Surfing through 2011
Srabanti Chakrabarti looks back on what the small screen had to offer its viewers in 2011, and finds that it hasn't quite been television's year.
This
television year, in fact, has been a mixed bag of sorts, with the
usual, typical fare being doled out to the viewers. While some
programmes were interesting, the less said about the rest, the better.
There weren't any new shows, serials or sitcoms occupying our precious
TV space in 2011.
So, what did the small screen have to offer in
the year that's just winding up? Serials and reality shows — nothing
more and nothing less. While 2009 and 2010 saw socially-relevant themes
and realistic serials, 2011's shows had its characters returning to
their usual family drama format, perhaps in a slightly more subtle
manner this time around. Sasural Simar Ka and Mrs Kaushik Ki Paanch
Bahuein are two good examples of the saas-bahu theme revisiting our
television screens. While they wouldn't qualify as being the most
popular shows of the year, they weren't the least favourite either.
New
and mature love stories like Kuchh To Log Kahenge and Bade Aache Lagte
Hai ushered in some much-required and refreshing change to a medium that
has been popularly ruled by daily soaps this year. One change that took
everyone by surprise was that of Colors coming out tops, as the most
sought after entertainment channel. Thanks to some of their innovative
programmes like Phulwa, India's Got Talent, Kitchen Champion, Balika
Badhu and Uttaran, they usurped the throne from Star Plus and relegated
Sony and Zee to near obscurity.
Talking of Balika Vadhu and
Uttaran on Colors, these old family dramas continued to air successfully
and even managed to emerge victorious in finding favour among the
audience.
The year also brought with it the new season of Kaun
Banega Crorepati (KBC), a game show with Amitabh Bachchan as the host,
which slightly altered the fate of Sony, and dramatically changed the
fortunes
of its participants. Through some innovative programming and marketing,
this season of KBC made a tremendous impact, what with the prize money
being hiked to five crore rupees! In addition, Amitabh Bachchan's
immaculate and inimitable style of hosting, along with some
emotion-packed clips from the contestants' homes, contributed towards
making the show one of 2011's top grossers. Since Sony had outbid other
broadcasters in bagging the rights for the show this year, their
fortunes also managed to change overnight. KBC by its side, Sony's
viewership surpassed that of Colors in terms of both rating and
popularity. If anything, acquiring the rights to KBC proved to be Sony's
master stroke. However, it needs to be supplemented with many other
interesting programmes in order to sustain continued viewership. At
present, they only have one good programme in the form of Bade Achche
Lagte Hai, and it just isn't enough to ensure the channel's popularity.
Reality
shows seem to have had a dominating presence over the Indian television
scene. In fact, reality shows still seem to rule the TRP charts. The
best example for this is Bigg Boss. Despite being repetitive in its
format year after year, the show still gathers unbelievably high
ratings. However, talent hunt shows were much fewer in number. Though
they are still very much on the radar and get good TRPs whenever they
are on, the craze surrounding an Indian Idol has definitely reduced.
Another
interesting trend that marked our television screens this year was the
return of some small-screen stalwarts like Ram Kapoor, Sakshi Tanwar,
Samir Soni and Mohnish Behl — the top four television stars of the
saas-bahu era.
While Kapoor and Tanwar were back in the hugely
popular show, Bade Achche Lagte Hai, taking the show to the top slot
with their on-screen chemistry, Samir Soni enthralled his fans with
Parichay on Colors. The return of some old television favourites, and
the manner in which the viewers have welcomed them, only go to prove
that some actors can never really lose their charm, and that they make
for great television staples.
What exactly does next year look like?
Difficult to predict, but it doesn't seem to look very different from
this year. Considering the voyeuristic nature of the average Indian
television viewer, Bigg Boss will continue to be popular and so will
some of the other reality shows be. And like every year, some family
dramas will call the shots. Unless, of course, television programme
producers decide to surprise us pleasantly.
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