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Priests in Indian dramas

Literally only serve as a means to move the plot forward and to tell everyone that the auspicious time is about to end.

#indian dramas #saubhaghyalakshmi #iss pyaar ko kya naam doon?#Bepanah

Did Bepannaah ever have a chance?

Critics have always slandered television. While other countries television content is improving in quality, the same can’t be said about Indian Television (ITV). Known for its ludicrous plots, ‘saas/bahu’ and naagin dramas, ITV is at the bottom of the barrel in terms of ‘quality television’. However, this opinion of mine was about to be challenged by Colors’ Bepannaah. The promo was engaging and seemed like the plot of a Turkish or Korean drama (high concept television), rather than something on ITV.

It showed a story of Aditya (Harshad Chopda) and Zoya (Jennifer Winget) finding their respective partners dead and holding each other’s hands. Questions arose, how did they die (murder or accident?), were they truly having an affair, and how will AdiYA get together (cause you know they would and hopefully it would be a slow burn). The story line and the actors got me to give ITV a chance.

And the first few of episodes did not disappoint! The cinematography and design of the show seemed of a quality that I had never seen on ITV. Every shot seemed cinematic. However a couple of episodes in, were the plot moved to Mumbai, it lost its’ cinematic look and was similar to other shows on ITV. I heard the budget was cut down due to TRP (ratings) and external factors, so I could not fault the production house, CineVistaas (CV). The story, however, was fine.Though the event planning tracks became tiring as I wanted the series to be about two strangers who try to find the truth about their spouses’ affair and murder. I gave the lagging plot a pass because ITV needs to stretch out its plot-line for a weekly and indefinite format. Bepannaah was just submitting to ITV structure and I could see there were minor plot points that alluded to a bigger plan. A diary, flashbacks, and a hooded figure.

But it wasn’t just the mystery that got me tuned in every episode. It was also the characters of Aditya and Zoya. The characters and the amazing and dedicated performances by the actors, especially Mr. Harshad Chopda who arguable has a meatier role than Jennifer Winget’s Zoya. Chopda artfully balances between Aditya’s ‘innocent lost child’ nature and ‘angry young man hating the world’ attitude seamlessly. Winget has had her meatiest role previously, Beyhadh’s Maya, but gives her all to the sheltered and naive Zoya. Both actors are perfect to play the two strangers who are haunted by their past and come together to find the truth and heal themselves and one another. Moments when AdiYa would converse with one another about their spouses and the marriage they had were captivating. I came for the mystery, I stayed for AdiYA. Seeing these two characters (and actors’ performance) share the pain of the deaths and betrayals of their loved ones had on them was something new on television (not just ITV). It seemed that the series respected its audience.

However, this changed post Episode 81. Again, this seems to be in relation to TRPs and the CVs and the channel’s submission to the public masses. And this got me thinking, did Bepannaah ever have a chance?

ITV programming is about 21 minutes (without ads) and airs five times a week. There is no limit in the number of episodes, as the goal is to go for as long as you can. And episodes are usually filmed close to air dates, making scripts a response to TRPs and audience reactions.

Contrast this to Western and Turkish television. Western series are about 45mins per week and seasons are filmed in their entirety before airdates. Turkish shows, though filmed close to air dates (live filming), are 2 hour episodes per week. These elements, time and filming structure, aid in the quality of the television show. A story like Bepannaah needs time to be made (a complete vision that needs to be done in pre-production) and time to ingest (longer episodes rather than small snippets of scenes pulled in 21mins).

But what ITV really needs to go towards quality, that neither western or Turkish television does, is a definite number of episodes. Bepannaah needs a ending and episodes that logically, systematically, and emotionally lead up to that ending and tie it all together. Korean dramas are good in that way (though they do take part in live filming). An average drama has 16 hour long episodes, which are aired twice a week. Though it seems short and Indian audiences want to see their favourite show and actors go on forever, this format and structure leads to quality as opposed to relying on quantity.

In a perfect television viewing world, Bepannaah would be a pre-production, filmed and completed before airing (kind of like Pakistan) - eliminating chances of script and story being changed or swayed by general audiences and TRPs pressure. It would consist of 20 episode series, 1 hour episodes, that had a structural beginning, middle, and end. It would be a complex story of infidelity and betrayal, two strangers coming together to solve who killed their respective partners, and the moving on from broken relationships to grow as individuals and blossom into new beginnings/relationships.

But alas, current episodes a perpetuating the standards of ITV. Love triangles, forced marriage, evil parents, male lead being emotionally and physically abusive to show his love, female lead being passive and lacking agency in her life, jealousy being shown as a merit in love, junoon and pyaar being mixed up for one another, etc.

Though, how else are ITV shows going to get viewers to come back everyday? ITV doesn’t want a intellectual audience that analyses shows and rewatches it to catch nuisances, they want the general public that switches on the tv and watches the ads.