Goof ups, If that was the criteria then every TV serial would qualify in fact I would go so far as to state then 75% of all that is dished out on the small screen( or the idiot box as it is referred to all those who are against mindless gazing) should not have seen the light of day!

The entire Indian attitude of 'chalta hai' is so evident in the lack of quality control that is so blatantly obvious in all the soaps. And talking about soaps the pitiful attempt by the 'special effects' team for Kayamath to create 'snow' for the scene where Prachi in her sari, chappals and jewelery with makeup and hair intact rescues the love of her life the amnesiac Milind was so frothy it was ludicrous.

Things that don't just add up

Women from wealthy households doing the ghar grahasti scenes cutting the vegetables, and in some cases in the drawing room? What happened to all the house help, which is show running around in ill fitting uniforms with gloves on! Perhaps they don't want their gloves dirtied!

Cooking our desi khana (which as we all know involves 'Cheentas' of oil and liquid ) without an apron? come on can we be a bit realistic for a change. I know these soaps want to transport us into the realm of lala land but what the heck?

Sleeping at night with all their day clothes on, Why,don't we have night clothes or do all Indian women go to sleep in their saris with all their jewelry on? It is because the TV soaps want us to believe that these women are always ready to meet whatever garbage is thrown their way? a sort of an Indian version of Wonder women ready to spring into action!

Talking about plastic surgery, reincarnation well as a viewer we could suspend our intelligence and accept some of this however please explain to me about the story line Kahain Ghar Ghar ki is a good case in point where Om has multiple 'wives' one sent by the neurotic Parvati to replace her, while she the super sleuth is off somewhere unearthing some untold mystery, then another wife for Om whom he lives with while Parvati clan thought he was dead and then back again to Parvati. Om must have the most interesting marital life and the best part it it acceptable to one and all.

OR Are we supposed to believe that husbands and wives do not have a physical relationship in any Indian soap.and all women are also savitris how only do pati seva and puja

Same applies to Kasturi and not to forget the ludicrous Kasuati only here the heroine has multiple male partners! Also dont our all knowking directors , producers etc know that in order to have a baby you don't have to perform the physical act (Re Kasuati) its called artificial insemnation

By the number of serial being turned to satisfy the appetite of all the TV channels and judging by all the awards that Balaji and others wracks up if is safe to assume that all are raking in the money so why the compromise on sets.

From Astitva to Banoo Mein teri Dulhann to any number of serials from differnet production houses its always the same house. I;m sorry even the weirdest angles and the colors cannot disguise the structure.

There is no doubt in my mind that the editing of all serials is in the hands of a few totally lacking in imagination, low on skills and with a inadequate, cheap, faulty and totally unsatisfactory stock of background music, and 'special effects'(f you can call strobing, negative film shots, crackling of lightening across the screen). From backdrops, to music to special effects its identical in most of the serials.

Case in point Vivaah, the scene at no less than Delhi International Airport???? As far as I know no such airport exists


On the one hand we have software that Hollywood uses and yet we cant seem to get our act together. As always churning is the the name of the game, originality, and ,most of all quality get thrown out.

Injuries/medical

Do the cast of any TV series ever get hurt anywhere accept on the head? Some one in make up needs to be informed that when their is an injury and blood oozes its from the side out and in 99.9% of cases where a bandage is used very seldom will you see the perfect RED spot it will be reddish brown as blood when it dries in a reddish brown.. Only fresh blood is red which means that all our injured cast members have bleeding wounds that the incompetent medical staff have not been able to stop.

Talking about medical problems it would be advisable for the production houses to take the advice of doctors before or during the writing of the script to maintain at least some semblance of credibility. Script writers dole out ludicrous stuff that passes for medical information/. n this case little knowledge is a dangerous thing and Ignorance is Not bliss

Reference to other countries

People don't go to America they either go to the US or Canada

America is the whole land mass the comprises North America which is Canada, the US and Mexico and South America with countries like Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Chile etc.

TV serials comprise infotainment as well, It does take much for the script writer to include the name of a city as opposed to the whole continent

Life is not a song and dance and much as we use the media from the small to the big screen to escape from the Maybe the ordinary ,small person has always needed such fantasies as a welcome escape from the humdrum reality of his everyday life

The portrayal of our TV characters as they strive for a better life , a way out of their monotonous hole in the wall existence can be very powerful and can indeed bring about positive changes in the mind and attitudes of the viewers.

Just lets keep it plausible without sacrificing too much of the entertainment aspect

I am an avid soap fan.recently i started watching balaji's kuchh is taraa.i think its a phenomenonal makeover for akashdeep saigal as an actor. his badboy turned loverboy image is working quite well. the lead chick dimple jhangiani seemed to be disappointing initially but now manages to give a clean performance. i guess every balaji new findings seem to be a bit offtune initially but they pickup soon(eg-kasturi).the serial is eventhough is a copy of kya hoga nimmo ka manages to pull more audience.now the serial is begining to follow the good old ekta kapoor track of emotional blackmailing of the audience.we sometimes find certain characters irritating but still with comic dialogues it manages to provide the viewer twenty minutes of laughter. now with the entry of amit jain the serial seems to be doing a good job in increasing the TRPs of the channel

Hi tellychakkar,

So many channels coming up but so little quality content. Out of all the new channels that have been launched recently barring NDTV Imagine most offer no promise. The programming on Imagine looks inviting and one stays glued to most of its shows on prime time.

Ramayan has hit bull’s eye.Though it is a daily one does not tire of it. And Jasuben is much the same. The other two weeklies, Ek Packet Umeed and Radha ki Betiyaan too tell their story well.

Why can’t other channels learn their lessons from the success of others? Its not about imitating but about being positive and thereby accepting your failure.

One is sure that as 2008 is the year of reality shows we are going to be subject to much the same format being judged by much the same judges- who have by now all learnt the art of using smart one liners, being as abrasive as the Simons of the world and after this laughing all the way to the bank.

Can’t we have a distinct stamp? Can’t we innovate and experiment? Hey guys wake up and smell the coffee. TV is getting bigger and better. But you too need to change . Don’t underestimate the viewer. Respect him…after all he is paying you those millions of rupees.

Tanya

Dear editor

Just thought that it would be nice if I could share a few thoughts with you on the daily dose of serials that are dished out each day & which are watched with so much of interest by millions of people of varied age groups.

There was a time when there were just 3-4 cahnnels and the no of serials were limited and of good quality which amde for good viewing. Now all of a sudden the television scene has really changed and how!!!!! Almost each day we hera of anew channel that is being launched resulting in more production houses making more serials. It will definitely hot up the competition, but unfortunately it will only add to the viewers confusion as most of them will be aired during prime time.It will probably end in people surfing and changing channels so that they do not miss out on anything.

I too watch a few serials when time permits and in my opinion the worst are the"K" ones dished out by the Balaji Stable.Inspite of being family bases serials they are too unreal for my liking.They all started out fine, but six to seven years down the line I guess they havel run out of ideas and resort to the age old idea of rebirths, plastic surgery and what not. It is a suprise that they are so popular with the masses inspite of that. Due to this very reason the Balaji serials are also very predictable.

Among all the serials the one production house that stands out and comes first to my mind is Hats Off productions. They are so refreshingly different in their approach towards making a serial. Even they have the family as the main storyline but each one of are so brilliantly woven into the story that we miss them when they are not seen in any episode. Baa Bahu Aur Baby for example which has has at least 15 characters never seem too many even if they are all there in one shot. They blend in so well. Most importantly is that this serial and all the other ones from Hats Off tend to reach out to the common man as they are very similar to a normal houisehold. All their joys. sorrows and experiences are ones that each individual experiences in their life , hence they relate with them. The entire set, costumes, dialouges are all so natural that one cannot help, but feel that they are so much like one of us. On the other hand in a Balaji serial inspite of many characters we only actually see the focus on 2 people who are talking and all the other cast just seem to stand their as extras even though thay are known names.

Another serial which I can see again & again is Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai .I think that this must be one serial with just 5-6 actors but so well written and with such a sense of humour that after watching the repeats also I still laugh my guts out. It is indded apity that there is no sequel to it.Similarly with Khichdi,a fantastic comedy serial with a whole lot of great actors like Supriya Patahk. Anang Desai etc. Hats Off I guess is able to capture essential family values and they use the medium of comedy so well thateven if the scene is serious we do not feel really drianed out as the comedy element is shown here in a different vein altogether.

I think that apart from Hats off the other serial that I like now are Maayka, Ghar Ki lakshmi Betiyaan and the very popular Teen Bahuraniyaan. Most of them are relatively newcomers with a few veterans and it makes a refreshing change to see new faces. All of them have the usual family masala, saas bahu differences etc but each episode has a surprise element in it and are not at all predictable.The characters are all shown playing key roles in them and all blend beautifully with each other.

Amongst the serials that I feel have a great future and look good are Teen Bahuraaniyan from Playtime Creations and Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyaan & Maayka from Creative Eye besides off course Baa Bahu. Whether they can be really long lasting only time will tell as they have just started out a few months back.

The new serials on 9x, Imagine and Zee Next should be worth a watch as they are all being made by good and respected production houses.