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Real To Reel (Unwrapping the Portrayal of Women
In Indian Television Mega Serials)
By
Jacob Palaparambil
EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011)
www.educreation.in
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About the Author
Jacob Palaparambil is a Salesian of Don Bosco belonging to the
Province of St. Francis Xavier, Mumbai. He has a Masters Degree
in Journalism and Philosophy. He also has an Executive Masters
Degree in Business Administration (IIBM, Delhi). Currently he is
a Lecturer at Divyadaan: Salesian Institute of Philosophy, Nashik –
India. Among the subjects he teaches are Anthropology,
Philosophy of Communication and Contemporary Western
Philosophy. He has also authored a Book entitled Expounding the
Philosophical Argument of ‘Private Language’ (Saarbrücken,
Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing, 2016). This written work
is a fruit of his interest in Philosophy and Journalism.
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Acknowledgement
I would like to place on record that working on this book has been
a learning experience. The support provided by my family
members and well-wishers was of great help for which I am
grateful. It was their constant support and guidance that stimulated
me to achieve this much.
Considering the pioneering nature of the study, and its broad-
based structure, many apprehensions came up at the outset.
Research methodology proved to be quite different from the
methods I have been used to. As the study advanced, many things
dovetailed and the survey results ushered in significant findings,
which in turn kept my interests steady. Taking into account the
present scenario in many of our families, I have realized that the
producers of the mega-serials in the Indian television world
predominantly target the women as their consumers.
They design these serials to attract women viewers,
irrespective of whether she is a house-holder, student or a person
working outside home. Various social norms, communal
considerations or gender bias do not hinder her television
viewership in any way. As a form of entertainment and education,
this medium provides a high degree of access to women.
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However, the immediate question which arises is how are the
women themselves being projected in these programmes? And
how do women viewers respond? What are the socio-cultural
factors that go into the making of these programmes? It is to these
questions that the present enquiry is focused.
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Content List
S.no. Content Page
Acknowledgement Vi
1. Understanding The Context 1
1.1 Imposing Archetypes 2
1.2 Women Issues 5
2. Women In Indian Mega Serials: An
Overview
9
2.1 The Forged Image Of Women In Mega
Serials
10
2.2 Salient Features Of The Role Of Women In
Indian Mega Serials
12
2.3 Gender And Genre In Mega Serials 15
2.4 The Openness Of Mega Serials 16
2.5 Effect Of Daily Soaps And Serials 19
3. Depictions And Distortions 21
3.1 The New World Of Fantasy 21
3.2 The Politics Of Representation 23
3.3 Hysterical Idolizing Of Women 25
3.4 Unrealistic „Superwoman‟ Image Disparity 27
3.5 Sexuality And Nudity 29
4. The Good, The Bad And The Ugly 34
4.1 Mirroring Indian Society 34
4.2 The Ideal Woman Versus The Vamp 34
4.3 Defining Gender Roles 36
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4.4 A „Fair‟ Point 37
4.5 Changing Times 38
5. Typecast Principles In Mega Serials 40
5.1 Mainstream Cultural Demands 40
5.2 Stereotyped Ideologies 42
5.3 Mish-Mash Of Stereotypes 43
5.4 Misrepresented Portrayal Of Women 45
5.5 Traits Of Homebound Women In Mega
Serials
48
6. Critical Appraisal 50
6.1 Influence Of Mega Serials On Indian
Culture
50
6.2 The Impact Of Serials On Young Girls 53
6.3 Monotony Of Themes In The Indian Mega
Serials
54
6.4 World Of Glamour And Show Bliss 56
6.5 The Conflict Between Strong Medium And
Weak Portrayal
57
7. The Way Forward 60
Endnotes 65
Bibliography 79
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1
Understanding The Context
The ongoing communication revolution has opened up possibilities
of accelerating development, especially for the upliftment of
women and children. This revolution, if it remains uncontrolled
and unguided, will have adverse effect on the life of women.1
Every now and then, one comes across reports of one or the other
group of women activists protesting against what they describe as
wrong “exploitative”2 projection of women in media particularly in
the electronic media.
It was roughly around a decade ago when the idiot box was
just as its name implied. It was a mundane gadget silently fitting
itself into the routine lives of people.3 Television is becoming a
dominant feature of our everyday life. The age of television has
been quite exciting in the beginning. The excitement was so much
that many people started thinking aloud about the characteristics of
the media and the impact that it have on the society.
Television has considerable power to shape opinion and belief,
change habits of life, mould behavior more or less according to the
will of those who could control the media. But today the television
has transformed itself into „smart TV‟ in every sense of the term.4
Smart not only in its technical advancements but more so
because it tremendously influences people‟s lives and moulds their
opinion. In a scenario like India‟s where the status of women and
their rights is still a debatable issue one thought comes to fore, are
1
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Jacob Palaparambil
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Indian soap operas5 and reality shows demeaning the status of
women further or are they in fact, helping to create awareness by
acting as a mirror of our society?6
1.1 Imposing Archetypes
Women portrayal in television is one of the disputable issues
surrounding the media today. The modern images of the more
liberated women are not the image of the contemporary Indian
women. It sums that gender-stereotyping is more deeply woven
into the fabric of television soap operas that does not depict the
reality of women‟s role in the society, for a variety of different
reasons, including the illusionary characters, the concentration on
domestic and personal issues.7 It has been that women are
portrayed in stereotypical, often fashionable way and never as an
intelligent, confident and emancipated woman.
It is difficult to determine the proportion of Indian population
that engages itself in watching soap operas. Be it regional soaps or
the most popular „K‟8 serials trend, almost every household is
glued to the high drama glycerine tear-churning phenomenon.9 It
never escapes one‟s notice that almost every soap opera has
women clad in sarees and jewellery weighing tons who seem to be
more than content to cook their husbands a wonderful meal all day
while the husband delightfully engages in infidelity and not to
forget the evil mother in law who is cherished by every soap fan.10
Soaps are characterized by a number of distinct features, like
for example, the speed of production, the continuous use of sets,
large casts and convoluted story lines which are spun out for weeks
an end. Soaps function to bind us together. Soaps instill a sense of
continuity. Television, its viewers, and the way it functions in
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society are so multifarious that no tightly focused theoretical
perspective can provide us with adequate insight.
The metropolitan population of a city like Bangalore would
find such a premise hilarious and brush it off as just entertainment.
But let us not forget that most women who ardently follow these
soaps do not even possess formal education. In such case these
serials seem to give out the message that a woman‟s role is
confined to the Indian stereotype and the woman who looks up to
these serials as her only source of entertainment (and unknowingly
education) is more than happy that she is embodying her favourite
on screen character.11
Take the most popular soap opera, Balika Vadhu for instance.
What started to grab eyeballs as a serial focused to help eradicate
child marriage ended up glorifying the same. Or note the case of
Saas Bina Sasural, not as popular as the former serial but watched
by a reasonable number of viewers, most of its episodes subscribe
to the notion that women need not employ maids to work at home
nor are they allowed by the male members to go out work.12
Now these serials are not the only programmes on Indian TV
that leave a black mark on women‟s status. Let us take note of all
the numerous reality shows where females are portrayed as sex
objects.13
Splitsvilla is a great example of the same which
promotes the idea of many women not just having catfights over a
single guy but also making themselves appear so called „sexy‟ to
grab attention while the man in question happily resides in a kingly
position of getting to exploit and choose the many women vying
for him.14
It is amusing to notice that centuries ago the philosopher
Manu had written in his Manusmriti15
a code of modern law that
should govern society.
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Jacob Palaparambil
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In it he says “A woman is always under the authority of men,
father during childhood, husband after marriage and son in old
age”16
and today even in the 21st Century while India is thought to
be soaring in the skies of development, its television shows still
seem to uphold Manu‟s law.17
A large section of the population of India today sees women
soaring into new heights every day. Women from lower rungs of
society making a change. The middle class woman working from
morning nine to evening five in order to earn for her family. The
woman who is not ashamed to stand up for what she feels or be a
single parent.18
But none of the serials show us the achievements
of modern women and they same to be about the same kind of
women that they are made for, ignorant helpless victimized
women.
This may appear as a sacred text of feminism rather than a
feature on the mentioned topic. However this book is not meant to
judge of wrong or right merely present the existing condition of
Indian TV. There are some bound to argue that these shows do not
degrade the status of women but merely act as a mirror of our own
society and how it runs, a case in point to be noted.19
Media is,
what society is; and Ekta kapoor20
only shows us what happens in
our own homes or maybe neighbour‟s homes in the hope that we
shall wake up to reality at least when it blatantly slap us in the
face.
The „how I met your mother’ watching populace of Urban
India may smirk at this article and think of it as ridiculous.21
However the truth remains unchanged. Indian TV needs serious
revamping, or does it?
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Women are basically seen as performing a decorative function
and being marginal to national growth and development. Their
primary place is seen as being within the home and this value is
reflected in the content and setting of most of the television
programmes. The plural nature of Indian culture and diverse role
that woman play is neither acknowledged nor communicated.22
This results in reinforcement of the stereotyped image and role
specification of woman in an undimensional projection of their
reality.
1.2 Women Issues
When we speak of the image a society projects of its women, we
have in mind its ideal of womanhood or its popular stereotypes or
the position of women of the institution, of the role or position of
women or the vision of poets, artists and prophets relating to
women.23
All mega serials wrapped in tradition of male
chauvinism discourage women to aim for more than a loving
husband, happy children and a modern home. She is portrayed as a
glamorous doll whose physical beauty is her only asset.24
The
sacrificing role of women in every serial is highlighted. Women
are all the time compromising and negotiating.
The mega serials affect women more simply because the
women are watching more serials than men. Men spend maximum
time outside whereas women are confined to the household. Sex
stereotyping is also very much evident in television portrayal of
men and women in their appointed roles.25
Invariably, masculine personality attributes are emphasized
and women in the world of television are presented in role of
domestic help, a wife, a mother etc and they are portrayed as
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submissive and engrossed in common family affection and duties
as against this, men are depicted as employed, competitive.26
Women shown in similar competing roles with men are far
less in number and are considered to be oddities and deviations
from norm, trait wise though there is a stereotype portrayal of
women being congenitally much more than men. Even when
women are presented as power holders, the patriarchal context is
unmistakably present.27
In fact, the attributes of power and
aggressiveness is portrayed as something unnatural to a women
and a challenge to the male ego.
The images portrayed in television mega serials have a
definite impact on the thought patterns of society. Women on
television entertainment programmes are projected as non-
thinking, sacrificing, and suffering beings while educated and
motivated women are seen as the scourge of the patriarch order of
the society.28
Media is an important tool for change.
The portrayal of women in movies and television is becoming
a cause of concern. They are used as accessories and as glamorous
props. Few heroines get author-backed roles. In fact, there has
been a campaign to clamp down on item numbers that
commoditize women. Do movies and TV present an accurate
portrayal of today's modern women? The portrayal of women in
films is purely for sentimental and cosmetic purposes and nothing
else.
Women have to be treated as a human beings and not as
museum displays. Women have started breathing freedom but not
the rights. They have a right to be portrayed as good human beings.
Women are the gift of God who give birth, take care of children,
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support children in times of difficulty, encourage them in happy
times and make them responsible citizens.
Women need to ensure that media reflects images that create
positive role models of men and women in society, which will alter
damaging stereotypes. In a study done on women found that serials
on television have new women who are selfish, actively
aggressive, sexist, insensitive and female chauvinist.29
It is keeping
these factors in mind that I decided to expound through this book,
the status and portrayal of women in our Indian Mega Serials. The
book will step by step illustrate the power of feminine image
presented in our Indian mega serials.
The present study shows that the most interesting and
attractive programs in television are viewed by the housewives and
working woman who mostly watch the entertainment and family -
related programs. Soap operas or the serials give relaxation from
the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Different type of Soap
operas shows different type of tradition, culture etc. It reflects
cultural value of India and it is a source of knowing the different
culture, tradition etc of India.
The study shows that the respondents watch the Soap operas
daily and maximum of the respondents have cable connection in
their house. Makers of the Soap operas make a target audience, and
most of which are woman folk, they understand the audience
choice and try to satisfy their wants. Women are treated as “special
audience groups”, so that appropriate measures can be taken to
cater to their propensities and inclinations. In this context,
problems and issues pertaining to women are shown regularly on
television in different programmes. Soap operas are one of the
most popular genres on television and as a cultural produce, this
format is extremely popular among the masses.
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Soap-operas, inevitably, have attracted a large and loyal fan
base. Soaps enjoy a momentous and immense popularity among
the contemporary society and they have found a place for
themselves and also allow a multiplicity of interpretations to suit
the diverse tastes of the dominant Indian middle class. The study
reveals that the characters in the Soap operas leave no impact on
their life. The study also reveals that the respondents watch the
Soap operas mainly for the purpose of entertainment, followed by
relaxation and time-pass.
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omen In Indian Mega Serials:
An Overview
Indian mega serials are also known as soap operas which were
written, produced, filmed in India, with characters played by
Indians, including those of Western descent like Tom Alter,30
with
episodes broadcast on Indian television channels or channel chains
that are not often limited to the Republic of India itself. Often
many “serials,”31
as they are more commonly referred to as, are
broadcast overseas in the UK, USA, and some parts of Europe,
South Africa, and Australia. Doordarshan, or DD, is an exception,
until recently it was only viewable in India and Nepal, but now
also in the UK.32
Indian mega serials are often mass produced under large
production banners, with houses like Balaji Telefilms which is run
by Ekta and Shobha Kapoor, daughter and wife respectively to
Bollywood film star Jitendra.33
They run the same serial in
different languages on different television networks and channels.
The most common languages in which the Indian serials are made
in are as follows, Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali,
Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, and Malayalam, though many contain a
mix of the predominant language and English.34
This often creates
and unintentional comic effect.
2 W
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A certain High School-themed serial on Star One35
has created
a bizarre language of its own, a heavy mix of colloquial Hindi and
corruptions of modern American slang, which, though fairly odd to
understand at first, has created its own coterie of loyal fans devoted
to using the very same „language‟ in daily speech.36
Hindi soap
operas have gained popularity abroad, across South Asia and
beyond into Afghanistan, Southeast Asia, and among the Indian
Diaspora37
elsewhere. A number of Hindi soap operas have also
been dubbed into Mandarin38
and gained popularity in China.
2.1 The Forged Image of Women in Mega Serials
Is the woman really good, or is she bluffing, many men cannot tell.
However they like to believe in the former, particularly because
they like to believe in their sense of the ideal woman; a quality
ingrained in them from childhood. Men are easy to please. Women
know that and they can understand this better in the serials. They
care for emotion than logic.39
Therefore a woman can die and come back through some
miracle, or undergo plastic surgeries that alters her height and
shape but women do not care about such things.
„How is this woman behaving, what drama is she creating and
will she succeed?‟40
Men‟s logical brains do not accept such
nonsense. They see the vamp as vamp and the good girl as good
girl and accept this division. Unless presented to them in a better
fashion (like in a good feature film), they don‟t care for emotional
entanglements on television.41
As such they have to appease their
woman and play up to her dramas in real life.
Women are natural manipulators.42
Some or rather many of them
misuse this quality and turn it to abuse. They may learn this
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