Betis take over from vitriolic bahus

Till a year ago it was difficult to think of a prime time show without the usual saas-bahu drama and conflict. But lately the focus has changed from the bahu to beti. Shows like Babul Ka Angan Chhootey Na, Sapna Babul Ka Bidaai, Betiyaan, Amber Dhara, Radha Ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayegi, Kis Desh Mein Hai Mera Dil and Maayka have daughters playing the main protagonists. What has triggered off this trend and why has the daughter-in-law lost her place to the daughter?

"It's a result of overkill of saas-bahu issues," feels Babul Ka Angan producer Ratna Sinha. She says the saas-bahu subject was done to death by covering every aspect of their conflict. "Viewers needed a break from the white and black characters," she adds. Producer-director Rajan Shahi who set up several shows like Betiyaan, Jassi, Millie, Viraasat and Kareena Kareena before becoming a producer with Sapna Babul Ka Bidaai feels that the saas-bahu shows were unreal and one-sided dramas.

"The characters were caricatures and there was no reality in the story. There was so much of manipulation and negativity that the whole thing looked one-dimensional and shallow," says Rajan. Interestingly, his show Bidaai is rocking the TRP charts and last week it was the top-rated show across all channels.

Well-known story and scriptwriter Rajesh Joshi who has written several serials like Kyunki, Kasauti, Kumkum and Saarthi, and is currently writing Teen Bahuraniyan and Solhah Singaar is of the view that Betiyaan Ghar Ki Lakshmi and Betiyaan Apna Ya Paraya Dhan set the change in motion. "Television can't do without a female protagonist. Once the daughter was accepted as the main protagonist, it was not difficult to change the focus from bahu to beti because essentially every channel follows the trend," says Rajesh.

Betiyaan producer Dheeraj Kumar feels the focus had to change because of the change in viewership profile. In his opinion, there is a huge segment of youth that is watching television today. "Hence the focus had to change to make identification easy with the protagonist's trials and tribulations," he says, adding further, "When youngsters provide the eyeballs, it doesn't make sense to have 40-plus characters as protagonists."

According to Rajan, having daughter as a protagonist gives a lot of scope to explore her relationship with her parents as well as in-laws. "Earlier in every show the daughter would get married in the first four episodes and the show would immediately become a saas-bahu drama," he adds.

Today the daughter gets married after 100 episodes. "Also, after marriage her old relationships are not snapped, which from the story point of view offers lot of scope to explore the different nuances of relationships," says Rajan. But Rajesh disagrees, "You have to follow the protagonist's journey. After marriage, the focus changes from maayka to sasural and gradually maayka goes out of focus. It has happened in Solhah Singaar where the Bhardwaj family is completely out of picture.

However, Vijay Kashyap who plays the protagonist's father in Babul Ka Angan feels that the change is a result of competition between channels. "One show worked on one channel and others are following the trend. But it's good that at least some change has happened," he adds. Concurs Rajesh doesn't disagree, "Everything has been tried out. Only the protagonist has changed but the substance is the same."