Originally posted by: Randomlurker
The Indian audience simply doesn't have the range to appreciate nuanced or morally grey characters. For them, it's always black or white—a character is either a saint or a pure, scheming vamp. That’s why Indian TV shows are written the way they are, with a perpetually "bichari" FL to garner sympathy. The audience has this bizarre tendency to overlook the most idiotic, gaslighting, or straight-up toxic decisions made by lead characters just because they’re the leads. They can mess up a hundred times, manipulate others, and still be labeled as "victims."
If you look at most vamp arcs in Itv, they’re often women who were gaslit or led on by the ML. Usually, the vamp is positioned as the ML’s girlfriend or fiancée, and the ML two-times them, leading them on while inevitably falling for the FL. When the so-called "vamp" starts hating the FL or the ML, somehow she becomes the villain while the ML is painted as the victim. This trope has been running on a loop since the Ekta Kapoor era and still thrives today.
Contrast this with Hollywood, where morally grey or even outright villainous characters have massive fanbases. Walter White from Breaking Bad, Logan Roy from Succession, or even Joffrey Baratheon—that hated little sh*t from GOT—are all despised within their stories but celebrated by fans for their layered performances. People line up at Comic-Con to get autographs from the actors who play these complex roles.
Meanwhile, in India? Itv audiences are busy yelling at their TVs and cursing the "vamp" with, notepads in hand, tallying up her sins against the FL. If anyone even dares to defend a character who isn’t the FL, they’re attacked like they’ve committed a crime. Imagine expecting depth from an audience that only wants to worship their bichari leads while demonizing anyone who so much as frowns at them.
Reddit comments sums it well 💀🤣🤣
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