The grievance seems valid if one looks at two high-profile shows launched this week. Both Sacch ka Saamna and Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao are based on formulae created abroad (The Moment Of Truth and I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here respectively). In fact, TV seems populated by shows which, if they’re not based on foreign formats, seem to justify the tag of ‘the idiot box’, by overdoing drama and lowering cerebral content. The big question is, when did Indian television shows stop being about creative and smart entertainment?
Most people’s list of classic Indian television would include shows from the Doordarshan era, like Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Nukkad and Malgudi Days, which elicit fond nostalgia. The reason for this, actor Shefali Shah believes, is that new shows have nothing original to offer. “Since the trend for daily soaps started, production houses have turned into factories. Obviously, the content has suffered,” she reasons.
Actor Kanwaljeet Singh feels that tight scheduling has led to subtleties of plotting being left out. He adds that there’s also greater pressure on actors, “A lot of actors, especially younger ones, tend to work till 3 am. This kind of stress reflects in an actor’s work.”
A lot of the shows also lack the edge that made the older ones stand out. Actor Rajeshwari Sachdev points out, “There is too much gloss in TV shows, which makes them difficult to relate with. They lack the edge of realism, that was there in old shows like Buniyaad. It shows a lack of commitment to the script if you show a person who earns Rs 500 per month, wearing a shirt that costs the same.”
Television veteran Satish Shah blames the surfeit of hackneyed shows on a tendency to play it safe. “Success is based on the tried-and-tested formulae. This is what happened with the reality shows as well as the soaps. For that reason when something different comes out, channels don’t give it enough publicity, as they feel the audience wants more of the same stuff.” he says.
The actor, however, feels that the tendency to look back at the old days as the golden period of television is because back then people didn’t really have an option. “Doordarshan was the only channel we had and in any case, television itself was such a big deal. Now, we can afford to be picky and criticise everything on TV since we have the luxury of choice.” Actor Sulabha Arya who worked with Shah on Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi agrees: “The audience is watching many more shows—both Indian and Western. People are more aware and more demanding. It’s a challenge for producers to keep producing something new.”
Shyam Benegal, maker of the classic Bharat Ek Khoj, also feels it’s unfair to compare today’s scenario with DD days. He says, “Doordarshan was controlled by the government and was naturally concerned about showing socially-and educationally-relevant programmes. That doesn’t hold true for today’s channels. They’ve invested a lot of money to retain viewership and so they resort to eyeball-grabbing tactics. Unfortunately, education and social commentary do not fall in that category.”
