Viewers and show makers are obsessed with the Great Indian Joint Family. Kshama Rao explores the seams of a family-obsessed nation
Viewers and show makers are obsessed with the Great Indian Joint Family. Kshama Rao explores the seams of a family-obsessed nation
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THE Viranis, the Agarwals, the Wadhwas, the Sareens, the Mehtas, the Thakkers, the Maheshwaris, the Chopras, the Chawlas and the Khannas u2014 television is full of them: big, fat Punjabi, Gujarati, Rajasthani and Marwari families with their assorted uncles and aunties, mamas and chachas, dadis and naanis, bhabhis and nanads, taaijis and taus, wide-eyed bachcha company, and not to forget, trusted Ramu kakas.
The Great Indian Joint Family almost always jogs more memories and gets more eyeballs than any other genre of TV programming. Why is it that we still remember the family of Basesar Ram, Lajoji and their brood of five (Lallu, Badki, Majhli, Nanhe and Chutki) of Hum Log or Tulsi Virani's mega parivar of the now-defunct Kyunki... Saas bhi Kabhie Bahu Thi?
What is it about family soaps that attract viewers day after day into their drawing rooms, sharing the laughter and tears of a Parvati Agarwal or be part of Saloni's trials and tribulations? In short, why is TV so obsessed with joint families and hum do hamare dus set-ups?
Says J D Majethia, "We are still a one-TV-set-per-household and we like to sit and watch TV together. Also, we are an emotional people. Family dramas are all about tapping those emotions, touching the right chords."
Majethia's production house has made successful family soaps (Baa, Bahoo Aur Baby and Jasuben Jayantilal ki Joint Family) and also 'oddball' families like in Khichdi. He is set to unleash another, called Bure Bhi Hum, Bhale Bhi Hum on Star Plus.
Rajan Shahi who hit bull's eye with Bidaai on Star Plus and currently has a 'love after marriage' family drama, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai on the same channel says, "You can never go wrong with a well-made family soap, primarily because it appeals to all the sections of society, irrespective of class, caste and social standing.
Unlike any other genre which caters to a niche audience or might appeal to only a certain class of people, family dramas are universal. "Even if it's a story about a working girl, the minute you establish her family background, like say in a Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin where Jassi worked in a fashion house but had a loving, supportive family, the connection is made."
Kavita Barjatya who belongs to the Rajshri film family, which has sort of patented the shuddh, wholesome family drama genre in their films and now TV shows (Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki, Main Teri Parchayee Hoon), says family dramas don't alienate viewers. "We are Indians. Hamare yahan koi hospital mein hota hai toh use hazaaron log dekhne chale aata hain unlike in the US where the woman goes alone for a delivery and comes back to a lonely home with her child in the evening. The family is an important unit for every individual, so the minute you see one such family on TV, there is immediate identification. Some or the other character will find a resemblance to your family member or a distant relative."
However, Shailja Kejriwal, executive vice president, NDTV Imagine says, "All genres do well, except that they do so in phases. Last year, around this time, reality shows were a huge hit, so much so that there was an overdose. It's a cycle. Now the fad of reality shows is dying down, making way again for family shows." She adds that family dramas are a clever way of story telling. They ensure within themselves suspense, comedy, drama, romance, etc, becoming a huge umbrella under which all genres get incorporated."Majethia says viewers like to sympathise with characters in a family drama, especially the lead heroine. "When a Tulsi, Parvati or a Baa, face problems in their family life the viewers feel restless. They want to mother her, protect her and want her to win over all odds. The more they cry, the more the viewers are drawn towards them. Remember, Jai Santoshi Maa was released with Sholay and it was a runaway hit from day one kyunki us mein ek dukhiyari ladki thi aur Maa uske saath thi. You would have never known Cinderella's goodness were it not for her cruel mother and stepsisters."
Barjatya claims to know of a family of "140 which saw Hum Saath Saath Hain together. We know of another person who hadn't spoken to his brother for 20 years but did so after watching the film."
The disintegration of joint families giving way to nuclear ones makes watching a family soap a way of holding on to roots, tradition and culture. "It's like I may not be the ideal son or husband or father but when I see someone who is all of that on TV, I feel 'all's well with the world'. Aur phir nostalgia bhi hota hai especially if you have been part of a joint family," says Shahi.
Another reason family dramas work is because more the number of characters, more stories or 'multiple tracks' as it's called in TV parlance, can be woven around them. And if it all works together then you can turn it into a never-ending saga. "Yes, but you need characters which would be much loved and will be a hit with the viewers. For instance, Gattu the mentally slow son in Baa, Bahoo Aur Baby is as popular, if not more than, the women on the show," says Majethia.
Finally, what future do the makers see for the genre of family soaps? "It will certainly not go out of fashion. The story telling has to change. The 'ladki ko dekhne aa rahein hain' scenes would still be there; the way you show it will be different. The first week is very important and you can get your audience only through a good story. Once you get him, it's like a car, petrol bharna hi padta hai to ensure it runs smoothly." says Barjatya.
Agrees Shahi. "Family soaps will continue to be at the forefront because a family will always remain the backbone of our society. The execution of the show may change." Majethia says, "It's all about the finding the right equation between your characters. When we did Sarabhai V/S Sarabhai it was about a saas and a bahu and the bone of contention was the bahu's middle class bearings which the highbrow saas objected to but we turned the whole thing on its head, instead of making it a vicious drama, we made it light-hearted, with a certain writing style and it worked. Koi bhi family soap nahin chalega, overdo karoge toh nahin chalega."
Sunjoy Wadhwa whose Balika Vadhu rewrote rules of a family drama says that while the genre will never go out of fashion, "the story-telling will evolve and change for the better. We will have newer stories within the format.... Yeah, may be one where men would be centre-stage but then even that story will have to respect a woman's perspective because women are primarily our audienceu2026 there will be more realistic and believable stories."
And so Kejriwal sums it up, saying, "Family soaps are like a big Indian thaali where you have a little bit of everything. So viewers get satiated when they watch them and get a dose of everything at one go. It's like a package deal."
Ashvini Yardi, Head Programming, Colors which recently launched Mere Ghar Aayi Ek Nanhi Pari about a Chandni Chowk Chawla parivaar which craves for a granddaughter, says, "Ultimately it's all about encouraging cohesive viewing which simply means the entire family sits together and gets entertained watching our TV families." So may be it's all about families that watch TV together stay together.
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