Saas Bahu TV and the firangi critic

by Petrichor Wed Dec 26, 2012 9:40 am

"The classic Indian soap opera shot has two characters at odds. One says something shocking, or slaps the antagonist’s face, and the camera slowly pans a circle of men and women frozen in horror and dismay, as chords of dramatic music rain down."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/arts/television/indian-soap-operas-ruled-by-mothers-in-law.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&hp

by MaxEntropy_Man Wed Dec 26, 2012 10:30 am

hahaha. i enjoyed reading that. it's amazing how folks lap up this dreck back home. it's not enough that they conduct their real lives with so much drama, they also have to watch it on the box every day.

by Petrichor Wed Dec 26, 2012 10:54 am

I loved this line -

"“Women like to see their favorite characters express their own feelings, so the mother-in-law identifies with the mother-in-law, the daughter-in-law with the daughter-in-law,” is how Ekta Kapoor explains soap opera transference. "

India must be a therapist's paradise - with such transparent psyches and wholesale identification with fictional characters.

by indophile Wed Dec 26, 2012 12:00 pm

atcg wrote:
India must be a therapist's paradise - with such transparent psyches and wholesale identification with fictional characters.

And they are all one-dimensional.

That said, I wish some desi reporter takes the time to watch soaps here and writes about them in Indian papers. One soap's story line may go - Mary while getting serious with John, warms to christopher, but gets pregnant with Bill who happens to be her step mother's present beau, and the step mom only hints that Bill is sort of AC-DC, and on and on and on.

by Petrichor Wed Dec 26, 2012 12:40 pm

indophile wrote:
That said, I wish some desi reporter takes the time to watch soaps here

What do you think is the percentage of TV viewers (esp. middle class women) tuned to soaps in US versus India?

by indophile Wed Dec 26, 2012 12:54 pm

No idea. Must be enough of them to keep those soaps in business for years on end - As the World Turns, General Hospital, etc.

by Petrichor Wed Dec 26, 2012 2:27 pm

"Soap opera ratings have significantly fallen in the U.S. since the 2000s. No new daytime soap opera has been created since Passions in 1999, while many have been cancelled. The Young and the Restless, the highest rated soap opera, now has less than 5 million daily viewers, a number easily exceeded by several non-scripted programs such as Judge Judy.[18] Circulation of soap opera magazines have decreased and some have even gone out of business.[19] SOAPnet, which largely airs soap opera reruns, began to be phased out in 2012.[20] Since January 2012, four daytime soap operas – General Hospital, Days of our Lives, The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful – continue to air on the three major networks, down from 12 in 1990–91 and a high of 19 in 1969–70. This is the first time since 1953 that there are only four soap operas on broadcast television.[21]"

Compare this to the golden age of TV in India...and you get the picture.

by indophile Wed Dec 26, 2012 3:12 pm

I was not talking about the popularity or viwership of soaps in U.S vs. India. The point I was trying to make is - if it's the saas-bahu thing that's the staple of Indian soaps, then it's the convoluted infidelity, divorce, and other stuff that's the staple of American soaps.

There are no sitcoms to speak of of in Indian TV. So these soaps and some badly designed game shows occupy the primetime slots. I don't watch much of Hindi channels, but in the Telugu commercial channels I do watch on occasion (ETV, MaaTV, Z-Telugu), plenty of time is occupied by filmy dancing type shows along with these soaps and gameshows. Only the free channels like Bhakti TV and SVBC air some interesting cultural programs.

by Propagandhi711 Wed Dec 26, 2012 3:19 pm

The intellectuals are in full blown derision mode today

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