Television aping Bollywood

Are original scriptwriters a thing of past?

Published: Thursday,May 17, 2007 09:21 AM GMT-06:00

minnie

Today, Bollywood is known for its great success in movie production. Many creative heads combine to form the plot of a movie, which is then brought onto screen by actors and actresses. Television is not too far behind with many of the serial breaking the TRP charts.

Sadly though, Indian entertainment industry lacks originality. Bollywood has been copying hollywood for ages, but now it's the television which is copying bollywood, ironically copying even it's landmark trait - being a copy cat!

Our teledom if full of creative heads, but where is the creativity? The same storylines are popping over and over again in our daily television. For example, in the movie Kuch Kuch Hota Hai SRK has kajol as his best friend only to realise that he loves her when he sees her getting married to someone else. The same story has been repeated in Kayamath. Neev and Prachi are best friends who turned lovers only when a third person comes in.

Yet the viewers are on a staple diet for serials, watching serials even though we know it is a form of plagiarism. By watching such serials are we not actually encouraging the industry to create such glamorous soaps for us which are not their ideas?

Take the example of Mujhse Dosti Karoge. Rani Mukherjee liked Hrithik Roshan but didn’t express her love because of Kareena Kapoor. Same storyline has been repeated in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi with Krisna Tulsi (KT) and Lakshya. KT never expressed her feelings as she thought that Lakshya liked Saniya.

The latest addition to this trend is Kasauti Zindagi Ki which completely rips off the theme of Mohobatein by placing an anti-love Prerna styled on no less than Amitabh Bachchan himself, right at the helm of a loveless institution naming it Gurukul. How much more uncreative can you get!

Exceptions are there of course. Not all serials follow Bollywood movies all the time. Such as in Banoo Main Teri Dulhan, Vidya is illiterate but proves to be smart by her actions even though she does not know how to read and write. Serials like Aek Chabhi Hai Padoss Mein & Left Right Left too have explored new themes with success.

The exceptions are few and far between. Now a days, every track is being copied from another serial or a Bollywood movie. Repeating the themes of extramarital affairs, the same old misunderstandings, death by accident and then coming back with a plastic surgery, miscarriages....the list is endless.

So is this the departure of Creativity and arrival of copy cats?

However predictable these serials are, as long as the viewers are glued to them and have the same passion to watch them everyday/ same time / same channel /no matter how the storyline is going, creativity perhaps will have to take a back seat.

Contact author: pm: gk_09

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Comments (20)

Sanaa @ArHi_4ever

+ 5

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Guys.. this is one movie you dont wanna miss... SRK rules foreva!! An the gurls have done an amazing job as well... Let me know what u think!!

17 years ago

Jaslin @jassie_17

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wow...i wanna watch da movie...can't wait for my examz to end....

17 years ago

bugs_bunny @bugs_bunny

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Loved the last line.. 'No no... I can't play any sport.' Lol..

17 years ago

Ahmed @Too_Much

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HMmm thanks he is here to make some sound to media

17 years ago

kggk_fan01 @kggk_fan01

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great article!

I agree with the views. making kzk gurukul was so uncreative. but as you said some shows are different like bmtd.

evne though they are copied some are still interesting, causing people like us to watch them :)

17 years ago

Shina @nsheena

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Agree wid u! Mainly Ekta's creativews need to get creative

17 years ago

KAT @Catwoman

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so true but the creatives are not bold enough to experienment hence the copycat styles!! sad but true!!

kat

17 years ago

Anamika @ana13

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hey this article is reeely true....direstors r running out of ideas..specially ekta...all her serials r goin on tha same track...but still v have sum nice shows like LRL n tha newest entry 4(FOUR)is also awesum!!

17 years ago

Anjali @blyton

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I disagree with the comparions made ni the article, there are only surface similarities. IN fact, so many movie look like each other that it is hard to tell which serial is copying which film. The theme of friends falling in love with each other is as old as the movies themselves ; KKHH is not a new concept. Ditto for Mujhse Dosti karoge. When the originals themselves are not original, what is the point of comparison? We all know our serials are the pits; no need to go into details to point this out!

And btw BMTD is not a new concept, neither is Koshish ek Aasha. It is a mish-mash of 2 movies: Anpadh, and another movie starring Hema Malini and Jeetendra whose name I've forgotten.

17 years ago

memsaab @memsaab

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Indian film industry make the maxumum number of movies each year in the world. Be it a copy from a hollywood movie or a remake of our own desi classic, at this point of time, so much is already shown in hindi movies that I feel there s very less to be shown, Everything would look like copied from somewhere.

I do not know about Kyunki and Kayamath as I do not watch the shows. However, I know that KT and lakshay had it in open that they love eachother. So I dunno why would KT think that Lakshya loves somebody else. Sorry but I do not know who is Saniya.

Kasauti I have not watched for long but read the update recently as I heard that Prachi Desai would be doing some role and saw Prerna's pic.. and I said without watching the serial.. so it is Mohabatein but who is doing Shah rukh Khan's role.

When Banoo Mein teri dulhan first started people also compared it with Koshish Ek Asha as the male lead is not normal and people even compared a new comer Sarad to an experienced actor Varun Badola, which was not fair.

I have not watched LRL and ACHPM, not a single episode nor I have read any update to comment.

However, I remember a show I watched long long time ago I think it was called Choti Si Aasha.. Then I said.. there are still so much to show.... it s just my choti si aasha..

17 years ago