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Television is getting younger by the day. The influx of channels like Zee Next, Bindaas and the repositioning of other channels who have realised the drop in ratings for the traditional tales reflects that.

Superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who was the host for KBC endorses that. "A lot more of the youth is watching television today. It is becoming a very vibrant medium. Reality shows too are doing well and that means there was a necessity for the transformation of television into a channel that is not just entertaining but is also a voice for the people who are watching them," says Bachchan.

This however does not mean it's the end of saas bahu sagas. Just that the storylines are getting younger and the focus is on the younger generation and their lives. "The stories are still somewhat regressive at times. There is talk of independence and other perks for

the youth in these storylines, but we still try and maintain traditional values," says Lalit Parimoo who has a show coming up on Zee Next.

The reason for the programming reshuffle with a focus on the youth on the General Entertainment majors like Star Plus, Star One, Sony TV, Sahara One and Zee TV is also due to the increasing DTH availability. This will enable youngsters, who watch around 3-4 hours of television, to watch programmes of their choice.

Production houses too are enjoying the paradigm shift and thus are getting creatively challenged once again. "It is not just about the youth. It's a complete difference in the approach. But emotions are always required. Family dramas still score over comedies. Just that there is a freshness in the approach," says Anurradha Prasad, of BAG Films who is also making several shows like Dahhej and Ek Thi Rajkumari for the younger channels.

Advertisers are also keen to use this young avatar of TV, to cash in on the youth who have now started spending anywhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 per month, out of which a major amount is dependent on their television viewing.

"It is a positive change," says Sunil Mehta, MD Cinevistas who is producing the show Jersey No 10 which was rated as one of the top 5

shows on TV. "The saas bahu series that started almost a decade ago on TV remained popular for a while. But change is inevitable. Now there is something new to watch and it also gets back a section of the audience to TV. Youth based shows are liked not just by the youth but also the by the general audience. This gives people something more real than just women protagonists in every show," he adds.

The success of a show like Funjabi Chak De clearly shows that younger thoughts are being accepted. "Humour that is a little more caustic has started permeating into the precincts of our houses. We never thought that family audiences would watch such stuff, but they are accepting it," admits actor Ganesh Venkatraman whose sci-fi show Mayawi on Jaya TV drew in a lot of younger audiences.

In all, the pattern has changed because lifestyles too have. "people now have more than one television set at home. Hence different people in the same house are watching different shows and that means youngsters are definitely looking at positive and vibrant television," says supermodel turned actor Viraf Patel. Meanwhile Channel V and MTV too have started roping in younger faces to host shows now. The change is evident. And that could mean saas-bahus too have to start looking younger. Perhaps hair dyes too will start selling more.

http://www.deccan.com/TV%20Guide/TV%20GuideDescription.asp#T ube%20turns%20young