‘Cool’ Factor: A defining moment for prime-time TV

This article which had been expecting some brush-up before being sent to Hoot two years back is just discovered in a folder and suddenly found to be fine read!! Read on...

“After IPL what…” was the great Indian dilemma across the media when the limited-over cricket carnival came to an end in June. Analysts, more than the readers and the viewers, had almost written off the future of prime time TV in the context of mass-hysteria created over T20. They had TRP data of various TV soaps vis-à-vis the IPL viewership to do all the talking.
Surprisingly, a few weeks later, it is a completely different scenario in the world of Television Entertainment. There is even new channel such as Colors (and the one soon-to-be launched by Balaji Telefilms, as reported by newspapers) with a lot of fresh air, making both the viewers as well as the news channels literally go crazy after its new-found 8-year-old ‘bohu’ Anandi.
The latest Television Rating Points (TRPs) of the show Balika Vaadhu released by TAM reveal that it has notched up an average rating of 4.60 for channel Colors and is all set to win the viewers away from Bidaai of Star Plus, while three-weeks-old Indian Idol of Sony Entertainment TV is in the league of Top Four.
A closer look at the recent/ongoing prime time serials/soaps/talk-shows by various entertainment channels must enlighten us with the fact that there is a paradigm shift in their packaging to get noticed by the increasingly ‘cool’ viewer of the Emerging India. There seems to be a lot of experimentation and constant communication to woo the young, employed, not-so-regular, ‘cool’ (women) viewer by providing them with some sort of solution to the stereotype.
From Chitrahar in early 90s to the Salman Khan-hosted Dus Ka Dum, there seems to be a complete evolution of our culture of TV viewing. Then, a hot number of Anil Kapur and Madhuri Dikhit could raise the decibel to such a level that some ‘conservative’ parents would often prohibit their children to watch such shows. Two decades later, the same family members giggle together when a macho Salman starts almost every question with “a highly pun-intended” Kitne pratisat mahilayen…!!
Much to the delight of the new-age viewer, nobody is having any problem when a Hriteish Deshmukh is confronted with a query on his sexual preference, “Are you a gay?”, in Sajid’s Super Star on Colors, thanks to the rise in comfort level among the hitherto morally-focussed Indian middleclass. The changing nature of economically comfortable Indians to celebrate the spirit of life despite everything has much to do with the changing culture even in the area of watching Television. Hence, the new age viewer has no qualms in hearing something which used to be a ‘taboo’ to his ears till recently.
This phenomenon is an offshoot of the corporatisation of media which is again a contribution of globalization. In addition to the economic globalization, this corporatization of media seems to have a profound impact on the audience, thereby redefining the new-age viewer from its traditional counterpart.
The trend that received de-facto certification from Laughter Challenge and the likes has now reached a point of no return. The situation is such that anybody and everybody is being subjected to ‘fun’ to make a mark in the race for TRP. Reel-life link-ups such as Rahul Mahajan with either Monica (Bedi) or Payal in Big Boss2 or SriSanth with Surbin in Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena in Colors is even making news on news channels. To top it all, news portals like IBN-LIVE, www.moneycontrol.com have provided links for BigBoss2 and Hindi news channels like Star News, News24 etc have become the ultimate platform for comedy serials, in their bid to cash in on this gossips-driven TRP.
Thirteen beauties line up in Khatron Ka Khiladi with a new-found thrill to prove themselves in an area which traditionally does not belong to them and finally someone walks away with a yellow band much like the Orange Cap in IPL tournament. This has some larger social implication. The courage or thrill factor is a demonstration of much polished feminism in the changing scenario. The same could be a strategy to strike a chord with the evolving woman viewer who rules the TV remote in the family unlike her previous generation.
In tune with the mindset, there has been a metamorphosis of TV content to establish a bond with the viewer’s thinking process. If Anandi is hot among all onscreen ‘bahu’s, it is because she provides a larger section of the audience an occasion to experience the ‘taboo’ (read child marriage) on screen which was hitherto a chapter in their history text books or at best a feature story in some local magazine or in a weekly supplement of a newspaper. It is in fact ‘cool’ to visualize something which is confined to anecdotes and that’s why Balika Vadhu has provided an instant gratification for the viewers who were almost sick of K-soaps.
Similarly, Anu Mallik paints a ‘cool’ picture for Indian Idol by changing the portrait of a judge to assess the voice in a serial with all his human emotions displayed in public unlike the one having mastery in art of consolation for the participants.

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(The article is based on the writer’s personal views. He can be contacted at nayak.ashutosh@gmail.com)