Television has grown and so have the number of serials on air. But can the magic of the eighties be recreated? Ashima Sehajpal finds out

The story changes every Wednesday. Who will die? Who will get a plastic surgery done? Which friend would turn enemy or join hands to revenge another enemy? Who will marry whom and who will file for a divorce? Which new characters need to be introduced or shunted out? A leap of how many years and the right time for the next generation, Wednesday decides it all as per the 'oh so important' TRPs. Higher the TRP, lesser the need for change!

If around 10 per cent is the barometer of TV soap's success, how would an expert rate a TRP of 56 per cent? In the second week of its telecast, our very own, Jaspal Bhatti's show, Flop Show grossed this high rating, minus any marketing strategies. We know, the arguments in support of the drop in TRPs would be - there wasn't any competition from a hundred other channels or a thousand soaps then or people had no choice but to watch it! But Vivek Shauq, TV actor who was part of Flop Show, has a point to make. "Why after all these years, Hum Log will be telecast as Hum? Or, why Karamchand is being experimented with? Talk of comedy shows and audience invariably remember Flop Show after a good 20 years. Quality remains and quantity can't justify the dip in quality."

Unlike now, every serial had a character then. No two soaps were made on the same storyline. Directors and producers worked really hard to come up with something different. — Deepa Sahi

TV actors of Doordarshan days, for all the practical reasons, don't feel very positively about the evolution of television. The reasons range from poor content, treatment meted out to actors, clichéd storyline, and transformation of television as a medium to channelise creativity to being a mere product. Deepa Sahi, film director, who was also seen in the serial Tamas, rues the mechanical functioning of the industry. "All serials are made on the formulae of a hit. If one saas-bahu saga does well, more would follow. If a soap based on a social issue is accepted by the audience, others issues are taken up." A comparison with TV of the late 80's proves the point. "Unlike now, every serial had a character then. No two soaps were made on the same storyline. Directors and producers worked really hard to come up with something different," she adds.

As these actors say, the industry is no different from the money-minting corporate firms! "And actors are treated no better than the employees who are instructed to perform in a certain manner. They don't enjoy the freedom to bring in their creativity," shares Rakesh Bedi, who was seen in the serial Ye Jo Hai Zindagi. He cites the example of the serial, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, to explain that a character is more important than the actor (The character of Mihir Virani was changed).

Adds Avtaar Gill, who played the role of Kader Bhai in Nukkad, "The soap isn't affected even if actors have to be changed several times for a character. This wasn't possible in 80s, as actors were given due respect. Also, actors of that era had a passion for performing. Nowadays, it is a mere source of income for actors."

The situation can only improve if the number of episodes telecast every week is reduced. Suggests Rakesh, "It's not practical for a writer to pen down as many as 22 quality episodes every month or for can actor to shoot for them."

Another concern for actors is the serials are far from real. Instead of portraying a common man's life, they focus on characters that are business tycoons. Avtar refers to the unreal situations shown in serials: "The hero at some point of time is shown suffering from amnesia or is paralytic. The female characters are shown sleeping with glittering sarees and heavy jewellery. The divorce rate in soaps is a hundred times more."

Art mirrors the society and TV is a medium to display it. "Unless TV doesn't reflect reality, grandchildren and great grandchildren have to be created to attract the audience for these serials," quips Deepa. Are family planners of the television world listening?

ashima@tribunemail.com

Hit television serials of the eighties Hum Log, Wagle ki Duniya and Fauji are back in a new avatar

Hit Haryanvi movie Chandrawal is all set for its sequel

Landscapists have made use of tree characters for planning gardens. The most important character is, however, the shape of the tree, others being its nature, whether evergreen or deciduous, flowering or foliage tree, scented flowers or otherwise and potential height, spread etc. In small gardens, there is not much scope of including trees. But a judicious use of techniques and right selection make it possible. Use round trees for such situations and also those that can be clipped to give shape. And this is possible with the following trees.

We can take pride in mentioning one of the very beautiful and well-disciplined trees, the Chalta, as this is an indigenous tree. It forms an umbrella-shaped canopy due to its erect nature and spreading branches. It can be a good selection for planting in the middle of the lawn. The crown can be raised up so that the grass can grow till the main stem. As the grass gets full sun from all sides, it grows successfully under this tree till the main trunk. Talk about the beauty and this tree is beauty personified. Every part of this tree is amazing. The bold, about a foot long, bright green serrated leaves (saw like) are shining and attractive. When it comes to flowering, the flower bud is almost tennis ball sized and as it opens, it spreads sweet fragrance too. The fruit is also large and hard. This tree is frost sensitive but in the confines of home gardens, there is not much danger from frost bite. The plant is propagated from seeds and these can be sown now, i.e. in monsoon. Technically, this tree is called Dillenia indica.

Another tree that can be mentioned in this context is Moulsary, also an indigenous tree. This tree also has spreading and rising braches giving it a perfect umbrella shape. Another advantage with this tree is that it can be pruned to give it a thick foliage growth. The best example of its beautiful display can be quoted of the famous Mughal Garden of Rashtrapati Bhawan where it occupies the maximum space. It has been clipped there to make a round topiary. Being indigenous, it is also a very hardy tree. The flowers are, however, insignificant. The tree bears red berries of seeds. It is a bit slow growing in initial stages but then picks up a fast pace as it grows. It is free from any serious insect or disease. It is also a suitable tree for an outside coffee shop where matching round benches can be placed under it.

satishnarula@pau.edu

When I first opened an e-mail account in the 1990s, it was a Hotmail account. I used to receive forwards from my friends, which I would actually open, read and spend time over. This was because of the novelty of the whole thing, we got so few emails every day that even something from an anonymous source was welcome.

How the time has changed. Today, at the top of the list of things that I just don't want others to share with me are e-mail forwards. It's not that I have something against them as such. We all get forwards and often we send forwards to others, but I am acutely conscious of the how much of a waste of resources they can be.

Some forwards are cute, but many make assertions, which are at unverifiable and often malicious. Heard about the latest offer from Microsoft that sounds too good to be true? It is. I also take exception to mails that say: "Please FORWARD to everyone you know". Sometimes, bad grammar and spelling is enough to alert me to Google it and find out more about the mail.

Got a mail that says, "This is not a hoax?" I would not bet my money on it. When I get a forward, I am curious to know if it is true. I want to test the claims being made by an anonymous stranger who sent the mail to my friend and me. Often when a mail makes a claim that I suspect, I go to one of websites that track down such things.

Snopes is a common default. Searching the content of the mail on "Snopes" often exposes a fake email as an urban legend. Another site, "Truth or Fiction" also exposes latest hoaxes, as does "Hoax Slayer".

Why do I go through this exercise? Because sometime I like a mail, I want to forward it to my friends, but I want to ensure that what I am sending is true. They will believe that because I sent it, the information must be correct, and thus my credibility is at stake here.

Now that I have found that the mail is OK, and I want to forward it, I still have some precautions to take. I click the "Forward" link in my web mail so that I have full editorial control over the mail and clean it before I sent it out.

What does that mean? Well, it means that I first change the subject and remove FW:….. automatically comes when you forward any e-mail. Sometimes, you see FW: FW: FW: which shows how many times the mail has been forwarded. On such a mail, the information is also repeated. I delete all that is not required so that my friends do not have to waste their time.

I also remove all the email addresses of other people who received the mail before me. I do not want their addresses circulating on the Net. I then send the mail to myself and use the BCC: (blind carbon copy) field for listing the e-mail addresses. This way those who receive the mail don't see other addresses, and I preserve the privacy of my friends.

What is it that I never forward or reply to? Chain letters, including those which portend to be about a cause, the email petitions. Why? An email petition talks about an issue and asks for your support by forwarding it to your friends. You do so, and thus add to a chain letter that contains hundreds, at times thousands of addresses, which can be harvested by spammers and others with malicious intent. Email petitions do not work and they just are a great scam.

My friends Gupi and Mandy send me forwards. They are often interesting and I like going thought them.

Recently, Gupi asked me: "How did you like my forward?" I happily admitted that I enjoyed it. "I knew you would," he retorted, "I only send you selected ones, which I know will be of interest to you."

Now, that's the kind of sharing I love, in which the person has taken care of your interest and protected your privacy. That's what we should all be like.

With governments around the world, the Blackberry phone has become a target for its encrypted mail and messaging services. There seems too little impact on the buyer though!

What takes precedence - looks, style or security checks? The Blackberry phone has become a target for its encrypted mail and messaging services with governments around the world. India has given Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry, an August 31 deadline to comply with the request for access to encrypted corporate email and messaging services or else those services will be shut.

Now the question is…does this bother Blackberry users, encrypted or not? The phone is almost a fad; how many users are actually thinking about the problem? How many are aware of the problem? Would you do away with the smart phone if need be?

As users share their opinion on the same, we tell you what encryption is. Cryptography encryption is the process of transforming information (referred to as plaintext) using an alogrithm (called cipher) to make it unreadable for anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. In many contexts, the word encryption also implicitly refers to the reverse process…decryption, to make the encrypted information readable again (i.e. to make it unencrypted). Any info on this?

"I haven't even bothered to look at the problem," says Vivek Manchanda, 24, owner Hi-Tech Electronics, Sector-42. He adds, "And I am sure the users too aren't really reading too much into the problem. Even after the media higlighting the problem with Blackberry, I have sold 10 pieces. Users generally don't get into the nitty-gritties of technology. For them, if a mobile piece looks good and offers the required features, the buy is good." Vivek talks about the time, almost 2 years back, when Nokia has asked the users to exchange their old battery-dated phones with new ones due to some problem. "How many users actually cared to get their batteries exchanged? The same holds for Blackberry, till the time the government puts a ban, its sale would go on."

The 3G wireless networks, due in late 2010 or early 2011, are expected to boost interest in BlackBerry devices. India already has one mobile connection for every two of its 1.2 billion people and adds 16 million new subscribers a month! Right now, who's bothered about the hulabaloo, and who is looking at cyber security.

Sachin Khurana, city-based enterprenuer, does not find any drastic change with the users of Blackberry. "Half of the Indians are dependent on this portable office. Even when the government is talking about imposing a ban on the phone, the users are neither interested nor bothered. In fact, it is in favour of the users because nobody can decode the information sent and recieved on this phone."

Cyber security does ring an alarm bell for the government but for the ideal user, as long the text messages are sent through push mail, gaming is active, the camera gives a good picture clarity…all is well!

jasmine@tribunemail.com

Today, dual SIM mobile phones are a rage as these give you the option of keeping two numbers active at the same time. You can even make and receive calls from two different networks at the same time!

These phones come in two categories - the standby dual SIM phone and active dual SIM phone. In the former, embedded dual SIM adapters are used (earlier a single SIM phone could be converted into a standby dual SIM phone with the help of an external adaptor, which was sold separately).

In the active dual SIM phone, both SIMs can be activated and put to use at the same time. And with these phones, you can switch off your official number while keeping your private number open for family and friends.

Our home is the cocoon where we feel free. It's where we relax, by ourselves, or with our family and friends. It's the reflection of who we are, which means that every individual's interior is different. Philips LivingColors range matches individual tastes and interior styles. The Philips LivingColors Black is sober and chic. With its eye-catching, opaque, iconic shape and a sleek black remote, it is a symbol of elegance and sophistication. With its combination of great light effects and a great design, it's a jewel for the interior.

Philips LivingColors is an exciting new form of lighting for the home that puts endless colors at your fingertips, helping you to create striking light effects for different occasions, with just one press of a button. Simply by using the intuitive, touch-sensitive color wheel on the remote control, you can select one of over 16 million different colors to create a new atmosphere and bathe your home in truly personal colors whenever you want: whether you are having a romantic dinner for two, an evening with friends, sharing holiday pictures with your family, or just relaxing after a hard day's work.

Philips LivingColors lamps are based on advanced LED technology. The second generation long-lasting high-power led gives pure white light which is 70 per cent brighter, lasts much longer than traditional lamps and consumes much less energy. They include a color saturation mode and are dimmable, which ensures that you can create the perfect brightness, balance and intensity of light to create your personalized ambience. If you'd like the lamps to change colors automatically, just push a button on the remote control to switch to the color changing mode. For a great immersive experience connect up to six lamps via the remote control and enjoy the great atmosphere.

Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi, who will soon tie the knot with Priyanka, daughter of senior Janata Dal (U) leader, Jeevaraj Alva, feels 'lucky and happy' to have her as the 'main lead' in his life.

"I feel I am really lucky and happy, my family and I are very happy. On a personal note, life is really good now, that she is the main lead in my life," Vivek said.

The couple's marriage is slated to happen this year in October.

When asked about his to-be-wife, the actor said, "She is really nice and an amazing person. We all are really happy.

She is really good." He said that his parents, Suresh and Yashodara Oberoi, had chosen the girl.

The 33-year-old actor, who is teaming up with Ram Gopal Varma after a gap of eight years, with Rakta Charitra, said, "It was a fascinating and incredible experience to work with my mentor again with whom I started my career." Their last film Company was released in 2002.

Directed by Varma, Rakta Charitra, is based on a true life story of slain political leader Paritala Ravi (Vivek Oberoi) and Maddela Cheruvu Suri (Surya Sivakumar).

The movie also features Shatrughan Sinha playing NT Rama Rao along with Kota Srinivasa Rao and Radhika Apte in other pivotal roles. — PTI

Hollywood beauty Hillary Duff and Mike Comrie are now officially husband and wife. The 22-year-old actor and the Canadian hockey player married Saturday during an intimate ceremony in Santa Barbara, California.

Dressed in a white mermaid gown by Vera Wang, the Lizzie McGuire star said 'I do' to the 29-year-old, in front of hundred of their closest family and friends. Duff was escorted down the aisle by her mother Susan while sister Haylie and four friends were bridesmaids.

The couple, who began dating in 2007, first met on a trip when they both visited a resort in Idaho.

Comrie proposed during a Hawaiian getaway in February this year, a move that came as a pleasant surprise to both Duff and her family. "I've never met anyone who can say a bad word about him. He's generous, caring and funny. We just laugh our heads off," Duff had said about her husband-to-be in an earlier interview. — PTI

Pirates of The Caribbean star Keira Knightley has become the new neighbour of Hollywood heartthrob Johhny Depp after she bought a wine estate in the Provence region of France.

The 25-year-old actor bought the secluded estate so that she can have private getaways with boyfriend.

The couple had been on a wine-tasting trip to the Champagne-Ardenne region of France when they bought the small estate in the region.

Knightley paid $ 3 million for the five-bedroom countryside retreat.

"The house is incredibly private, small and cosy and they intend to keep it that way. Keira started moving in right after she completed her purchase earlier this summer.

— PTI