Remember the time when dinner was not served at home before 11 PM because your mother did not want to miss the episode of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi? Or remember the time when your dad answered every question that Amitabh Bachchan asked the contestants of Kaun Banega Crorepati? Or even those moments when grandmothers thought that her four sons signified the characters of Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki?
Yes, these are all the unforgettable memories that were, and even today, mark the power of Hindi Television shows and what it has done to us in the recent years.
We Indians are always high on the emotional quotient and anything that strikes our emotional chords would be an instant hit. That is why, family soaps have managed to connect to people, which in return gave the shows their TRP's, awards and the tag of being the most successful show in the Indian television history.
Similar is the case with reality shows. The audience cried when the contestants failed and celebrated when they prevailed. These reality shows gave a chance to the ordinary people to change their destiny and acquire fame. It made people believe that they have an equal chance to be on television, and that looking attractive or running around production houses to showcase their talent was not required anymore to be a part of a show. Therefore it is not wrong to say that Indian television shows offers us a lot of drama, entertainment and opportunities, which connects all of us to it.
But the point also to be noted here is that people change their preferences very quickly with new shows. Channels like Zee, Colours, Star and Sony are trying very hard to come up with the best mix of family soaps and reality shows to increase their TRP's.
Currently, Colours stands second in TRP charts with their shows like India's Got Talent and Balika Vadhu. However, Sony Entertainment stands tall with Kaun Banega Crorepati, CID, Bade Acche Lagte Ho and Crime Patrol, and walks away with the chunk of top shows in the charts, both in the daily soaps kbc lottery section as well as the reality shows section. Star marks third with their show Diya Aur Baati Hum, after their drop in the charts with the end of Satyameva Jayate season one.
But at the end of the day, these numbers really don't matter to the Hindi television audience. What really matters to them is the emotional connect which they find in the reality shows and family soaps that these channels have to offer them.
Raja