Changing face of the Indian Television

The recent addition of new programmes on most of the tv channels was a pleasant surprise to me...and it goes on to prove that the humanity evolves in round circles. the best time for indian television has been the 1980s, when some high quality serials(Udaan, Buniyaad, Nukkad, Yeh jo hai zindagi etc) were created by those who were passionate about their work. they believed that quality serials automatically mean sufficient amount of viewership. the equation was completely reversed during the past 5-6 years when, lower the quality of the serial, higher the moolah it was supposed to generate. past few years have seen the kind of serials which were low in quality, low on morality, low in entertainment value and low in everything else, but abundant in stupidity. these were the serials which banked on the foolishness of the audience and successfully made a mockery of the intelligence of the entire Indian TV viewership for a long period. when the makers of such dumb serials were confronted at odd occassions by a saner mind, they shamelessly hid themselves behind the silly argument of 'we give what the audiences ask for.' exactly how they measured up what the audiences wanted is a mistery today, because just one year after the release of 'Star One' channel, which boasted of reasonably good quality serials in its schedule, every other channel is going through a complete transformation today.

'Star One' swept away with most of the awards from this years' Telly Awards. what were these channels talking about when they said that its the market forces that compel them to create such crap tv shows? Today, 'Sony' is making its earning mostly through the reality shows. 'Star Plus' is banking on KBC-II and at the same time trying to think new. 'Zee' has introduced some new serials as well with nice and fresh themes, like 'Mum, Tum aur Hum', 'Kaboom', etc. 'Star One' has finally forced the others to play the game fairly: to open their eyes to the reality and return the lost respectability of the intellect of the Indian viewership. today i switch on the television not just to watch cricket and news as earlier, but also for catching up with my favourite serials. me watching soaps on the television, that was unbelievable two years ago!! here are my favourite shows on the telly:

1. Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005 - by far the best serial on TV today. i make the time to watch this one. ultimate pleasure to watch(or hear?) it.
2. Siddhant - the only other tv serial that makes me feel disappointed if i were to miss it. Anuradh Prasad weaved her magic once again.
3. The Great Indian Laughter Champions - Ehsaan Khureshi! the name itself evokes laughter!!
4. Kaun Banega Crorepati (Dweetiya?) - whose list can miss this one out?

But most importantly, other ones are not too bad. i don't have to jump to a different channel as soon as i accidentally get to a Sony or a Star Plus or a Zee channel. i can catch up a bit of "India Idol" and "Deal ya No Deal" on Sony, "Nach Baliye" on Star One, "Mum Tum aur Hum" on Star Plus and even "Rabba Ishq Na Hove" on Zee channel. Good times are here for the TV viewers. Finally. I hope it lasts atleast another 5 years before another (inevitable?) turn around.