 Marathi culture seems to be the latest funda for Indian Daily soaps
and with five shows which boast of the Marathi flavour as their backdrop
having been launched already, the trend seems to be going strong.
Balaji leads the pack with three shows Bairi Piya, Pavitra Rishta and
the recently launched Sarvagunna Sampanna while Laagi Tujhse Lagan on
Colors and Jhansi ki Rani on Imagine TV form the remaining of the lot
all sharing the Marathi backdrop as the basis for their plots.
Sarvagunna Sampanna can be credited to have taken off with a
refreshing start where the story deals with the life of a lavni dancer
and is set in Kolhapur. The lead character Swara, is a lavni dancer who
performs at stage shows around small towns in Maharashtra but her
profession makes it difficult for her to gain recognition in society.
The plot progresses with the lead marrying into a reputed family named
the Deshmukhs only to find that her profession does not allow her to
gain acceptance as the daughter- in-law of a respectable family.
And though the story begins with an innovative angle Sarvagunna
Sampanna also has a pretty strong chance of loosing that Marathi touch
as the show progresses and also of loosing out on the original Marathi
ethos as has been the case in some of the shows of the same lot
especially after the leads entry into family life.
Bairi Piya was one such show which started out with the plight of
Marathi farmers as its basic plot but progressed on to join the
bandwagon of the same old bland ‘Saas Bahu’ soaps. The show set out with
the villages of Maharashtra as the basic setting and the life of
Marathi farmers being projected effectively. But the plot slowly moved
on to become monotonous and simultaneously also lost the Marathi charm
which led to its loosing all those things that set itself apart from the
other soaps on television .
Pavitra Rishta can be credited for the fact that the audiences have
not been disappointed and the show has not lost the Marathi touch which
was one of the unique features of the show from the time of its launch.
The show still has middle class Marathi families providing the base for
the plot and the upheavals in the life of the simple Marathi girl
Archana has managed to catch the interest of audiences.
Colors show Laagi Tujhse Lagan seems to have lost the Marathi charm
it had set out with and apart from the use of a couple of Marathi words
occasionally Laagi Tujhse Lagan too has joined the monotonous ‘daily
soap’ lot.
Imagine Tv’s Jhansi ki Rani is one strong contender which has used
the rustic appeal of Marathi culture to its advantage and has therefore
set itself apart not only from the bandwagon of repetitive daily soaps
but also from those that share the Marathi touch. The use of not just
the Marathi language or culture but the ancient Maratha culture as its
basis has given the show a refreshing look. And though the racy story
line and interesting twists has given the show its appeal the Maratha
touch totally enhances the theme, setting the show a class apart.
What remains to be seen is if this trend of Marathi backdrops for
daily soaps proves to be a successful attempt and catches the fancies of
the audiences for long or will it simply fade out as a short term
experiment.
Rahat Khan/ Sampurn Wire
|
