Kyunki Saans Bhi Bahu Thi ends and so ends the woman's trauma!

This year 2008 saw the ending of two of the longest running serials on Indian television:Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and Kyunki Saans Bhi Bahu Thi. Though we had women in these serials decked in oodles of jewelery, they looked like mindless souls devoid of spunk and verve. Our TV serials have an outdated notion of the Indian woman. It represents the Indian woman in a poor light-subdued, servile and submissive. Donning a woman in glamorous saree and making her mouth grief-stricken hapless lines is not just done.

Compared to Ekta Kapoor’s serials, serials like Udaan and Rajni which were around 20 years ago, were much more modern in outlook. For instance, Kalyani Singh’s character in the serial Udaan was about a woman’s dream to become an IAS officer. The serial represented ambition, hope and dreaming big. This too, 22 years ago when TV was at a nascent stage. Similarly Rajni starring Priyanka Tendulkar was a progressive serial where her character would alert people about the corruption, scams and adulteration that were (still is) rampant in the society. Sadly, none of the serials now have that amount of creativity or passion. These days, it is just about a woman sadly weeping and sacrificing her dreams, which makes the entire scene look regressive.