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The changing face of love...
Earlier, a child born out of wedlock
and a mistress were never accepted. But today, the concept
of love has many shades
Renuka Shahane (Pooja) in Kora Kagaz
believes that marriage has to do with hearts and not symbols
The
yesteryears, when the idiot box was to be still discovered,
were ruled by Madhubala’s smile, Meena Kumari’s
tears, Dilip Kumar’s melancholy and Rajesh Khanna’s
molten gaze. Raj Kapoor and Nargis were the classic lovers
setting the screen ablaze with the charismatic appeal of their
love! They ruled the big screen and after televsion entered
our living rooms, started ruling the small screen too, in
the absence of anything more captivating and engaging. But
not anymore!
Today our tele stars have become household names. The once
taboo subject of love, sex and extra-marital relationship
have inspired some of our most popular serials and soaps.
The “serial women” are no longer silent and suffering
but determined and dynamic who leave the imprint of their
characters on the lives of female viewers. They dress credibly,
speak articulately but most importantly, they know what they
want, go ahead and get it. They are dynamos effectively capturing
the traumas and conflicts of the urban woman. “Love”
is no longer a “singular” emotion, but seen in its
different shades and manifestations.
Neena Gupta’s Saans has, in recent times, been the most
thought provoking, emotional drama that women all over the
world identify with. Actress and director Neena Gupta admits
that she’s been taken aback by the number of calls she
receives from women who call to tell her how much they identify
with Priya, the betrayed wife. Others call up to say that
they can empathise with the other woman Manisha, an insecure
and possessive lover! “Both”, says Neena, “are
actually different aspects of a singular entity! Love is a
habit... a need... Its manifestations are many... Its shades
plenty! Priya is an everyday woman. Her situation is something
which can happen in reality so she becomes your strong friend.
Manisha trods the forbidden path as many today do and so her
complex emotions are also real. But it is ultimately Priya’s
belief in her own love, her own self realisation, her calm,
composed and non-hysterical manner that make her dignified
and admirable”.
We live in a society that engenders a series of relationships
before “The Big one” - that life-changing intimacy
that makes lovers want to settle down and marry. Renuka Shahne
(Pooja) in STAR Plus’s Kora Kagaz believes that marriage
has to do with hearts and not symbols. She refuses to wear
the traditional sindoor and mangalsutra after being deserted
by her husband, rejects him when he returns to her and refuses
to compromise and settle down in a marriage that has brought
her only disillusionment. Love comes in the form of her devar
Ravi — who’s the exact opposite of her husband —
Mahesh. “Their developing love is shown as a silent mental
and emotional passion,” says Renuka. “There’s
nothing physical between them yet their bonding is complete.
People have not only accepted this relationship but when Mahesh
tried to mend his ways and return to me I’ve had loads
of phone calls telling me not to accept him back!” This
reaction depicts another change in our perception of love.
Love moves, from the physical to the transcendental and this
is probably what most women yearn and still lack in their
relationships!
Says Ekta Kapoor, the driving force behind Balaji Telefilms,
“In a society like ours that is changing, the success
rate of a soap depends on how closely the viewer identifies
with the characters’ emotions.”
We see another aspect of love in the only serial in direct
competition to KBC, Ekta’s Koshish Ek Aasha. How would
you feel, if you were tricked into marrying a mentally challenged
person? Koshish...is about a young girl’s emotions when
faced with such a trauma. She rebels, endures and then accepts
the marriage to discover the silver lining of love behind
the dark clouds!
From, the male point of view, Kawaljeet of Saans, offers some
insights on popular soaps, women, relationships and love.
How did he feel playing the role of a happily married man
who leaves his wife and children for another woman? How harmful
is infidelity? Says Kanwaljeet, “The reasons for infedility
are always different, but the one thing they have in common
is pain. In an age when the physical sufferings of the past
have been eradicated, the emotional pain of the partner’s
betrayal is made even worse by the nagging and painful question
- Why? We’ve tried to make the husband react to Priya’s
pain after he returns to her. He’s not an uncaring monster
but a sensitive man who suffers equally in this triangle -
man-made or ordained by fate! In post-reform the collective
psyche of the Indian male too has undergone transformations.
He supports his life partner and not only appreciates, but
also flaunts her modern standing!”
The serial women today are power women. Depicting the Indian
woman who is at the crossroads of her life who’s trying
to hold on to her inherent, ingrained values and at the same
time refusing to keel under the stress of confusing relationships,
love and infidelity! As Sabira Merchant, the popular T.V.
personality puts it, “Earlier, a child born out of wedlock
and a mistress were never accepted. But today, society, especially
the urban sector is changing, and the concept of love has
many shades and angles and acceptances! Of course, the repercussions
of her chosen path, are her’s alone, whether positive
or negative.”
A modern woman is a mother, a daughter, a wife, a lover, a
bread earner and a rebel. She travels the untrodden path,
encouraged to take a stand by the women she sees on TV. Characters
like Priya, Pooja and Kajal show them the way as she embarks
upon a journey of self-expression, through time, space, relationships...and
love!
Uma
Ajmera
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