Saas-bahu sagas and issue-based shows still haven't run their course in the mass entertainment space. As TV is a family entertainment medium targeted at women aged 15 to 45, family will always be the core of every fiction show. So will the saases and bahus. Hence, relationships within the family continued to drive TV entertainment. But the trend that emerged in daily soaps in 2011, according to TV analysts, is the marked shift from fake and plastic relationships to real and credible ones.

Be it Saath Nibhana Saathiya, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Mrs Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein, Diya Aur Baati Hum, Ram Milayi Jodi, Beend Banooga Ghodi Chadunga, Sasural Simar Ka or Balika Vadhu, they are all saas-bahu shows. "But the relationships they portray are real and characters credible. The unreal people and relationships have been cleaned out of TV," says senior programmer and TV director Sanjay Upadhyay. The saas, according to Sanjay, may be strict and dominating but not manipulative. "And the bahu is understanding, assertive or ambitious," he adds.

In other words, the dynamics of the saas-bahu relationship has changed. Another trend that emerged is the opening of the doors to new stories with Bade Achhe Lagte Hain and Kuch To Log Kahenge. The beginning was made last year itself with the success of Sasural Genda Phool and Saas Bina Sasural. But it caught momentum with Bade Achhe Lagte Hain. "Fiction seems to have veered more towards real and natural from real and regional. The subjects are universal and characters relatable," says Anupama Mandloi, ex-senior creative head of Star and Sony and currently head of content at Fremantle India which produced India's Got Talent and X Factor.