Telly Hypnotists

The universe of mega-serials is predictable yet seductive for millions. Understanding Indian TV’s engulfing phenomena.

- Giridhar Jha

“For once I’ll say it, my friends! Instead of hashtagging #endYHM stop watching it! All stories will not go as you wish as an audience! I love my TV audience, I value your opinion but our creatives work with ratings and TV norms! This is for all show fan groups! Love and respect always.”

This tweet of Ekta Kapoor—posted after the hashtag #endYhM began trending on Twitter recently, begging for the plug to be pulled on her serial Yeh Hai Mohabbatein (YhM)—gives a clear picture of what drives the entertainment bazaar on Indian television today. A band of twitterati, unable to endure one of her longest-running soaps anymore, run an online campaign to demand an immediate end to its telecast! And the czarina of Balaji Telefilms snaps back at them, making it clear in no uncertain terms that the ultimate arbiter of an on-air show is TRPs (television rating points). her message was succinct but loud and clear: Don’t like it? Then lump it. Period! There are plenty more who do like it.

Ekta can afford to show a bit of insouciance towards anybody critical of the content generated at her Great Indian Soap Factory because of her huge credentials. A self-made TV mogul, she has churned out all kinds of serials over the past two decades—good, bad and ugly—and earned, in the process, envy and encomium in equal measure. As somebody who pretty much formed the small-screen ecosystem, she apparently wants to stick to her core motto at any cost: if a TV series, however silly or shoddy, gets good TRPs, nothing else matters. Not even constructive criticism.