Any form of mass media is said to be the mirror image of the society. And television being one of the prime medium is expected to be the same. But, is it so in reality?
While Indian scientists engage themselves in improving technologies in the country and social scientists toil for the welfare of the countrymen and to secure human rights, does television actually portray the true image of our society?
Question yourself, beloved readers and think. The Indian audiences are presently being bombarded with so many supernatural television series and shows, focusing on women being disgraced and tortured. The current television shows seem to be creating no positive impact on the society. Gone are the days, when we had shows like Saans, Kora Kaagaz, Astitva, where women characters were truly empowered. Even after having a show like Balika Vadhu, the daily hardly talks about fighting with social evil anymore.
To have a better understanding of the scenario, we conversed with few industry insiders to share their inputs about the same.
Firstly, we rang well-known writer Raghuvir Shekhawat, who gave us a patient hearing. And then the ace penman replied, “With due regards to everyone, all I can say is that we have to remember that somehow all the shows somehow reflect the trend of the society in general. During early 90s’ the audience of television mostly belonged from middle class or upper middle class family. But, if you scrutinize the current scenario, you will realize that nowadays everyone, even the lower class families, also have access to television. Without having proper education many viewers of small screen do have access to technologies. Naturally, the show makers are now churning out contents which will cater to all of their audience, which even includes superstitious beliefs and degrading rituals. This is perhaps the reason why the shows nowadays are focusing more on supernatural characters and certain social evils."
When we quizzed about the same to actor turned anchor Sushant Singh during one of his interviews, he mentioned, “It’s very difficult to answer this question. It’s not that the show makers are not coming up with unique and different contents but at the end of the week, when the TRP chart arrives, it’s the supernatural fantasy drama Naagin, which rules the number games. Then whom do we actually hold responsible for the current situation, the makers or the audience?”
After listening to the writer and the artist, we buzzed a noted creative director Tanvesh Jain. The man, who is currently working in shows like Ishq Ka Rang Safed and Thapki Pyar Ki, has an interesting insight about the same.
“See we do have shows like 24, but we have to understand that for such shows we have a niche audience. Mostly the youths of metro cities watch shows like 24. Then again these youths have other options on digital platforms like AIB, TVF and even international shows like Game of Thrones, House of Cards and others. When you have so many options, why would everyone focus on only one or two shows we have in our hand. With variety of options the focus naturally gets divided.”
He continued to add, “On the other hand, crime series like Crime Patrol and Savdhan India works because it is based on real life incidents, hence relatable to the audience. And if we look at the fantasy dramas, we can figure out that though in a dramatized form audiences’ love to relate their experience with the situation being portrayed in the TV programmes. The viewers get connected more to the characters than the shows itself.”
We have to agree that all the views are not only thought provoking, but also true to certain extent.
We also got in touch with an industry expert. On the ground of anonymity, she revealed, “To be very honest, it is indeed difficult to figure out the exact reason why regressive contents are ruling the television screen. While some might opine that the reason is the huge number of rural audience watching the prime time soap operas, but that is not entirely true. The number game shows that the supernatural shows are more watched by urban audience than the rural ones. So, how can we point at the rural audience? Moreover, distinguishing concepts gain critical appreciation but doesn’t gain popularity.”
Well that’s what the experts have to say about the issue. What are your thoughts dear readers? Feel free to share those.
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