When I watched the first episode of India Calling the thought I had was, Great, here is something different and yet sensible to watch. Well I was correct about it being different, but not about it being sensible.
It is different because of its story line, and not-sensible for the same reason. Let me explain....
The Story
It is the story of Chandni, a small town girl. Her elder sister works in a call center in Mumbai who does not come home for her own wedding. Instead, Chandini is now set to marry the groom in a months time. In the meanwhile Chandni decides to go to Mumbai to her sister to ’’live her life for a while’’ before she gets married.’’ (remember Kajol in DDLJ?). Chandini goes to Mumbai with her grandmom and in the train picks up a fight (for reasons unknown) with a guy name Adi traveling with them.
The sister does not come to the station and so they go to India Calling (the call center) only to be told that a person by the name does not work there. Chandini feels that she can get information about her sister if can manage to enter India Calling. So she decides to get a job there (which she finally does). This company is owned by Adi (now, I wonder what he was doing in the train).
Adi tries to create problems for Chandini. She has help in form of his babs (bhabhi) who does not like small town people.Chandni finds a friend in Prashant who helps her around at call center.
Missing Sensibility
I may be wrong about some of the sensibilities as I don’t know how the call centers work and probably I might have missed some things. Anyways here they are:
The elder daughter does not come for her own wedding and the groom decides to marry the younger one insted. All agreed!
The elder daughter does not come for her own wedding from Mumbai and the parents pack off their younger daughter to Mumbai after hearing the DDLJ dialog from her.
Adi, the rich owner of the Call center who lives in palential house in Mumbai is traveling by train that too by second class?
The sister is missing and they don’t even think of informing the police (izzat ki baat). Chandini does not inform her parents about it as well.
Chandini is initially shown as a small town girl, not very fluent in English language, but she gets a job at the call center because she cracked a deal. Now is crack the usually used jargon in call centers? I don’t know!
Chandini is given a seat and she just starts off with work as though it was something she has been doing all the time. Nothing to even suggest that she was given some training. I thought call centers had some induction training on dealing with customers and voice modulation etc.
Chandini sometimes struggles to speak well. She is shown taking a lot of effort to pronounce a word. Other times, her diction is just fine and fluent enough.
Adi is shown creating problems for Chandini all the time. When does he get time to work and concentrate on his business?
Adi shows open resentment for Chandidni. Don’t people wonder why?
Chandini is dressed in stylish Bunty Bubli fashion salwar-kurta, yet with a ghati touch with the parandi which she holds in her hand and rotates every now and then. She also wears loads of bangles, huge ear rings, (nose ring too?) etc.
But, in spite of all these, I shall say that the makers have tried to make a serial with a different theme. They should have done it with some thought and sensibility :)