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Why do various productions on the Indian small screen invariably fail to breach the wall of crassness? There was a time when paucity of foreign exchange, lack of infrastructure and inability to access quality training facilities for TV professionals were given as reasons for the Indian television’s inability to attain excellence. But these do not hold water any more. In fact, not only do we have world-class facilities for nurturing talented actors, technicians, etc, but also the requisite infrastructure for launching quality entertainers. This is evident from the slick soaps and movies being churned out by various production houses. What they lack is imagination, originality and application of mind. Take the recently concluded mini-series, Bombay Lawyers, on NDTV. Its format was on the lines of Star World’s notable serials like The Practice and Boston Legal. Moreover, while the acting was competent, the content was neither well researched nor exactly original. Although its episodes were supposedly based on real-life events, the actual execution indicated otherwise. Take the episode of a Muslim girl’s rustication from a ‘mixed’ school for wearing hijaab. This situation looks more French than Indian as our tolerance levels are comparatively high and secular ethos are inbred into our collective psyche. Similarly the resolution of a divorce case involving a Tambrahm couple over the wife’s right to abortion was a bit too pat. In Star One’s Dill Mill Gayye, the backdrop is a hospital and the characters are from medical fraternity. So it is natural to expect high-voltage drama involving treatment of patients suffering from terminal diseases, or a spastic struggling to lead a normal life, or a hopelessly handicapped person getting equipped for overcoming various existential challenges. There could’ve been absorbing drama involving a medical team dealing with disaster/terrorist victims. But our Maharajas of Mediocrity fob us off with clich`E9d romance. After all, crafting an original script involves genuine intellectual effort which our kitsch makers are incapable of. Take Chhoona Hai Aasmaan, again on Star One. It lacks the kinetic energy that would’ve enthralled the discerning viewer, thanks to assorted omissions and gaffes. Group Captain Veer ‘rectifies’ the clerical error involving the posting of Flight Lieutenants Sameer Singh and Sameera Singh by tearing off Sameera’s posting orders instead of resorting to a more credible response. But credibility has never been a favoured option with our soap-makers, who mindlessly rely on exaggerated gestures to create a dramatic effect. Or, take the episode involving a Pakistani stealing an IAF fighter and Sameera chasing him by clambering on to another jet – a la the filmy car chase. What the scriptwriter ignores is a vital detail: fighter jets are never kept in a ready-to-fly condition except during wartime. And, the jets are too heavily guarded for anyone to sneak them off so easily. The pièce de médiocrité is ‘training’ of five best pilots as amateur spies. While watching the serial, one misses the atmospherics. There are no airmen attending to assorted jobs in hangars, on the tarmac and inside offices, thus robbing the narrative of the much-needed frisson and professional touch. Since the stereotypical confrontation-cum-romantic element between Abhimanyu and Sameera has already been introduced, be ready for more mind-numbing mediocrity.
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