Behind the Scenes : The making of Soap Operas :D

The word “soap opera- more popularly known as tele-serials” brings out a series of mixed emotions among the people of today. While our grandmas, grandpas, uncles and aunts find it very “INTERESTING and MIND RELAXING”, the much more modern youngsters and the next generation of kids describe these shows in one word- “Urghh….”

 But come on…we really can’t deny that these tele-serials are nothing but mere entertainers that grow along with us. In fact, there are still serials which started when you might have been in tenth grade and amazingly, the same show continues even though now your kid has passed his tenth grade exams  :P

I recently read an article on such shows and realized how difficult it is, to direct and narrate such stories on TV. Kudos to those people because, you know…my grand mum would miss her daily dosage of medicines but never would she miss “Thendral” or “Chellame” ;) In fact, she never curses the Tamil Nadu electricity board for power failure unless and until the power cut happens in the evening time :D

The people In soap operas are hard of hearing I think. But don’t blame them. All the jarring background music does that to them. Poor people I must say!! ;) And once in a while comes this villain of the serial, tossing her head to the left and right. I don’t get it. How is it that, only in these serials does a person get to be 100% mean or 100% good. Jeez…never mind :D

The actors have to be well dressed and be fully made up at ALL times. Only the common man and women like us wake up every morning with groggy eyes and messy hair. In serials, the roles are always with full make up (lip stick and bindhi inclusive), perfectly blow-dried hair and matching saris and sandals too.

Good people are incapable of being subtle. They always have to think out aloud no matter how confidential something is. And their nemeses (usually the mother-in-law) are always around to eavesdrop :P The main thing to be noted is that, the storyline can NEVER be straight, simple, happy and sweet. It has to be convoluted and scandalous. A man/woman, at any given point of time, HAS to have two spouses about whom he/she has absolutely no clue about :D

So, by the time you and I get married, have kids and grandchildren who are married and expecting kids themselves, the protagonist of the serial might still be pondering about whom to marry and whom they can trust (minus the innumerable cosmetic surgeries and make ups to  hide their ‘age’ factor) ;) Oh yeah…if u also want to be a part of this festivity, all you have to do is just send out a message to the show. (FOR EXAMPLE Karthik Chellame to 58585) :P and voila…there goes 5 rupees from your phone balance (for what joy? Nothing!! :D )

You know, makers of such programs always believe in reincarnation theories. Hence, if someone dies in episode number 999 then they MUST be re-born in episode 8999 (ten years later) as a ‘twist in the plot’ so that the already slow-paced serial can be slowed down by another couple years :D

Murphy’s Law has a BIG role to play in commercial serials. Ensure that the protagonist NEVER gets to be with the love of their life ;) And, accidentally if they do get together, make sure that some natural calamity like an earth quake or tornado or at the least, an accident while crossing the road, kills either one of them :P If not that, you can try the super-natural stuff like making the protagonist and his/her love part ways for five years or so (because of evil spirits or some magical illness that can be cured only if the two stay apart).

How can we EVER forget to talk about our NRI mappillai here?? :D :D :D He has to cover his nose the moment he lands in India, must drink only mineral water (if not bathe in it), be on a diet, talk with that strange American accent even if they have been overseas only for a week :P MOST importantly, they must always fall in love with a simple desi girl ;)  

There you go folks :D The simple secret recipe for making a successful (???) entertainment show that’s bound to keep people sitting on the edge of their seats till the last episode :D

YOU TOO CAN BE A DIRECTOR!!! ;););)

Till next time…

With love,

Karthik J