Indian TV channels have little to do with nation-building. They simply follow their course according to the demands of the market. And there is a demand for heroines turning into flies, and falling in love with gorillas. Television channels have a pressing dilemma. They have to sit in swanky offices, plush chairs and think of the poor, and their likes and dislikes.
For it’s the poor and their choices that helps them afford those offices and foreign vacations. The dilemma is not whether or not the poor person has eaten, but what they have viewed. This is of the utmost importance. It is imperative that they understand the content. Or should one make it even simpler?
TV soaps do not cater to thinkers. They cater to what they call the non-thinker – the man in the slum who may have worries but has a TV set for distraction; or the woman who wants respite from the kitchen and a complaining husband.
What Motivates Silly Content
And I can confirm that at least two of the major TV channels have a name for this audience – idiots. The TV soaps must be such that even idiots can understand them. I am only doing the informing.
There has for a long time been a complaint from TV watchers about television content – regressive, outdated, silly. Actor Irrfan Khan, an international actor, has admitted about the urban youth, “If the TV is on in the room, they don’t even come in, they go back”. And you do come across articles in newspapers about how Pakistani programs on Zindagi Channel are much better than Indian TV soaps.
The channel executives don’t care. They are not responsible for literacy levels or mindsets of people. They want to make good money. And they will keep making TV heroines fall in love with gorillas if it works for the households in Ranchi. And should that household’s taste change, they will alter their content.
Privately, they watch House of Cards and
gush over Sherlock. And they have a team that watches foreign shows to pick up things they can include in their shows. Is Harambe popular? That gorilla who
was shot dead when a boy entered his enclosure... if he is, include a gorilla
in the show. And when vampires became a news item, they find representation on
TV. It’s that simple.
Churning Out Low-Quality Content
Writers are told to work around these ideas. Writers complain privately, but land up following a routine with most of them coming around and leaving the office in their swanky cars.
Many of these writers, and the channel executives, come from small towns. Some genuinely love the soaps – they have no complaints. Others don’t care. They are not there for nation-building. They are there to make shows, even if they are foolish shows. Those who watch Pakistani shows are in a terrible minority. They don’t matter. Their complaints are essentially useless. Their fascinations amount to a few hours of trending Zindagi Gulzar Hai – a popular Pakistani show. None of the poor or the newly rich care for Twitter – money does not change taste.
“Forget the useless thinkers. We only care for the idiots”, is a mind-boggling conclusion from one of the heads. It defines the job clearly.
(The author has worked for TV as consultant and writer. This is a personal blog and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
Also read:
Alas ‘Arnab-ification’ Is to be Blamed for Dumbing Down Debates
Stop Calling Indian TV ‘Regressive’ – You’re Part of the Problem
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)