Indian soap opera
Encyclopedia
Indian soap operas are soap opera
s written, produced, filmed in India
, with characters played by Indians (including those of Western descent like Tom Alter
), with episodes broadcast on Indian television channels/channel chains that are not often limited to the Republic of India itself: often many “serials,” as they’re more commonly referred to as, are broadcast overseas in Pakistan, the UK, USA, and some parts of Europe, South Africa, and Australia. (Doordarshan
, or DD, is an exception: until recently it was only viewable in India and Nepal, but now also in the UK.)
Indian soap operas are often mass-produced under large production banners, with houses like Balaji Telefilms—run by Ekta and Shobha Kapoor, daughter and wife respectively to Hindi film star Jitendra—running the same serial in different languages on different television networks/channels. (See also: K Phenomenon)
The most common languages in which Indian serials are made in are: Hindi
, Punjabi
, Marathi
, Gujarati
, Bengali
, Tamil
, Kannada, Telugu
, and Malayalam, though many contain a mix of the predominant language and English. This often creates and unintentional comic effect: a certain High School-themed serial on Star One
has created a bizarre language of its own, a heavy mix of colloquial Hindi and corruptions of modern American slang, which, though fairly odd to understand at first, has created its own coterie of loyal fans devoted to using the very same ‘language’ in daily speech.
Hindi soap operas have gained popularity abroad, across South Asia
and beyond into Afghanistan
, Southeast Asia
, and among the Indian diaspora
elsewhere. A number of Hindi soap operas have also been dubbed into Mandarin and gained popularity in China
.
and the Ramayana
, the typical Indian Woman, and other similar themes. Balaji Telefilms has often been frowned at for repeating the same essential storylines with different characters and sets (altering the sequence of events and their intensity) to create more and more serials.
One of the first serials created by the banner was Itihaas whose theme music is now the banner music of Balaji Telefilms
, then Hum Panch and later the third series Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
(literally, Because the Mother-in-Law was once the Daughter-in-Law), the story of the fictional industrialist family Virani, the apple-of-their-eye son Mihir, and their loyal and subservient (i.e., quintessential) daughter-in-law, Tulsi, his wife. An almost immediate release was another serial called Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii , also a story about an industrialist family—albeit, the “Aggarwals”—also about the apple-of-their-eye son—this time, “Om”, later in the series the lives of all the brothers of the families and their wives were dealt with extensively—and yet again, their loyal and subservient daughter-in-law, “Parvati.” The storylines are loosely parallel, though the writers continually attempt to “shock” their audiences with sex, extramarital affairs, murders, conspiracies, and kidnappings—in all serials, though at different points in time. A standard feature now is the 20-year-jump, where one epoch in the series ends at a stalemate and continues in the next episode with all the characters and surroundings twenty years older, the effects of ageing being shown by white dye in strands in the hair of the women of the family, and not-so-subtle hints of grey around the gentlemen’s moustaches and sideboards.
Another slightly unreal aspect of the Indian serial is Plastic surgery. A typical scenario is one wherein an accident happens to one of the protagonists, with him/her waking up in hospital with a new face, one that is most often the result of the antagonist scheming with an evil plastic surgeon who creates an entirely new face for the hapless hero(ine). The protagonist invariably become vulnerable to the antagonist’s schemes, and this, along with the 20-year-jump, helps create scenarios such as a missing darling son of the family now being one “converted” to one of the enemy camp, with further clichéd themes as the Indian Mother’s Yearning for her Son helping to create about a month’s worth of material, which inevitably ends in a reunion scene with lots of happy tears. One of this example is in Kasamh Se
when meera burns Bani in the April epdisode.
Dialogue in Indian serials, in addition to being largely melodramatic and filled with historical and religious references, is widely thought lacking as far as dialogue goes. If seen very carefully, one would notice that there is, in fact, little or no conversation that takes place during the 30-odd minutes of a typical Indian soap opera’s episode. Actors’ lines in scenes are often delivered one large monologue at a time (even longer in scenes of “conflict” between the protagonist(s) and the antagonist(s)), there are often dance scenes based on exactly the same encountered in the parent film of the song (this being less parody and more of a filler, often seen during idle amorous fantasies of the “goof” of the cast), and features elaborate sound effects, which are actually repeated in different serials which are under the same banner.
For example, female antagonists often enter the room with screeching cat noises being played in the background, perhaps an allusion to the character’s invariable cattiness; though often antagonists that are well-known and widely-spurned by the TV-seeing public often have their distinctive entrance sound effects: in the serial Kasautii Zindagii Kay (to be correctly read as Kasauti Zindagi Ki, but throughout the serial it was never thought to be corrected), whenever the character ‘Komolika’, began to scheme and soliloquise and/or entered a room, a playful, almost vampish strain of gaudy music was played to an amorous play of her name. This was keeping in with the effect her heavy makeup, thick, bristly fake eyelashes, and garish contact lenses portrayed the character as.
Male antagonists that are young often have Indianised strains of rather obscure hip-hop songs working for them in the background, and those that are older often have deeply resonating kettle drums booming in the background.
The camera often spins wildly from character to character during scenes in which shocking news is revealed, shaking vigorously when a character faints, and showing the same slap hitting the same cheek thrice during a confrontation, keeping in sync with the overall melodramatic touch most of the serials prefer to incorporate.
Indian serials first began with the introduction of the television set in Indian homes: the first soap opera on the State-run channel, Doordarshan
(the only television channel that existed at that point in time), was Hum Log, a story of a family comprising three generations. It was urban, it was middle-class, and it was new, and till today, it, along with Buniyaad
, is considered among the best-made Indian serials to be seen by an Indian audience.
In the “old” Star TV channel of the Star Network, certain serials like Saans
and Kora Kaagaz broke the mould and gained artistic as well as commercial success; serials on Zee TV
like Tara
and Banegi Apni Baat
(which featured among the early work of renowned Hindi/Tamil actor R. Madhavan
), too, were of the same privileged fate.
channel on the Star Network have seen to be largely different from the conventional, with Saturday Night Live-esque programmes like The Great Indian Comedy Show
, stand-up shows like The Great Indian Laughter Challenge
and game shows like Bluffmaster being of great popularity. However, it should be noted that in a purely technical sense game and comedy shows aren’t really ‘soap operas’, and though alternatively-themed shows on crime (Siddhant), High School (Happy Go Lucky), and twentysomethings do exist and are relatively popular, a grand majority of Indian television shows are soap operas based on the Family-and-Marriage theme.
banner are supposed to begin with a ‘K’, regardless of what language it’s made in. This is believed to be Creative Head (Ekta Kapoor)’s ‘lucky alphabet’, and consequently, the K Phenomenon was born. Examples are Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, Kasautii Zindagii Kay, Kkusum
, Kavyanjali
, Kahiin To Hoga , Kasamh Se
and so on.
An exception is, however, Hum Paanch, a comedy about a family of five sisters, their bent-on-their-getting-married but loving stepmother, and their father, who talks to their dead mother via a framed photograph hung on a living room wall. This is probably because the show was created and shown in an entirely different time—the late nineties—presumably before Ms Kapoor met Ms Menon. It is interesting to note that despite all the stereotypical content K-serials contain, they are all immensely popular with the masses, which is believed by some to be a result of the initial K.
Another exception is 'Ghar Ek Mandir'(literally: The House is like a Temple), which has been one of Sony TV's most popular soaps.
The usual props like rain and thunder, turning off the lights, snuggling behind closed doors, drawing up the sheets, etc., hinted at physical intimacy between the lovers.
It was with the advent of Zee TV
and serials like Tara
, Banegi Apni Baat
, Kurukshetra and Hasratein
that seductive scenes came to be incorporated expansively. 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.” The story was woven around this concept and what emerged was four kisses and a lovemaking scene in the most popular serial of its times. The first kiss was quite innocent with Rahul planting one on Riya’s lips just to win a bet. The other kisses happened at a weekend bash where an intoxicated Ritu smooches her boyfriend who is also high, Priya tries to ease Rajat’s pain with a gawky peck on the lip and Rahul kisses Riya passionately to convey his love. Besides this, a hot scene between Nikita wearing a shirt and Karan was picturised at the swimming pool. Recalls Deeya, “We did not deliberately incorporate the scenes, it followed the character’s storyline.”
But the one serial that sensationalised the smooch was Kurukshetra. The serial was about corporate warfare with Seema Kapoor and Parmeet Sethi
playing adversaries. Seema, who had a vampish role, had to seduce Parmeet and get important information out of him. Parmeet, who knows her intentions, plays along. At one point, he pulls her and plants a kiss
right on her lips. The celebrated kiss was the talk of the town for many weeks. Talking about it, Seema says, “I distinctly remember the day when we shot the scene. When I arrived on the sets, I could feel tension in the air. Lekh Tandonji who was the director was being vague about the scene while narrating it to me. I thought it would be a peck on the cheek but to my shock it was a kiss on the lips. It was not all that long, it took just a few seconds but the media hyped it no end.” And no, she doesn’t regret it, on the contrary “I enjoyed it,” she says non-chalantly.
Dinesh Bansal, who produced Kurukshetra, claims that he was the first one to show a kiss on the small screen. “It was a well-picturised romantic scene but the media publicised it as a 24 hours kiss!”
One serial that indulged in heavyduty lovemaking scenes shocking the viewers was Hasratein. The serial revolved around extramarital affair and within the first four episodes only there was a hot bedroom scene between a married Himani Shivpuri and her lover. Later on, in the same serial a passionate meeting was shown between Seema Kapoor and Harsh Chhaya. It’s a song sequence and Seema comes out of the bathroom, suggestively nude and runs into Harsh Chhaya. What follows is a steamy love scene.
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. In another of his serials Justajoo, Ajai portrayed a scene of seduction between Harsh Chhaya and Arpita. “Harsh Chhaya, who is married to Pallavi Joshi, falls in love with his sister-in-law Arpita. She is also attracted to him. They had to drop their inhibition for the story to move ahead and a lovemaking scene between them was shown to that affect,” he explains.
Strangely enough, despite their popularity, seductive scenes went out of fashion once these serials were over. Family dramas came to rule the tube and as Dinesh puts it, “We realised that television is viewed mainly by women and they are not very comfortable with seductive scenes. That’s the reason we switched over to serials with joint families.”
With Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
, anything to do with sexuality was relegated to the bedroom behind closed doors. That was two years ago. Recently, however, they showed a suggestive smooching scene between Gomzee and Tisha. That is just the beginning. The recently launched serials are slowly and surely getting into the forbidden territory all over again. For instance, in Lipstick, there was a lovemaking scene between Abhay and Sheetal, where the girl is playfully seducing the guy. Another scene, was the gay
love making scene between Sheetal's husband and another guy, where Sheetal eventually catches him and decides to divorce him. Says Shristi Arya, producer, Lipstick, “It is a part of our story and will be shot between Aly Khan and Nigaar.” Promoted as an adult night soap, Lipstick promised to be a hot, hot serial but has been quite tame. According to Shristi, the serial depicts the lifestyle of the rich and the famous where they are open about their sensuality. Yet they had to concentrate on the track of Sunidhi, a middle-class girl ruled by middle-class morals. “We were getting letters favouring her character and we had to follow viewer feedback,” she admits.
Serials like Love Marriage, Kittie Party and Kkusum are tracing bold storylines but seduction is only briefly ‘touched’ upon.
But today, quite a bunch of lovemaking & sensual scenes can be seen in serials like Tumhari Disha, Jab Love hua, Kumkum, Sindoor, Kaisa yeh pyar hai, etc.
In comedy serial Dekh Bhai Dekh
actor Vishal Singh
not only worn speedos but also showed his naked butts. He is so far the first Indian telly actor to have bared his butt on small screen.
There has been some partial nude scenes, but there has not been any full nudity in Indian serials as of yet.
, Smriti Irani, stood to be elected as a Member of Parliament in the 2004 General Elections from the Delhi
constituency of Chandni Chowk
, and it was hoped by her party, the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), that her popularity would help them out in that largely pro-Indian National Congress
area. However, she lost, and the seat, along with the entire election, was won by a massive pro-Congress vote.
Watch Hindi Serials Online
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s written, produced, filmed in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, with characters played by Indians (including those of Western descent like Tom Alter
Tom Alter
Tom Alter is an Indian actor of American origin. As a thespian and television actor, he is best known for his work in Bollywood, but has also worked in the theatre...
), with episodes broadcast on Indian television channels/channel chains that are not often limited to the Republic of India itself: often many “serials,” as they’re more commonly referred to as, are broadcast overseas in Pakistan, the UK, USA, and some parts of Europe, South Africa, and Australia. (Doordarshan
DoorDarshan
Doordarshan is an Indian public service broadcaster, a division of Prasar Bharati. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in India in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters. Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15, 2009,...
, or DD, is an exception: until recently it was only viewable in India and Nepal, but now also in the UK.)
Indian soap operas are often mass-produced under large production banners, with houses like Balaji Telefilms—run by Ekta and Shobha Kapoor, daughter and wife respectively to Hindi film star Jitendra—running the same serial in different languages on different television networks/channels. (See also: K Phenomenon)
The most common languages in which Indian serials are made in are: Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
, Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
, Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
, Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
, Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, Kannada, Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, and Malayalam, though many contain a mix of the predominant language and English. This often creates and unintentional comic effect: a certain High School-themed serial on Star One
STAR One
STAR One is an Indian television channel that primarily broadcasts Hindi entertainment based in Mumbai. Launched on 1 November 2004 with its show, Remix, the channel gained in popularity with television shows such as Remix, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, Nach Baliye, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai,...
has created a bizarre language of its own, a heavy mix of colloquial Hindi and corruptions of modern American slang, which, though fairly odd to understand at first, has created its own coterie of loyal fans devoted to using the very same ‘language’ in daily speech.
Hindi soap operas have gained popularity abroad, across South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
and beyond into Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, and among the Indian diaspora
Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin
A Non-Resident Indian is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian...
elsewhere. A number of Hindi soap operas have also been dubbed into Mandarin and gained popularity in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Features
Indian serials are often stereotypical, both in storylines and in characters. The ideals of the quintessential Indian Family are often given fanatical attention to, which lines being written in grand, melodramatic tones, drawing in references to events in the MahabharataMahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
and the Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, the typical Indian Woman, and other similar themes. Balaji Telefilms has often been frowned at for repeating the same essential storylines with different characters and sets (altering the sequence of events and their intensity) to create more and more serials.
One of the first serials created by the banner was Itihaas whose theme music is now the banner music of Balaji Telefilms
Balaji Telefilms
Balaji Telefilms is a production house based in Mumbai, India, and is promoted by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor, Jeetendra and Tushar Kapoor.-History:...
, then Hum Panch and later the third series Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi was an Indian Soap Opera that aired on STAR Plus. This is ranked at top, number 1, on the list of STAR Plus top 10 shows of all time.This show was Asia's #1 most watched and awarded show...
(literally, Because the Mother-in-Law was once the Daughter-in-Law), the story of the fictional industrialist family Virani, the apple-of-their-eye son Mihir, and their loyal and subservient (i.e., quintessential) daughter-in-law, Tulsi, his wife. An almost immediate release was another serial called Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii , also a story about an industrialist family—albeit, the “Aggarwals”—also about the apple-of-their-eye son—this time, “Om”, later in the series the lives of all the brothers of the families and their wives were dealt with extensively—and yet again, their loyal and subservient daughter-in-law, “Parvati.” The storylines are loosely parallel, though the writers continually attempt to “shock” their audiences with sex, extramarital affairs, murders, conspiracies, and kidnappings—in all serials, though at different points in time. A standard feature now is the 20-year-jump, where one epoch in the series ends at a stalemate and continues in the next episode with all the characters and surroundings twenty years older, the effects of ageing being shown by white dye in strands in the hair of the women of the family, and not-so-subtle hints of grey around the gentlemen’s moustaches and sideboards.
Another slightly unreal aspect of the Indian serial is Plastic surgery. A typical scenario is one wherein an accident happens to one of the protagonists, with him/her waking up in hospital with a new face, one that is most often the result of the antagonist scheming with an evil plastic surgeon who creates an entirely new face for the hapless hero(ine). The protagonist invariably become vulnerable to the antagonist’s schemes, and this, along with the 20-year-jump, helps create scenarios such as a missing darling son of the family now being one “converted” to one of the enemy camp, with further clichéd themes as the Indian Mother’s Yearning for her Son helping to create about a month’s worth of material, which inevitably ends in a reunion scene with lots of happy tears. One of this example is in Kasamh Se
Kasamh Se
Kasamh Se is an Indian soap opera produced by Ekta Kapoor of Balaji Telefilms. The series premiered on January 16, 2006 on Zee TV and aired every Monday - Thursday depending on which country it broadcasts in. The story deals with the trials and tribulations of three sisters, Bani Walia, Pia Shukla...
when meera burns Bani in the April epdisode.
Dialogue in Indian serials, in addition to being largely melodramatic and filled with historical and religious references, is widely thought lacking as far as dialogue goes. If seen very carefully, one would notice that there is, in fact, little or no conversation that takes place during the 30-odd minutes of a typical Indian soap opera’s episode. Actors’ lines in scenes are often delivered one large monologue at a time (even longer in scenes of “conflict” between the protagonist(s) and the antagonist(s)), there are often dance scenes based on exactly the same encountered in the parent film of the song (this being less parody and more of a filler, often seen during idle amorous fantasies of the “goof” of the cast), and features elaborate sound effects, which are actually repeated in different serials which are under the same banner.
For example, female antagonists often enter the room with screeching cat noises being played in the background, perhaps an allusion to the character’s invariable cattiness; though often antagonists that are well-known and widely-spurned by the TV-seeing public often have their distinctive entrance sound effects: in the serial Kasautii Zindagii Kay (to be correctly read as Kasauti Zindagi Ki, but throughout the serial it was never thought to be corrected), whenever the character ‘Komolika’, began to scheme and soliloquise and/or entered a room, a playful, almost vampish strain of gaudy music was played to an amorous play of her name. This was keeping in with the effect her heavy makeup, thick, bristly fake eyelashes, and garish contact lenses portrayed the character as.
Male antagonists that are young often have Indianised strains of rather obscure hip-hop songs working for them in the background, and those that are older often have deeply resonating kettle drums booming in the background.
The camera often spins wildly from character to character during scenes in which shocking news is revealed, shaking vigorously when a character faints, and showing the same slap hitting the same cheek thrice during a confrontation, keeping in sync with the overall melodramatic touch most of the serials prefer to incorporate.
Indian serials first began with the introduction of the television set in Indian homes: the first soap opera on the State-run channel, Doordarshan
DoorDarshan
Doordarshan is an Indian public service broadcaster, a division of Prasar Bharati. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in India in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters. Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15, 2009,...
(the only television channel that existed at that point in time), was Hum Log, a story of a family comprising three generations. It was urban, it was middle-class, and it was new, and till today, it, along with Buniyaad
Buniyaad
Buniyaad is an Indian television drama-series that was directed by Ramesh Sippy and Jyoti Sarup. The series was written by Manohar Shyam Joshi and dealt with the Partition of India in 1947 and its aftermath....
, is considered among the best-made Indian serials to be seen by an Indian audience.
In the “old” Star TV channel of the Star Network, certain serials like Saans
Saans
Saans is an Indian television series written and directed by television actress Neena Gupta who works in the series as well alongside television actor Kanwaljit Singh. The series premiered on STAR Plus in 1998. The story focused on the accidental love triangle between the characters Priya,...
and Kora Kaagaz broke the mould and gained artistic as well as commercial success; serials on Zee TV
Zee TV
Zee TV is an India-based satellite television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, which broadcasts various programmes in Hindi and other regional languages of India. Broadcasting is also present in various nations of South Asia, Europe, the Middle East,...
like Tara
Tara (TV series)
Tara was an Indian soap opera that aired on Zee TV channel, based on the trials and tribulations, happiness and sorrow of the main character, Tara. The series was known for its first ever contemporary Indian soap on women, and was the first Hindi language drama series that ran the longest of about...
and Banegi Apni Baat
Banegi Apni Baat
Banegi Apni Baat is a Hindi television drama series that aired on Zee TV in 1994. The series was produced by Tony and Deeya Singh...
(which featured among the early work of renowned Hindi/Tamil actor R. Madhavan
R. Madhavan
R. Madhavan is an Indian actor, writer, film producer and television host. Madhavan has received a Filmfare Award, an award from the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards alongside recognition and nominations from other organisations...
), too, were of the same privileged fate.
The next generation
More recently serials on the Star OneSTAR One
STAR One is an Indian television channel that primarily broadcasts Hindi entertainment based in Mumbai. Launched on 1 November 2004 with its show, Remix, the channel gained in popularity with television shows such as Remix, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, Nach Baliye, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai,...
channel on the Star Network have seen to be largely different from the conventional, with Saturday Night Live-esque programmes like The Great Indian Comedy Show
The Great Indian Comedy Show
Originally The Great Indian Comedy Show, The Comedy Show ha ha ha is a half-hour stand-up and sketch comedy show in Hindi. The program was first aired in October 2004. The program, hosted by various members of the ensemble, others to host include: winners of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge...
, stand-up shows like The Great Indian Laughter Challenge
The Great Indian Laughter Challenge
The Great Indian Laughter Challenge is one of the very successful reality shows on Indian television. It is a competition of stand up comedians that is presented on STAR One...
and game shows like Bluffmaster being of great popularity. However, it should be noted that in a purely technical sense game and comedy shows aren’t really ‘soap operas’, and though alternatively-themed shows on crime (Siddhant), High School (Happy Go Lucky), and twentysomethings do exist and are relatively popular, a grand majority of Indian television shows are soap operas based on the Family-and-Marriage theme.
"The K Phenomenon"
Based on predictions made by celebrity astrologer/numerologist/tarot-card reader Sunita Menon, almost all serials made under the Balaji TelefilmsBalaji Telefilms
Balaji Telefilms is a production house based in Mumbai, India, and is promoted by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor, Jeetendra and Tushar Kapoor.-History:...
banner are supposed to begin with a ‘K’, regardless of what language it’s made in. This is believed to be Creative Head (Ekta Kapoor)’s ‘lucky alphabet’, and consequently, the K Phenomenon was born. Examples are Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi was an Indian Soap Opera that aired on STAR Plus. This is ranked at top, number 1, on the list of STAR Plus top 10 shows of all time.This show was Asia's #1 most watched and awarded show...
, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, Kasautii Zindagii Kay, Kkusum
Kkusum
Kkusum... Ek Aam Ladki Ki Kahani was a popular daily Indian television drama telecasted on Sony Entertainment Television and produced on Ekta Kapoor of Balaji Telefilms. It premiered in May 2001 and concluded in November 2005. The show was written by different writers at different times...
, Kavyanjali
Kavyanjali
Kkavyanjali is an Indian Television Romantic Drama series that aired on STAR Plus. It was produced by a Balaji Telefilms. Kkavyanjali is the tale two lovers that can never meet, the two soul mates who love each other deeply yet they are separated...
, Kahiin To Hoga , Kasamh Se
Kasamh Se
Kasamh Se is an Indian soap opera produced by Ekta Kapoor of Balaji Telefilms. The series premiered on January 16, 2006 on Zee TV and aired every Monday - Thursday depending on which country it broadcasts in. The story deals with the trials and tribulations of three sisters, Bani Walia, Pia Shukla...
and so on.
An exception is, however, Hum Paanch, a comedy about a family of five sisters, their bent-on-their-getting-married but loving stepmother, and their father, who talks to their dead mother via a framed photograph hung on a living room wall. This is probably because the show was created and shown in an entirely different time—the late nineties—presumably before Ms Kapoor met Ms Menon. It is interesting to note that despite all the stereotypical content K-serials contain, they are all immensely popular with the masses, which is believed by some to be a result of the initial K.
Another exception is 'Ghar Ek Mandir'(literally: The House is like a Temple), which has been one of Sony TV's most popular soaps.
Sexuality and nudity
For a long time, sensuality or scenes with sexual overtones were covertly expressed on the small screen. Even if it were an integral part of a story, directors resorted to suggestive scenes to convey the message.The usual props like rain and thunder, turning off the lights, snuggling behind closed doors, drawing up the sheets, etc., hinted at physical intimacy between the lovers.
It was with the advent of Zee TV
Zee TV
Zee TV is an India-based satellite television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, which broadcasts various programmes in Hindi and other regional languages of India. Broadcasting is also present in various nations of South Asia, Europe, the Middle East,...
and serials like Tara
Tara (TV series)
Tara was an Indian soap opera that aired on Zee TV channel, based on the trials and tribulations, happiness and sorrow of the main character, Tara. The series was known for its first ever contemporary Indian soap on women, and was the first Hindi language drama series that ran the longest of about...
, Banegi Apni Baat
Banegi Apni Baat
Banegi Apni Baat is a Hindi television drama series that aired on Zee TV in 1994. The series was produced by Tony and Deeya Singh...
, Kurukshetra and Hasratein
Hasratein
Hasratein is an Indian television soap opera that was telecast on Zee TV in the mid 1990s. It is the story of Savi, a woman who leaves her husband and goes ahead to maintain an extra marital relationship with another married man with both their spouses being aware of the situation. Hasratein was...
that seductive scenes came to be incorporated expansively. Tara
Tara (TV series)
Tara was an Indian soap opera that aired on Zee TV channel, based on the trials and tribulations, happiness and sorrow of the main character, Tara. The series was known for its first ever contemporary Indian soap on women, and was the first Hindi language drama series that ran the longest of about...
, probably, led the way with a bold and blatant storyline. A lip-to-lip kiss between Alok Nath
Alok Nath
Alok Nath is an Indian film actor who appears in Bollywood movies. He is most notable for playing the role of Haveli Ram in Ramesh Sippy's television series, Buniyaad.-Early life:...
and Navneet Nishan
Navneet Nishan
Navneet Nishan is an Indian Bollywood actress. She makes her debue in Bollywood with the movie waaris released in 1988. She is best known for her role as Tara in the soap opera, Tara, Kavyanjali, Kasautii Zindagii Kay...
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
Banegi Apni Baat
Banegi Apni Baat is a Hindi television drama series that aired on Zee TV in 1994. The series was produced by Tony and Deeya Singh...
. Set in a college campus, the serial openly discussed condoms, sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
and sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
. 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.” The story was woven around this concept and what emerged was four kisses and a lovemaking scene in the most popular serial of its times. The first kiss was quite innocent with Rahul planting one on Riya’s lips just to win a bet. The other kisses happened at a weekend bash where an intoxicated Ritu smooches her boyfriend who is also high, Priya tries to ease Rajat’s pain with a gawky peck on the lip and Rahul kisses Riya passionately to convey his love. Besides this, a hot scene between Nikita wearing a shirt and Karan was picturised at the swimming pool. Recalls Deeya, “We did not deliberately incorporate the scenes, it followed the character’s storyline.”
But the one serial that sensationalised the smooch was Kurukshetra. The serial was about corporate warfare with Seema Kapoor and Parmeet Sethi
Parmeet Sethi
-Personal life and education:Parmeet was educated in Mumbai. He passed out of Sydenham college of commerce. He married Archana Puran Singh, a film and television actress, on 30 June 1992. They have two sons...
playing adversaries. Seema, who had a vampish role, had to seduce Parmeet and get important information out of him. Parmeet, who knows her intentions, plays along. At one point, he pulls her and plants a kiss
Kiss
A kiss is the act of pressing one's lips against the lips or other body parts of another person or of an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, affection, respect, greeting, friendship, and good...
right on her lips. The celebrated kiss was the talk of the town for many weeks. Talking about it, Seema says, “I distinctly remember the day when we shot the scene. When I arrived on the sets, I could feel tension in the air. Lekh Tandonji who was the director was being vague about the scene while narrating it to me. I thought it would be a peck on the cheek but to my shock it was a kiss on the lips. It was not all that long, it took just a few seconds but the media hyped it no end.” And no, she doesn’t regret it, on the contrary “I enjoyed it,” she says non-chalantly.
Dinesh Bansal, who produced Kurukshetra, claims that he was the first one to show a kiss on the small screen. “It was a well-picturised romantic scene but the media publicised it as a 24 hours kiss!”
One serial that indulged in heavyduty lovemaking scenes shocking the viewers was Hasratein. The serial revolved around extramarital affair and within the first four episodes only there was a hot bedroom scene between a married Himani Shivpuri and her lover. Later on, in the same serial a passionate meeting was shown between Seema Kapoor and Harsh Chhaya. It’s a song sequence and Seema comes out of the bathroom, suggestively nude and runs into Harsh Chhaya. What follows is a steamy love scene.
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. In another of his serials Justajoo, Ajai portrayed a scene of seduction between Harsh Chhaya and Arpita. “Harsh Chhaya, who is married to Pallavi Joshi, falls in love with his sister-in-law Arpita. She is also attracted to him. They had to drop their inhibition for the story to move ahead and a lovemaking scene between them was shown to that affect,” he explains.
Strangely enough, despite their popularity, seductive scenes went out of fashion once these serials were over. Family dramas came to rule the tube and as Dinesh puts it, “We realised that television is viewed mainly by women and they are not very comfortable with seductive scenes. That’s the reason we switched over to serials with joint families.”
With Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi was an Indian Soap Opera that aired on STAR Plus. This is ranked at top, number 1, on the list of STAR Plus top 10 shows of all time.This show was Asia's #1 most watched and awarded show...
, anything to do with sexuality was relegated to the bedroom behind closed doors. That was two years ago. Recently, however, they showed a suggestive smooching scene between Gomzee and Tisha. That is just the beginning. The recently launched serials are slowly and surely getting into the forbidden territory all over again. For instance, in Lipstick, there was a lovemaking scene between Abhay and Sheetal, where the girl is playfully seducing the guy. Another scene, was the gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
love making scene between Sheetal's husband and another guy, where Sheetal eventually catches him and decides to divorce him. Says Shristi Arya, producer, Lipstick, “It is a part of our story and will be shot between Aly Khan and Nigaar.” Promoted as an adult night soap, Lipstick promised to be a hot, hot serial but has been quite tame. According to Shristi, the serial depicts the lifestyle of the rich and the famous where they are open about their sensuality. Yet they had to concentrate on the track of Sunidhi, a middle-class girl ruled by middle-class morals. “We were getting letters favouring her character and we had to follow viewer feedback,” she admits.
Serials like Love Marriage, Kittie Party and Kkusum are tracing bold storylines but seduction is only briefly ‘touched’ upon.
But today, quite a bunch of lovemaking & sensual scenes can be seen in serials like Tumhari Disha, Jab Love hua, Kumkum, Sindoor, Kaisa yeh pyar hai, etc.
In comedy serial Dekh Bhai Dekh
Dekh Bhai Dekh
Dekh Bhai Dekh was a Hindi sitcom directed by Anand Mahendru, and starring Sushma Seth, Navin Nischol and Shekhar Suman in lead roles. It first aired in 1993. The story revolves around three generations of the Diwan family, who live as an extended family in an ancestral bungalow in the suburbs of...
actor Vishal Singh
Vishal Singh
Vishal Singh is a polo player from Rajasthan, India. He currently plays for Rajasthan Polo Club.Vishal Singh is one of the youngest polo players in India. He was awarded the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Award in 2001. He is also known for his role as Rishi in Kasamh Se...
not only worn speedos but also showed his naked butts. He is so far the first Indian telly actor to have bared his butt on small screen.
There has been some partial nude scenes, but there has not been any full nudity in Indian serials as of yet.
Success and status
Lately, Indian shows have gained lots of success in genres of rural issues and reality shows. However, in commercial terms, Indian serials almost always do well. Not many Indian serials ever end—and so, writers are forced to stretch storylines over a generation or more to cope with the lack of character-exploration/situation-exploitation. Many Indian serials run for over five years, and, analogous to Bollywood film stars being deified to Godhood, many soap opera stars are treated with a demigod-like quality. The actress who played “Tulsi Virani” in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu ThiKyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi was an Indian Soap Opera that aired on STAR Plus. This is ranked at top, number 1, on the list of STAR Plus top 10 shows of all time.This show was Asia's #1 most watched and awarded show...
, Smriti Irani, stood to be elected as a Member of Parliament in the 2004 General Elections from the Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
constituency of Chandni Chowk
Chandni Chowk
Chandni Chowk , originally meaning moonlit square or market, is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, now in central north Delhi, India...
, and it was hoped by her party, the Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
(BJP), that her popularity would help them out in that largely pro-Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
area. However, she lost, and the seat, along with the entire election, was won by a massive pro-Congress vote.
Social impact
Soaps have an impact on Indian society, with regard to national integration, identity, globalisation, women and ethics.See also
- Television in IndiaTelevision in IndiaTelevision is one of the major mass media of India and is a huge industry and has thousands of programmes in all the states of India. The small screen has produced numerous celebrities of their own kind some even attaining national fame. TV soaps are extremely popular with housewives as well as...
- List of television stations in India
- List of Hindi language television channels
External Links
Watch Hindi Serials Online