LOSING ITS LUSTRE
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lifeiscool
by Nikhil Arora
Television, often termed as an idiot box was anything
but idiot at the time of it’s inception. It was honest
and progressive, though there were less options but
the content was satiating. But with its commercialization,
it started losing its relevance. In the last few years
entertainment channels and news channels have
set benchmarks in how low they can stoop in their quest
for TRPs. Today we might have plenty of options but,
is it really worth watching?
The 80’s
Though Doordarshan and television made their
beginning in India quite early but the National telecasts
were introduced in 1982. In the same year, color TV was introduced in the Indian market with the live telecast of the Independence Day speech by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 15 August 1982, followed by the 1982 Asian Games being held in Delhi. Television was not a widespread commodity at that time.People used to gather in large number to catch a glimpse of Chitrahaar or a movie that used to air once a week. Then after 1984 daily soaps like Hum Log, Nukkad, Buniyad came into the picture.
Well if Hum Log was based on the challenges faced by the modern daybourgeois family, then Buniyad was set in the time of partition. Television at that time used to derive a lot from the social milieu and worked for the betterment of society. What kept them etched in the minds of the people even today is their ascetic approach and endearing characters. What followed was the mother of all mythological. Ramayan was funny in the way it was dramatized and Mahabharat corrected it to a large extent. Being epic stories, they both lasted close to 2 years and set benchmarks for future mythological, none of which measured up to their success. But programming of this era was even more diverse.
Doordarshan catered to every genre. There were educative series like Bharat Ek
Khoj Based on Jawaharlal Nehru’s Discovery of India and Sword of Tipu Sultan. Who can forget allegories from R.K. Narayan’s Malgudi Days and inevitable stories of Vikram Betal. From crime Thrillers like Karamchand to sitcoms like Yeh Jo Zindagi Hai by Sharad Joshi, it covered everything. Era of Doordarshan was certainly a golden period for children having funny yet educative shows like Tenali Raman, Potli Baba Ki, Dada Dadi Ki Kahaniya at their disposal. If you’ve still not went down the memory lane then Mowgli from Jungle Book or Baloo from Talespin will surely take you back to your childhood and don’t be surprised to find Uncle Scrooge from Duck Tales there. The 90’s
By this time television became a widespread commodity and conglomeration of people to catch a glimpse of it became a thing of the past. Now came the cable television, with foreign channels like CNN, Star TV and domestic channels such as Zee TV and Sun TV started satellite broadcasts. Indian television changed overnight and Doordarshan started losing its ground to these new entrants offering a lot on their platter. If 80’s were known for their socially active programming then 90’s were certainly a mixed bag. For a long time, sensuality or scenes with sexual overtones were covertly expressed on the small screen. Zee TV broke this barrier with a slew of bold serials - Tara, Banegi Apni Baat, Kurukshetra and Hasratein - it had to offer. 
Tara, probably, led the way with a bold and blatant storyline. A lip-to-lip kiss between Alok Nath and Navneet Nishan sealed the love between them in the serial. Recalling the kissing scene, Vinta Nanda, writer, Tara says, “It was part of the story line. Whatever we projected in Tara was not for the sake of doing it, that’s the reason none of our artistes had problem portraying the scenes.”The kiss was just one aspect of Tara which thrived on showing women smoking, drinking and wearing minis. It also had tracks of extramarital affair and live-in relationships. This mother of all bold serials was a channel-driver for Zee.
The other serial that had kisses and seductive scenes galore was Banegi Apni Baat. Set in a college campus, the serial openly discussed condoms, sex and sexuality. As Deeya Singh, producer says, “The brief given to us by the channel then, was everything from pimples to pre-marital sex should be covered in the serial.” One serial that indulged in heavyduty lovemaking scenes shocking the viewers was Hasratein. Ajai Sinha, who produced Hasratein, points out that the serial was about carnal desires and there was no way he couldn’t avoid it. “In any case I feel scenes with hidden meaning are more vulgar,” he justifies. Strangely enough, despite their popularity, seductive scenes went out of fashion once these serials were over. Family dramas came to rule the tube.
All this was just one aspect of what the television in 90’s has to offer. Soon Star TV, which earlier was an English channel tranformed itself into a full blown Hindi channel. Sony was the channel which changed the rules of the game with their Gen X programming with Family No.1 and Just Mohabbat as iconic shows of that time, They were the first one to brought the concept of Hindi dubbed international shows which was then picked up by other channels as well. Different strokes was a front-runner in this. Another important constituents were the music shows and the game shows some of which are on the tube even today but have lost their earlier charm.Antakshari, Sa Re Ga Ma, Family Fortunes were quite popular with the audience.
One idea which has lost in the today’s world is the top 10 or top 20 shows of the 90’s and who can forget the titu and tony from the Colgate Top 10 which used to air on Zee TV. Then there was Hum Paanch, Though silly in its premise but, was known for it’s widespread popularity among masses. 90’s were certainly a boon for kids,with Cartoon Network, they had a dedicated 24 hour channel for them. Though the cartoons lag the innocence of the 80’s but there were many favorite’s like Scooby Doo, Richie Rich, Dexter, Captain Planet, Johnny Quest.
The Present Decade
Ever since it’s inception Zee TV remained the No.1 channel in India but with the turn
of a century Star TV stole the crown from Zee. Jewel of the Star’s crown was Kaun Banega Crorepati(Indian adaptation of Who Wants to be a Millionaire) hosted by Amitabh Bachchan which turned out to be the most watched show on satellite television. It had the impact that shows like Mahabharat in the 80’s used to have. Another Jewelwas Ekta Kapoor’s stereotypical K-series which started with Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi(it is so difficult just typing it, I wonder how did they made it) and soon turned into an avalanche. The show clocked more than thousand episodes and became the longest
running show on television.
Soon the K-series became an obsession with the producers and they were throwing shows by the dozens. These shows explored every possible stereotype from an apple of the eye son to a sacrificing daughter-in-law and ailing grandmother or great grand-mother to a vamp with little extra makeup. People in these shows dress as if they are going for a marriage and they even go to the bed dressed like that. Silliness in these could have bored you to death but, despite all this they were not morally disgusting.
This decade will go down in the history as the the most atrocious decade as far as television is concerned. In the last 2-3 years we have seen a new style of programming making an upsurge. Reality shows have become the buzzword and they thrive on the voyeurism and abuse that they cater to the society. Viacom 18 with its Colors and MTV is the frontrunner in the this lust for TRPs. Mujhe Is Jungle Se Bachao, Sach ka Samna, Rakhi ka Swaymvar, Splitsvilla, Big Boss have crossed every possible boundary of hideousness and left us with a question, where is our society heading?
If betterment of the society was priority in the 80’s then things have changed now. Regionalism to child marriage shows like uttaran, Balika Vadhu are promoting all the evils which after decades of hard work have started to recede. Plagiarism has engulfed our television industry, you can see multiple versions of similar shows on various channels. Even the kids are not isolated from this, the classics like Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny are replaced by mind numbing series of Chinese and Japanese cartoons.
Star One which tried to give the industry a new lease of life was not able to sustain its credibility and as shows like Sarabhai V/S Sarabhai, Khichdi and Dil Kya Chahta Hai disappeared from the tube. Sab TV which was earlier showcasing the re-runs of the 
classics like Shriman Shrimati and Office Office came out with the 80’s style socials like Tarak Mehta ka Oolta Chashma based on stories by Tarak Mehta and quite recently with Lapataganj based on stories by Sharad Joshi. These shows have managed to stand against the insanity served on the other channels and carved a niche for themselves.Other name in this league is of Hats Off Productions of Jamnadas Majethia with writer Aatish Kapadia who have managed to bring satiating content through sitcom like Sarabhai and over the top comedy Khichdi. So, we had innocent 80’s followed by the bold 90’s and finally we are in this decade where in the name of reality we have a set up of jungle where there are beds carved out of wood and along the imitation mountains runs a water which even a child can tell is coming from a pipe, where these celebrities turn out in bikini's to take a bath. I mean we are not fooling here anybody. From marriages of B-grade stars to shows with lie detector test we have left no stone unturned to satiate our voyeuristic desires. A sane human being can’t survive 5 minutes into these shows and if you can survive the whole show then it is high time you need to get your head examined.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
