Television’s disappearing act

Unlike TV shows that ruled the roost for years, recent small screen stories are packing up before the audiences can say ‘cut’

When Nikita Dutta got on board to play the female lead on Sony’s Ek Duje Ke Vaaste, she was prepared for the show to go either way — impress the audiences and gain popularity or not be accepted. “The industry is such — there is no guarantee that a show would work only because it is airing. Indian television is unpredictable,” says Nikita, who played the role of Suman Tiwari on Ek Duje Ke Vaaste, which went off air on October 7; the show had started airing in February. This isn’t the only show that Sony TV took off air. On the same day, another show named Bade Bhaiyya Ki Dulhania was also taken off air. Both these stories were ended abruptly, but were given happy endings. Other television shows such as Colors TV’s Naagin (season 1), Balika Vadhu, and Life OK’s Rishton Ka Saudagar were taken off air abruptly often with happy endings.

The dissapearing act is often followed by explanations that hint at ‘creative differences’ or low TRP ratings — a trend that is starkly different from the pattern television followed in the early 2000s. TV soaps then, were known to have lasted for as long as a decade. Suzana Ghai, who used to be the creative head of programming for Star Plus and is now a producer with Panorama Entertainment, says that creative difference isn’t exactly the real reason. “Television channels don’t take shows off air because of creative differences — it has a lot to do with the performance of the show. Everything these days is competitive and fast-paced. The audiences aren’t patient enough to give stories a chance — they often decide within the first few episodes if the show is worth watching. What happens then is that even if the show plans on heading in a certain direction, it isn’t given a chance,” Suzana tells us.

Broadcasters have the last say in what goes on their channel and what should be sacked. “It is rightly so — broadcasters put in a lot of their money and devote a lot of time behind a particular show; their money is at risk. At the end of the day, they are doing their business. If the show begins to go downhill, it is only sensible to take it off air,” Suzana explains.

Rajan Shahi of Director’s Kut Productions, who produces Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and Bidaai, has a similar understanding. “Broadcasters are extremely conscious of what airs on their channel. They want to have the maximum connect with their audiences and are extremely aware of the market.” He also thinks that the audiences have a huge part to play, agreeing with Suzana that their impatience often is the reason shows are taken off air.

“Indian audiences these days aren’t really interested in watching a character on screen evolve. They don’t want to see a young girl evolve into being a partner and enter motherhood — they are only really concerned about the story. As long as the story is getting interesting with every passing episode, they want more,” Nikita says. When questioned on why Ek Duje Ke Vaaste was taken off air abruptly, Nikita blames ill health, “I had suddenly fallen very sick and the producers weren’t sure how to take the show forward because the show revolved around Suman’s character, and I was the face of it.”

In the last few years, creative content, short films and shows on the Internet have exploded in number and the platforms producing these shows have also increased. One doesn’t need a big studio or production house backing their content to air a show. Video-on-demand services such as YouTube and Netflix that bring universal content home are also one of the reasons for audiences to shift their interest — and they aren’t to be blamed. Television channels have their own video-on-demand services such as Star’s Hotstar, Eros Now, Viacom 18’s Voot, but the content broadcasted stays the same.

“The Indian audience is an extremely fragmented market. You have audiences watching the show from rural areas (that are more open towards to the joint family dramas) and metropolitan cities (that want fresher content). It is difficult to please both these categories. However, I think, TV content and audiences are evolving hand in hand. A few years ago, only joint family, saas-bahu dramas ruled the roost, but today, the scene is different. In any case, the consumer is the benefactor — they have a lot to choose from,” Rajan concludes.