The tube gets romantic: Sangini

At last there is some relief from an overdose of melodrama, issue-based stories and negativity. Viewers can now look forward to a season of soft stories of pure love and romance. While it is an integral part of every serial, love remains secondary to myriad melodramatic conflicts and relationships. But call it a coincidence or whatever, while Star One has two long-running love stories — Dil Mill Gaye and Miley Jab Hum Tum — suddenly there are four love stories — Tere Liye, Chand Chupa Badal Mein, Yeh Pyaar Na Hoga Kam and Sanjog Se Bani Sangini — being aired on three top general entertainment channels. And there are more to come.

What explains this sudden surge in love sagas when the genre has rarely been explored to its full potential earlier? "I think channels are getting romantic," quips producer Rajan Shahi of popular dailies Bidaai and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai. Rajan's latest offering is Chand Chupa Badal Mein, a story of a girl who runs away from love set in the picturesque backdrop of Shimla. Rajan says there was a saturation of issued-based shows. "Nice, soft stories are a welcome change from rural shows and negativity," he adds.

Though it is a neglected genre, attempting a good love story is always an open proposition for every channel, says Zee's business head Nitin Vaidya. "We have made a few successful love stories before. Whether family dramas or love stories, we are always open to exploring riveting stories," he claims. But it's not always that a love story has ready buyers. Star India's senior creative head Vivek Behl reasons, "Like other genres, even love stories need to hold appeal for the family, and especially women watching GEC television."

That's the catch. Since family dramas have greater appeal to a wider section of the female audience, love stories are often camouflaged as family sagas. As producer Tony Singh of Sanjog ... says, "There is a risk of a good love story failing because the audience prefers melodramatic stuff." According to Rajan, Yeh Rishta ... was pitched as a love story because it is about falling in love after an arranged marriage.

Both Rajan and Tony claim their shows are intense and realistic love sagas. "There are other characters but the protagonists drive the story," say the duo. Ekta Kapoor too claims that Tere Liye is an out and out love story. "It is about love that stays on till the end and the serial explores various nuances of love," she adds. But are the shows working? Tere Liye started well but has started slipping a bit lately. Yeh Pyaar Na Hoga Kam despite its inter-caste rivalry hasn't been a hit, while Chand Chupa hasn't had a good start either. High or low ratings, love is certainly in the air.