Of’course I have to admit that there was a time when serials like Ramayan and Mahabharat had the sheer power to put the entire country to a stand still. Then there was Kaun Banega Crorepati which also had a magical effect. Then came the ruling queen of the tellies - Ekta Kapoor.
I have no doubt in my mind that Ekta is one of the shrewdest businesswomen in the country today who has probably beaten her own dad (another shrewd actor cum businessman - Jitendra) when it comes to making money. After ’Kyunki Saans Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ various serials emerged. A great college friend of mine Cezanne Khan who acts as Anurag Basu in one of the serials swears by Ekta and that she is responsible for where he is today.
But all the people reading this review will agree with me on what I have to say.
When the serials started especially with ’Kyunki’ it was a different concept of a joint family setup. It was a family drama which started on a clean note. Many people started watching it including me and my mother.
However as the serials progressed what I have personally come to realize is that a) All the families in the serials are mega multi millionaires b) When somebody is kidnapped ransom amounts like 100 to 200 crores is demanded (maybe ekta has seen that kind of money, but what about you and me) c] All the characters are basically characterless. When someone in the family dies the widow gets married to some man in the family. The unmarried guy out of pity marries the widow.
Because, we have watched the serial right from the very beginning we do not want to leave the serial midway. Otherwise in real close knit joint families where do these kind of things happen? Imagine your brother getting married and he dies tomorrow. Would you even for a moment think about marrying your sister in law. Maybe it happens in rare cases, but are such things common?
The serial ought to be clean and entertaining. The serial may not promote family values but promoting and making popular ’family values’ as defined by Ekta Kapoor and the Indian public accepting such promoted values blindly is truly shocking and sad.