockey so enamoured she is by his voice. This radio jockey is however the dowdy looking Madhav. In real life too many young girls fall in love with radio jockeys assuming them to be knights in shining armours.

The sweet kids who played Aradhya, Rahul and Madhav have done a good job. However kids on most TV shows are artificial instead of spontaneous when they act. The directors need to have workshops with kids training them to act naturally. The child who played Madhav was the only child who was very spontaneous while executing his role. The part where his eyes light up when in the last moment he is asked to play the prince was done with finesse. Later the red ball falls from his grasp when he is deeply grieved on being rebuked by Aradhya in public for his looks.

The art direction is quite up-to-the-mark. The school interiors resembled an uppity ambience. The stage on which the school's play was performed was very colourfully decorated. The nursery in Aradhya's home was sweetly furnished. She was dressed in very pretty dresses which went down well with her character of that of a daughter of well-to-do parents.

The show had had a nice opening. Let's see if this serial which is based on the immortal fairy tale The Beauty and the Beast turns out to be a good modern Indian version imparting the age-old moral that inner beauty should be regarded as the real beauty.

Saraswatichandra hit the screens last night amidst lot of expectations and hullaballoo. And why not? After all… it is "THE" Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ambitious plunge in the world of Indian television.

Now, SLB is known for making movies which are grand in scale and canvas. He is someone who would not shy away from holding a paintbrush to add a touch or two to add extra finesse to a piece of Michelangelo or Leonardo Da Vinci.

We are not exaggerating…watch his creations namely Devdas, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam or Saawariya, one will get awe struck with magic spilling on screen.

So did the master manage to bring in identical opulence and creative genius (as he promised in press conferences) in Saraswatichandra? Well…not at all.

The first episode left us disappointed. It strikes an expository note with all pivotal characters being brought in the foray.

Here we would like to share a bit of observation. SLB is a man who has a hunger for success. And success in TV means TRPs. So what does he do? He sticks to the tried and tested formula. There is a lean hero (Gautam Rode) who looks lost and in pain a la Devdas, a father (Chetan Pandit) who is not happy with his son, asauteli maa (Monica Bedi) who flickers her eyelashes while talking, and of course a beautiful ambitious girl (Jennifer Winget) who is bubbly and brave (similar to Aishwarya Rai from Hum Dil De Chuke).

We also see Kumud's (Jennifer) family who stays in a large mansion and are very hale, hearty and happy (they all seem to be super rich but none seems to work or do anything professionally).

Anyways, so what did Bhansali bring "new" to television. Nothing…absolutely nothing. Yes, we have tight close up shots and jimmy jibs zooping all around. And the usual Bhansali "din tana nana" raag being played at high volumes at the back ground with actors talking emotively (read: plastic like) to the camera.

Bhansali talks about grandeur, larger than life characters, bringing cinema to TV, but we viewers have already seen his antics in movies, why would we ache our eyes watching the same stuff on TV all over again?

Tall claims…fall flat.

New is what Aamir did with Satyamev, new is what Sphere Origins did with Balika Vadhu, new is what Siddharth Basu did with KBC, new is what Optimystix did with Crime Patrol, new is what Ekta did, doing, and will do with her K serials.

When we talk about performances, Gautam looks lean, mean, Charlie Sheen. But we hope he gets out from his "cardboard expressions mode" and actually acts. Chetan Pandit should stick to talking in Hindi and Monica Bedi should Google the meaning of the word, "confidence".

Jennifer Winget as Kumud looks like a rip off of Nandini (Aishwarya Rai) from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.

All in all, we were left disappointed after watching the first episode ofSaraswatichandra. Here's a suggestion. Mr Bhansali, don't be worried about TRPs. Do what you do the best. Be creative and do justice to a great story and re-define romance, emotion, magic on small screen. The show can add a new dimension to the entire realm of Indian television.

Tellychakkar.com hopes that in the coming days, Bhansali will manage to rein in proceedings and understand the difference between TV and cinema and makeSaraswatichandra watchable.

Before signing off, we would like to state a thought. Why is that every time a Bollywood biggie "descends" to television business, channels go gaga about it. But there are regular TV producers (who are equally talented) who have to fight with pitch &fork to keep their projects afloat and deal with budgetary issues.

We used the word "descend" as that is what the broadcasters are making of it. Be it SLB or Aamir or Amitabh, they all are respected and good at what they do, but there is also something called "equality of treatment".

Television has grown and will breed in leaps and bounds and someone like SLB can only add to its progress.

Here's wishing Saraswatichandra all the luck and success!!!