Indian soap opera

Indian soap operas (or Indian serials in Indian English) are soap opera or serials written, produced and filmed in India, with characters played by Indians with episodes broadcast on Indian television.[2]

Indian soap opera are popular which mainly deals with house hold problems.[1]

India's first soap opera was Hum Log (Hindi), which concluded with 154 episodes. Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (Hindi) was the first Indian soap to cross 1,000 episodes and concluded with 1,833 episodes.[3][4] Char Divas Sasuche (Marathi) was the first Indian serial to cross 2,000 & 3,000 episodes also entering in Limca Book of Records which concluded with 3,200 episodes.

The Telugu serial, Abhishekam is the longest running serial of Indian television with over 3,600 episodes as of November 2020.[5] Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai is the longest running Hindi serial of Indian television with over 3,000 episodes as of September 2019.[6][7] Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah became the longest running comedy series without any leaps with more than 3000 episodes as of September 2020.

The most common languages in which Indian serials are made in are Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, Odia, Assamese, Telugu, Malayalam and Punjabi, though many contain a mix of the predominant language and English.

Indian soap operas are also broadcast in South Asia, South east Asia, Central Asia, Southeastern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and francophone Africa.[8][9]

History

India's first soap opera was Hum Log, which first aired in 1984[10] and concluded with 154 episodes, was the longest running serial in the history of Indian television at the time when it ended. It had an audience of 60 million.[11] Every episode was about 25 minutes long, and the last episode was about 55 minutes. At the end of every episode, veteran Hindi film actor Ashok Kumar would discuss the ongoing story and situations with the audience using Hindi couplets and limericks. In later episodes, he would introduce the actors who played characters in the serial and end his monologue with the Indian language versions of the words "Hum Log."

Biographies of famous people started being produced in the form of soap operas like Chanakya, Dharti Ka Veer Yodha Prithviraj Chauhan, Veer Shivaji, Jhansi Ki Rani, Chittod Ki Rani Padmini Ka Johur, Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap, Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat.

Crime shows also started being produced and aired. Adaalat was an Indian television courtroom drama series which revolves around 'Advocate K.D. Pathak', a defense lawyer with an impeccable track record of winning cases and setting helpless innocent victims free, but not at the cost of upholding the truth and C.I.D., follows a team of detectives belonging to the Crime Investigation Department in Mumbai. The protagonist of the show is Shivaji Satam. C.I.D. is the longest-running crime TV series in India.[12]

The Indian mythological drama show, Devon Ke Dev...Mahadev, recorded the highest, 8.2 TVR in an episode. Daytime soap opera were popular during the 2000s with shows like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki, Kumkum – Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan, Kasautii Zindagi Kay, and Kahiin to Hoga. During the 2010s, as more women began working, they fell out of favor of the general public. Today, there are no daytime soap operas on any mainstream channel.[13] Currently, the four major networks that air primetime soap operas with nationwide following are Star Plus, Colors TV, Zee TV and Sony Entertainment Television.[14]

Porus, a historical drama, based on the Indian king Porus, premiered on Sony Entertainment Television on 27 November 2017 and ended on 13 November 2018. It is currently the most expensive show in Indian history, with a budget of over 500 crores.

The comedy-family show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah started in 2008 and became the first comedy show to complete more than 3000 episodes. It is the most successful sitcom of India.[15] Telugu serial Abhishekam is now the first longest running indian television show with successfully completed more than 3600 episodes.

Social impact
See also: Socio-economic issues in India

Soaps affect Indian society, with regard to national integration, identity, globalisation,[16] women, ethics and social issues in rural areas. The first Indian soap opera, Hum Log, began as a family planning program, and although it quickly turned its focus to entertainment, it continued to embed pro-development messages which provided a model of utilizing the television serial as an "edutainment" method that was followed by countries around the world.[17]

A 2007 study of cable coming to rural India showed that it led to "significant decreases in the reported acceptability of domestic violence towards women and son preference, as well as increases in women's autonomy and decreases in fertility." It also "found suggestive evidence that exposure to cable increases school enrollment for younger children, perhaps through increased participation of women in household decision-making."[18][19]

Status in Pakistan

Indian soap operas were popular in Pakistan and Indian entertainment channels are widely watched, due to the mutual intelligibility between Urdu and Hindi.[20][21] The Supreme Court of Pakistan has banned the showing of Indian films and soap operas.[22] The British Broadcasting Corporation has reported that cable television operators in Pakistan often violate the ban and air Indian television serials due to the high popularity and demand for these in Pakistan, and Indian television shows make up nearly 60 percent of all foreign programmes broadcast in Pakistan.[23]

In June 2006, Pakistani comedian Rauf Lala participated and won the comedy television show, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge but could not be followed by fellow Pakistanis as the show was not allowed to be aired.[24] An official has commented that "Bollywood [and Indian television soaps] have invaded our homes".[25]

Indian television shows have contributed heavily to the Sanskritisation of Urdu in Pakistan, and it has been reported that many Hindi words such as namaste (नमस्ते), maharani (महारानी) and chinta (चिंता), which have been an inherent part of Sanskritized Hindi, have entered standard usage in Pakistan due to the influence of these soaps and Bollywood movies.[26]

The viewing of Indian soaps has become so popular that mainstream newspapers such as the Pakistan Tribune often have feature articles on the shows.[27] Since satellite connections offer uninterrupted coverage of Indian shows, many people have bought these to watch the programmes.[28]

Anti-Indian sentiment is reported in Pakistan and the two countries have fought four wars. However, the effect of Indian soap operas and Bollywood have resulted in an increase in how "favourably an ordinary Pakistani views [India and] Indians." Certain Indian tourists to Pakistan have said that people are particularly friendly if one is from India.[29]

After the ban on Indian shows, Turkish shows became popular in Pakistan and occupied the place Indian contents had.

On 27 October 2018 The Supreme Court of Pakistan has reintroduced the ban on Indian content on local channels in the country. The channels like Filmazia, Urdu1 had shutdown Indian content for appropriate period of time.[30][31]

See also

References
  1. "Indian TV Serials are defying Logic and Science Since the '90s". Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  2. Pak-Hind Ka Swag, Book 5 "Culture, Technology and fun", chapter 16 "soap opera, Serials and films"
  3. Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi comes to a tragic end after completing 1833 episodes
  4. Saas Bahu and the End
  5. Shekhar, G. C. (6 September 2018). "More Spellbinding Soap Gathas". Outlook. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  6. "Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai Completes 3000 episodes, Shivangi Joshi & Other Actors Celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi". ABP Live. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  7. "Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai makes history by nearing 3000 episodes; Kartik aka Mohsin Khan is ecstatic". E Times. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  8. Geeta Pandey. "BBC - Culture - Indian soap operas : Family affairs". BBC Culture.
  9. "India Marginalized in Myanmar".
  10. Kohli, Vanita (14 June 2006). The Indian Media Business. SAGE Publications. pp. 1–. ISBN 9780761934691. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  11. Gokulsing, K. Moti (2004). Soft-soaping India: The World of Indian Television Soap Operas. Trentham Books. pp. 32–. ISBN 9781858563213. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  12. "What makes this TV show such a hit with Indians?". Movies.rediff.com. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  13. "Star Dopahar to call it a day, all shows to end on September 30". Indian Express. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  14. Star, Zee, Colors and Sony fight it out on weekends - Business Standard
  15. https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tv/taarak-mehta-ka-ooltah-chashmah-set-to-clock-3000-happysodes-asit-kumarr-modi-thanks-team-for-making-it-worlds-longest-running-daily-family-comedy-show/articleshow/78254167.cms#:~:text=Taarak%20Mehta%20Ka%20Ooltah%20Chashmah,running%20daily%20family%20comedy%20show'
  16. Gokulsing, K. (2004). Soft-Soaping India: The World of Indian Televised Soap Operas. Trentham Books, UK. ISBN 1-85856-321-6. p. 105.
  17. Aggarwal, Vir Bala; Gupta, V. S. (1 January 2001). Handbook of Journalism and Mass Communication. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 208–. ISBN 9788170228806. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  18. Jensen, Robert & Oster, Emily Oster (August 2007). "The Power of TV: Cable Television and Women's Status in India." Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press. Vol. 124(3) pp. 1057-1094.
  19. Munshi, Shoma (2010). Prime Time Soap Operas on Indian Television. Routledge, New Delhi. ISBN 978-0-415-55377-3. pp. 200.
  20. Archived 12 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  21. "Pakistani women love India's 'saas-bahu' sagas – The Express Tribune". Tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  22. "Indian TV Channels Banned in Pakistan". Pakistan Defence. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  23. "BBC NEWS - South Asia - Pakistan allows Indian TV shows". News.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  24. "BBC NEWS - South Asia - Pakistani comic's Indian joy". News.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  25. "BBC NEWS - Entertainment - Pakistan confirms Bollywood ban". News.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  26. "For many Pakistanis, India already MFN". Pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  27. "10 things I hate about Indian soaps". Tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  28. Rob Crilly in Islamabad (3 October 2010). "Pakistanis snap up Satellite dishes for Indian soaps". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  30. "Pakistan bans Indian TV channels". BBC News. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  31. Baloch, Shafi (27 October 2018). "SC reinstates ban on airing of Indian content on TV channels". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
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