TOI: Pregnancy the new TRP puller

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Posted: 12 years ago

Pregnancy, the new TRP-puller

ROSHNI K OLIVERA, TNN | May 22, 2011, 12.00am IST



Want a twist? Bring in a marriage track. So far this has been the mantra for television serials. However, suddenly, there seems a shift. 'Pregnancy' has become the flavour of the season, with quite a few serials focussing on the 'main maa bannewali hoon' track. 

Drama Galore 
'Pregnancy' helps makers infuse love and romance in the serial or at least bring in drama. LikeUttaran has been focussing, for the longest time now, on Tapasya's pregnancy and major twists have been brought in, like the child is Rathore's and the main character Veer is impotent! 

Pratigya too had a lot of hullabaloo around Kesar's pregnancy sometime ago. In Pavitra Rishta, lead protagonist Archana is expecting and there's bound to be a twist here too, in the days to come. InBaba Aiso Var Dhoondo, the protagonist Bharti will get pregnant in the coming weeks and there will be a complication because she is a dwarf. "Marriage and pregnancy are two evergreen twists which always work in daily soaps," admits the channel's programming head (fiction), Saurabh Tewari. 

Like in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Akshara's pregnancy and the subsequent miscarriage struck a chord with the audiences. Says producer-director Rajan Shahi, "For the past two years, the show has sensitively touched all aspects of a young couple's life. The idea of having a child explores the beautiful bond between a couple and their families." 

It's About Trps 
Pratha brought in a baby track too hoping to get some TRP (television rating point) boost. So also in Sasural Genda Phool, one of the bahus will soon be in the family way. Just some time ago, the protagonist Suhana was 'almost pregnant' but it turned out to be brain tumour! 

Serials reflect life, says Uttaran producer Rupali Guha. "TV shows are about emotions. Hence there's love, marriage after which it's about having a family. So, it's a logical progression. A pregnancy track is very relevant as was in the case of our serial," she says. 

Viewers Speak 
What do audiences have to say about this? "It's a co-incidence, I think, that lead actresses in quite a few serials have been pregnant. But it does add to the drama," says Shyamala Rai, a housewife. Risshma Sawant, however, thinks it's the herd mentality. "When one serial works, the others tend to follow the same story. That's why perhaps, we have the pregnancy storyline emerging in many shows." 
Whatever be the case, so long as it's helping to rake in the TRPs, it's fine.