Those who may have thought television offered sanitised entertainment can think again. While sex is used overtly to sell films, in serials it is done subtly in the guise and within the legitimacy of sindoor.
Every serial explores man-woman relationships, starting with a brief courtship or marriage proposal. Sex is liberally sprinkled throughout the story, with wooing, romance, sensuous moments, delayed consummation and even more delayed procreation.
While in every serial the physical aspect of a relationship drives the story, it gets overshadowed by drama. But in some shows it is the major highlight. Whether it's the passionate love story Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand where Sangeeta Ghosh displayed her love and longing with heavy breathing, Uttaran which alternates between love and lust, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai where Naitik trails Akshara like her shadow or Kuch To Log Kahenge which hinges on physical attraction between a young and an old doctor, physicality is the key element.
In most serials, extra-marital relationships are a must as the "'other woman" track delivers high TRPs. Consummation gives the biggest ratings. Elaborate menhdi and wedding ceremonies are occasions for skin show and titillation in the form of erotic "item" songs. "If anyone says sex doesn't sell on TV then he or she is lying," says ex-TV programmer Saurabh Tewari who has worked with Zee, Colors and Imagine.
He says, "The female protagonist has to be young and beautiful because 40 per cent of the audience is male. The hero has to look handsome because 60 per cent of viewers are female. Their chemistry has to be hot — coolness may freeze ratings."
Senior TV director and ex-Sony fiction head Sanjay Upadhyay doesn't deny that sex sells on TV. But he feels sindoor dominates sex. "Nothing can beat sindoor because no matter what the value system, the core aspiration for everyone is to have a happy marriage and home," says Sanjay. In his opinion, sex plays an eye-candy role. "Characters have to look good because it helps viewers identify with their wife/husband/lover. But sensuous moments and titillation are used in passing phases," he adds.
Producer Pintoo Guha of Uttaran says television entertainment thrives on the family drama format of Hindi cinema of the 70s when rape was a must for dramatic conflict. "But in serials family politics is used as a tool to tell a story of man-woman relationship," he explains.
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