Long live the mother-in-law

Any soap worth its TRP must have a saas. She could be cruel, mean, nasty, kind, affectionate, or passionate. Be it any avatar but a soap must have a saas. And each and every small screen viewer should thank Ekta Kapoor and co. for this. A saas is the brainchild of Ms Kapoor. Just take a look back at some of her prime time properties on TV. Be it Kahaani... or Kyunki...or Kahin Kisi Roz the role of the saas was well defined. After a decade of overdose of saas-bahu shows the dynamics of the shows have definitely changed but a saas remained firmly entrenched in almost all the new shows as well. Fast forward to the current offerings from Balaji like Bandini, Pavitra Rishta, the saas is still there albeit in a new look and a modern version. The shows continue to have the mother-in-law as the centre of action. The top soaps are invariably driven by the machinations of the mother-in-law. For that matter if you take a look at Dadisa in Balika Vadhu or Ammaji in Laado, or Kokila of Saath Nibhana Saathiya they are the single drivers of these top rated shows. A TV saas may not have a definite characterization like one sees in films but on the small screen she does have various shades to her character. For example Gayatriji (Sonali Verma) who plays the saas in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai is constantly at loggerheads with her bahu whereas Smita Bansal who plays Sumitra (Anandi’s saas in Balika Vadhu) are two ends of the spectrum with Gayatri playing a typical saas and Sumitra playing a kind-hearted sweet saas and both are pivotal to the story line of the respective shows. The saas on TV has not only remained a constant but has become a supremely central one. Despite TV undergoing a transition from reality shows and youth-based programmes, the saas has never disappeared from the scene. As long as human relationships exist a saas will remain an integral part of our TV shows. Even in shows which had a rural setting or a gender issue like female infanticide or child marriage the role of a mother-in-law was never compromised on. Yes, a saas on some of our current shows is in a new and different avatar. If you have been watching Sasural Genda Phool, Supriya Pilgaonkar who plays the saas is not the typical mother-in-law you are used to. She is the doting one quite like what Smita Bansal plays in Balika Vadhu. But going by the psyche of the Indian audiences who watch such shows it is the meaner version that appeals to them. No one wants to see normal life on TV. They want melodrama. And hence enters Savita tai (Usha Nadkarni) of Pavitra Rishta or Ammaji (Meghna Malik) in Na Aana Iss Des Laado or Ammaji (Ashmitaa Sharma) in Pratigya and Lata (Rohini Hattangady) in Maykee Se Bandhi Dor. There was a time when saas-bahu shows began to slide down with young viewers in particular switching allegiance to reality shows. But a saas-bahu never ever went out of circulation with the target audience it was aimed at – the housewives. For that matter Na Aana Iss Des Laado boasted of a predominant male audience. And strangely the mean Ammaji was a hot favourite with a lot of males. The recent entry of two more saas centric shows Hamari Saas Leela and Mrs Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein proves that the saas formula is still not dead. Even a show like Mukti Bandhan has a strong good natured mother-in-law playing an important role. So for all those who had predicted the end of saas-bahu shows the bottom line is that the saas is here to stay. She will never go out of fashion at least on TV shows. Read more...