Saturday, August 01, 2009

What I have registered from a TV serial

Good days are really good...and bad days are really bad. But each does pass for sure. That's life...?

I can't say I care much for Tamil TV serials in spite of watching one now and then (ONLY now and then -- one is always in serious danger of an overdose with these 'megaserials'). Mindless TV of the lowest kind, I say. Too often, they are nasty, have nasty characters etched into them (the kinds you certainly will NOT tolerate on your doorstep leave alone have them close to you as an aunt, step mother or mother-in-law!), horrible dialogues, bitchy women, weak, STUPID, insipid and/or dangerously evil men, with some children thrown in in the middle of all the hysteria and used as victims, women who are evil beyond your wildest imagination, and so on...

The detailed funeral scenes in these serials are breathtaking to say the least and obviously, NOT in a good way! Long-forgotten and best-forgotten rituals associated with a corpse can make the strongest of stomachs churn unpleasantly and you simply switch off the TV in disgust. Or you SHOULD. But then, I will also say you should not be watching these in the first place, right? And, days of mourning will follow. Why, why, why? Why do people want to watch them? The most-often heard response is: "I have nothing else to do. How will I pass my time?"

May I suggest a few hundred options like blowing bubbles, giving yourself a foot or any-other-body-part massage or better still, getting one from someone else, sleeping, reading, singing, listening to music, forming a book club or even a recipe or cooking club...even eating! Stuff your face or on second thoughts, exercise, walk, shop, window-shop, join some course, do some course-homework, or simply sit in a park or roadside or terrace top and gaze out and about. Or just switch to a channel that has music or laughter or ...ANYTHING else. Best is meeting up with other people to talk and make merry, who would otherwise rot and languish in front of these horrible TRP-rich brain-fryers...there! You would be keeping them out of mischief too; doing good to society.

I believe TV serials are like any other temptation that one must resist and distract self from. (Am talking about those who are compulsive TVserial watchers).

There are too many people in my household who watch them. Therefore, the first hand info. The ONLY good thing -- if I must call it that, that has come of being exposed to these daily nightmares is that there was this one dialogue in the forerunner of Tamil TV serials with one-perfect-woman in the lead -- Chithi. It was delivered by the highly annoying character of the actor Shivakumar (yes, yes, the father of the terribly popular DARE I say a wee bit of a metrosexual actor - Suriya). In his usual tacky and boring style in delivering serious dialogues, Shivalumar's character often said therein: "Idhuvum kadandhu pogum". (This too shall pass). For Shivakumar fans, true, he has given formidable performances in the past (YAWN!) but the only one I can personally agree with is in the film SindhuBairavi, but alas, even that film had his usual 'ways' in it.

Anyway...

So, this dialogue was annoying then but always made sense. Moreover, I really do think about it a lot now and then. Of course, never during the good times...;) Who in her right mind would want THAT to pass?

But I have to say...thence, ten years later, I have still not come across any other useful (if you could call that that!) thing in ANY of the serials I have had the misfortune of overhearing or chanced upon.

People need to focus away from theTamil megaserials. Oh and am sure TV serials in every other language are equally bad. English, Hindi, Telugu or whatever. Clearly they are being designed to feed the LONELY, nasty, vengeful, even evil sides of the viewers. There is 80% negativity in them. Every true life's happening is tweaked a LOT to make it a LOT worse before it is presented as a part of the Tv serial to you. After all with serials, no disgust-value, no TRP-value, eh?

Mind it! Or should that be Miiiinnnd Eeeeet...

4 comments:

Blogeswari said...

Well said , Tees. I had almost become a Kolangal addict for six months.

This neighbour of mine [in pazhaya veedu] is a mega tv serial addict. She'd get up early morning finish her chores and sit infront of the tv at eleven am, eat, fart infront of the tv.. sleep during tamizh padam at 2-ish on sun, up at 4 to shop veggies for dinner, and six pm was back to KASTOOORRRI..Ohooohoooo and a whole lot of them till ten thirty.

And she was always boreeeed in life. Once I had asked her to kinda go out, open a tailoring unit or a catering unit (she was excellent in both departments), she had said "adellam booreee-ungaaa"

Trendsetters said...

I second blogeshwari. We Got Sun TV dish connection when I came to US thinking that will help with my home sickness...but the serials became so idiotic that we hardly watch now except on festival days just to get into the spirit.

hastobeme said...

These megaserials suck! They only seem to instigate people with venom & all the negative thots! They ought to be banned (in my opinion)

Anya Padyam said...

I agree with every word you say; I have been thinking the same things... of late. (having experienced it first hand)

You put it so well; I have a few people I know, who I would like to show this to.:)