“Selvi - The Best Worst Serial”
If you are planning to shoot a Tamil soap then just go ahead with confidence, because the worst is already made!! The nadir of serials made has been reached once in for all, so things can never get worse.
In Selvi, Radhika plays the toilet, the commode, the S and the AH.
The unique award of the ‘best worst serial’ goes to “Selvi”. The choice was made amidst tough competition but Selvi had an unbeatable edge in several factors. Topping its list of ‘credentials’ is the lady of the show – “Radhika SaradhKumar ”. The whole of the serial is so full of her (considering her massive size its understandable though).
We, the poor hapless audience (most of us, the youngsters, are forced to watch the soap as the elders of the house choose to), have been victimized to her infinite degree of self-obsession through three of her serials, one after another. Woman!!! we need a break. Most of us didn’t have much of a problem digesting ‘Chitti’ as we thought it was the character which was being glorified and not Radhika as a person, now, with one serial after another being named after Radhika’s character in the serial, most of us have woken up. She is self-obsessed for reasons best known only to her, we have not identified many over the past 7 yrs of ‘Radhika watching’. In my personal view, she was one of the top-notch actresses in Tamil cinema until she was kept under control, but given the space, she seems to spread out herself and dance like a peacock, the trouble is that she aint a peacock and hence the glorious dance sucks. Ok! Now let me not make this review seem like it is ‘Selvi’ in itself , as in, let me move on with the serial review and not get struck with just Radhika (if there is any bit of story left in serial other than her).
Closely following Radhika in the endless list of cons is the ‘brilliant’ attitude reflected by the very character ‘Selvi’ in the serial. Primarily no sane person with some social consciousness can tolerate a view that expects a woman to stay patient and calm towards all the injustice infected on her by the society, Selvi is just about that. Selvi plays holy in every possible instance and always spares those who are blatantly unfair with her. In a society were women are already expected to tolerate and live with all sorts of injustice in the name of patience, flexibility and family integrity, a character of this sort in a daily will only help strengthen such baseless expectations. Being silent towards such exploitations and injustice doesn’t reflect strength of a woman; it rather reflects the inability of the person to standup for their own self. It’s a pity that such serials are being conceived and telecasted while so much is being done about woman’s liberation, that too from a woman who seem very liberated herself.
Safe the ‘best’ for the last ?!?! – ‘The storyline’. Never in my entire life have I come across such a bullshitting concept of friendship. The story is completely skewed and perverted. The divine friendship for which ‘Selvi’ goes through all the trouble gives in to orgasms (though not surprising in the world’s 2nd populous country). Promptly follows the glory and the drama associated with pregnancy and marital relationships, simply incorrigible. A person who has married for 4 times ‘officially’ (which is perfectly fine with me, like I care!) feels like it’s a huge insult when a stranger is introduced as her husband, and we sit and watch it, who is to be blamed !?!?
Rather than being subjected to a serial like Selvi at the end of a day’s work I prefer to continue endlessly at office – I am sure I m not alone, there are thousands of hapless youngsters, heartfelt sympathy.
Pros :
· 75% of the show timing is eaten away by commercials.
· The soap will end some day, maybe not in our lifetimes though!
· Keeps parents are kept occupied till 10 p.m. and hence getting even home at around 10p.m. is not a problem anymore.
· Makes work feel better than entertainment.
Cons :
· EVERYTHING about the serial.
· There might be another one in the pipeline.