Posted:
Is soap ko main kya naam doon?
Mansi Choksi & Sharmila Ganesan Ram, TNN | Feb 12, 2012, 01.36AM ISTRead More:TRP|Soap Titles|Bollywood Songs|Bade Acche Lagte Hain
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Hindi soaps have a new obsession. After enduring the echoing slap, the falling thali and the repeated-thrice-in-succession crash zoom, viewers now have to live with another unwarranted TRP tactic: copy-pasted Bollywood Songs as Soap Titles.
Scroll down your set top box menu and you can't help wondering if your TV screen has morphed into a giant playlist-there's Sasural Genda Phool, Bade Acche Lagte Hain, Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, Ruk Jaana Nahin, Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha, Kuch Toh Log Kahenge and the latest Kya Hua Tera Waada. But the epidemic isn't just about channels' allegiance to the marketing mantra of "recall value"-such titles also come to the aid of producers who aren't sure which way the hundreds of episodes of their soap are going to go.
"These poetic titles attract family audiences, they sound good and strike an emotional chord," says Kamlesh Pandey, writer-producer of daily soap Ruk Jana Nahi (a song from Imtihan, circa 1974). "But they are also useful to scriptwriters, who have to invent twists by the hour. An open-ended title allows the story to turn and twist any way."
Ask television scriptwriter Sharad Tripathi if such titles allow the story to take an unspecified course and he responds with a definitive "Definitely". "Publicity is a must for any show, good or bad. And if the title is inspired by a popular Bollywood song, then half the work is done," he says.
For Siddharth P Malhotra, creative producer of Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai, who was contemplating a title for his soap on the undying love of two sisters, it was clear that the hit song from Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971) would convey the theme. "So we went ahead with the title and also retained the original song, as nobody can beat R D Burman," says Malhotra, who calls titles and songs "garnishings" that are used to make a show successful. "However, we'd be making a fool of ourselves if we relied entirely on show titles or songs for success. TV's real strength lies in its characters."
In the early '90s, says Kamlesh Pandey, shows like Rajni, Tara and Banegi Apni Baat echoed changing sensibilities among the middle class and were thus given relevant titles. "But daily soaps today have nothing to do with reality," he says. "They portray a fictional society, in which middle-class families live in havelis and flaunt clothes and jewellery that no middle-class Indian can afford." Pandey says that Ekta Kapoor's soap factory began this trend in 2000-though some of her soaps began by tackling 'issues' like extra-marital affairs and the rise of the working woman, it all came to nought very soon. "After a few episodes, the story was hijacked and the fictional world of daily soaps was created, which has only flourished since," he says.
The songs-turned-soap titles are also symptomatic of the growing creative fatigue in the world of daily serials. "There is so much interference from the channel at every stage that after a point, one tends to give up. Instead of brainstorming, coming up with catchy titles and getting a title song composed, it is simpler to get an already popular song approved and buy the rights," says Tripathi. Lyricist Nawab Aarzoo adds that the level of competition on this score is so high that channels vie to get songs registered as titles. Aarzoo wanted to call his forthcoming show Gudiya but the title was already taken. So, he altered it to the long-winded Suno Chhoti Si Gudiya Ki Lambi Kahani (from the 1955 film Seema).
But then, Bollywood has always been TV's mother ship, reasons Arzoo, an industry veteran who has written lyrics for many TV shows, including Bade Acche Lagte Hain. When the famous song is used within the show to complement a situation, Arzoo changes the lyrics to fit the tune and the mood. "I am now used to writing like that," he says.
Incidentally, the song Bade Acche Lagte Hain is from a film called Balika Badhu, which, of course, is now the title of a famous soap.
"These poetic titles strike an emotional chord. But they are also useful to scriptwriters, who have to invent twists by the hour. An open-ended title allows the story to turn and twist any way"..
Scroll down your set top box menu and you can't help wondering if your TV screen has morphed into a giant playlist-there's Sasural Genda Phool, Bade Acche Lagte Hain, Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, Ruk Jaana Nahin, Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha, Kuch Toh Log Kahenge and the latest Kya Hua Tera Waada. But the epidemic isn't just about channels' allegiance to the marketing mantra of "recall value"-such titles also come to the aid of producers who aren't sure which way the hundreds of episodes of their soap are going to go.
"These poetic titles attract family audiences, they sound good and strike an emotional chord," says Kamlesh Pandey, writer-producer of daily soap Ruk Jana Nahi (a song from Imtihan, circa 1974). "But they are also useful to scriptwriters, who have to invent twists by the hour. An open-ended title allows the story to turn and twist any way."
Ask television scriptwriter Sharad Tripathi if such titles allow the story to take an unspecified course and he responds with a definitive "Definitely". "Publicity is a must for any show, good or bad. And if the title is inspired by a popular Bollywood song, then half the work is done," he says.
For Siddharth P Malhotra, creative producer of Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai, who was contemplating a title for his soap on the undying love of two sisters, it was clear that the hit song from Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971) would convey the theme. "So we went ahead with the title and also retained the original song, as nobody can beat R D Burman," says Malhotra, who calls titles and songs "garnishings" that are used to make a show successful. "However, we'd be making a fool of ourselves if we relied entirely on show titles or songs for success. TV's real strength lies in its characters."
In the early '90s, says Kamlesh Pandey, shows like Rajni, Tara and Banegi Apni Baat echoed changing sensibilities among the middle class and were thus given relevant titles. "But daily soaps today have nothing to do with reality," he says. "They portray a fictional society, in which middle-class families live in havelis and flaunt clothes and jewellery that no middle-class Indian can afford." Pandey says that Ekta Kapoor's soap factory began this trend in 2000-though some of her soaps began by tackling 'issues' like extra-marital affairs and the rise of the working woman, it all came to nought very soon. "After a few episodes, the story was hijacked and the fictional world of daily soaps was created, which has only flourished since," he says.
The songs-turned-soap titles are also symptomatic of the growing creative fatigue in the world of daily serials. "There is so much interference from the channel at every stage that after a point, one tends to give up. Instead of brainstorming, coming up with catchy titles and getting a title song composed, it is simpler to get an already popular song approved and buy the rights," says Tripathi. Lyricist Nawab Aarzoo adds that the level of competition on this score is so high that channels vie to get songs registered as titles. Aarzoo wanted to call his forthcoming show Gudiya but the title was already taken. So, he altered it to the long-winded Suno Chhoti Si Gudiya Ki Lambi Kahani (from the 1955 film Seema).
But then, Bollywood has always been TV's mother ship, reasons Arzoo, an industry veteran who has written lyrics for many TV shows, including Bade Acche Lagte Hain. When the famous song is used within the show to complement a situation, Arzoo changes the lyrics to fit the tune and the mood. "I am now used to writing like that," he says.
Incidentally, the song Bade Acche Lagte Hain is from a film called Balika Badhu, which, of course, is now the title of a famous soap.
"These poetic titles strike an emotional chord. But they are also useful to scriptwriters, who have to invent twists by the hour. An open-ended title allows the story to turn and twist any way"..
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