DesiDabba - Boss, Thoda Sa Roomani Ho Jaye

My parents are avid watchers of saas-bahu serials. Every night they settle in front of the desi dabba and watch several back to back. I’ve been in the same room as them on a number of occasions and I can vouch that their absorption is comprehensive. A lot of people love watching them, discussing them – and every fan has his or her preferences.

But of late my parents’ faith has been flagging. “It’s getting tiresome to watch” my Dad told me. My Mom echoed his sentiments. Since I don’t have the patience to sit through any of these to figure out why, I turned around and asked my parents. Here is what they told me.

Storylines or Draupadi’s sari? The story lines are mauled and twisted and prolonged until everyone forgets why they are watching. “New characters are added. Motives are changed. All of this with just one intent in mind – keep the story going.” But length doesn’t matter – it’s how you use it, na?

Reality doesn’t live here anymore. “We’re tired of watching women cooking dressed up to the nines” sighed my parents. When the women go to sleep, they do so wearing sarees and mounds of make-up. “Who does stuff like that?” my Mom asked. “And is it too much to ask that their mangalsutra be a little lopsided when they wake up?”

Missed connections. “These stories are all about rich or affluent people” was my Dad’s complaint. Putting families at the center stage of a serial is a good move because it allows the serial to dwell on universal themes. But the family has to be relatable, otherwise you risk alienating your audience.

Move, darn it! It’s not the stories that are being stretched to the point of breaking. Each episode only moves the story by millimeters. A lot of time is spent on sonic swooshes, rat-a-tat close ups – you guys know the drill. It’s been parodied to death already. Fast moving storylines have revived the soaps recently – witness older hits like Melrose Place and the more recent Desperate Housewives.

The world of saas-bahu on TV is so competitive that it’s difficult to come up with fresh subplots week after week. That’s understood. But every genre can use a little kick in the pants. Even long running movie franchises reboot themselves every now and then (James Bond, TMNT) to keep their audience engaged and recruite a batch of fresh ones.