Indian Television Shifts Directions

Indian Television Shifts Directions

Flip through television channels, and the small-screen landscape seems vastly changed from what it was even six months ago. Today, sex and sleaze have begun to creep into a traditionally familial domain, which until now was dominated by what are derogatorily referred to as "saas-bahu soaps", many of which critics accuse of being "regressive" and "stagnant".

Ekta Kapoor, head of Balaji Productions, largely credited for facilitating the saas-bahu show trend in India, lashes out against the first accusation."I have shown marital rape, mercy killing, women in politics, date rape, and widows remarrying. These are all social issues of today - what's regressive about them?" she demanded in an interview recently. She does however, concede to the second criticism. "The audience isn't willing to move away from the standard theme and format... I do feel stagnant at times," she says to another daily.

But not all TV producers agree, introducing shows into mainstream TV that are significantly more risqué and scandalous than their predecessors. For instance, Siddharth Basu, former quiz master and maker of family hits like "Kaun Banega Crorepati" is now producing "Sach Ka Samna", based on the American "Moment of Truth", where contestants are asked 21 probing, personal questions, addressing everything from extra-marital affairs to lying to a spouse. Those whose answers pass polygraph tests win up to one crore rupees.

The scintillating material of the show has earned a lawsuit – a viewer has filed a petition against the Sach Ka Samna in the Delhi High Court, alleging that the questions asked in the show are "obscene and against Indian culture and ethos", but it also debuted as one of the top five programs on television. The Delhi High Court weighed in saying ""It is for the government to decide whether the program should be banned or not. It is not the function of the court ... There are far more serious problems in this country which we have to settle."

In Sony Television's "Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao", celebrities are made to carry out difficult and sometimes repulsive tasks in order to survive. But more than the format, which is based on the British "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here", it's the over-exposed girls that are contributing to the show's TRP. One of the main attractions is Negar Khan, item girl and model whose claim to fame is a bikini malfunction while walking the ramp. Another contestant, Shweta Tiwari, has also made waves, allowing herself to be filmed wearing nothing but a bikini after playing the sari-clad, doting daughter-in-law in numerous sitcoms.

But if television these days is transforming bahus into bomb-shells, it is also pulling off the opposite feat. Rakhi Sawant, the big screen's ultimate sleaze girl, was morphed into the ideal wife-to-be on "Rakhi Ka Swayamvar", NDTV Imagine's just-concluded reality show, where 16 men wooed for the actress's hand in marriage. Sawant played the demure, bashful bride to hilt, bonding with the contestants' families and fasting for their good health. In the much publicised finale, she ended up with a Gujarati NRI.

These trends may be contradictory, but they paint a true image of the nation's growing middle class, which is displaying a new cosmopolitan sensibility without losing its roots. In the BPO India, it makes complete sense that an audience which identifies with the bahu also appreciates the bikini-clad model, and can be equally engaged inreality shows about both atraditional swayamvar and the unraveling of a marriage.