What goes forward in actuality, sometimes comes back in ‘reelity!’ It is always the past which haunts the present and even the small screen is not spared from this reality. In fact, most of the teleserials today come with a past attached to it. Some with good memories, and some so deadly that they twist the whole tale changing the entire course of action to such an extent that the audience forgets what they were watching in the first place. Confusing? Let’s explore this rewind saga for more confusion!
While evil was at its peak in the tele-serial Yaare Nee Mohini, the audience is now taken back to the past. The protagonist, a restless soul — the deceased wife of the hero is now the epicentre!
“Ever since the serial took off, the presence of the wife’s soul has been protecting her husband from the evil plans of his step mother, and another character called Maya. However, the actual story behind the restless soul was kept a secret till now. Now, with special episodes titled Janma Rahasya, it reveals all about what lead to her actual death. The story now dwells into the past for a clearer picture,” says Aishwarya Baspure who portrays the character of Maya in Yaare Nee Mohini.
Likewise, it is always the mystery behind characters which takes one back into the past, and it is one of the ready-made formulas that works wonders on Indian television.
There are other examples of this trend too. In past episodes of Kinnari, the serial dwelt in the past and into the story of the protagonist Mani’s mother and now the stage is set for the character Nithya, the first wife of the protagonist to add to the drama.
Also, into the past is the saga of ‘Radha Ramanna’ where the character of Avani, the sister of protagonist Raman often moves in backward around the memories of their childhood. It is even set for mega rewind tale once the character, if at all is finally traced before the serial end!
“The best part of writing for teleserials is that it provides so much flexibility when it comes to sketching characters. Any new character can be added at given point of time and can also be abruptly cut off, adding to the masala and spice. It’s as good as cooking, and when in need for some extra spice, take a pinch of rewind and tailor it to make it interesting,” says Ashwini, a writer.
However, with too many cooks spoiling the broth, dwelling too much into the past for a longer perriod of time can also prove fatal. And rightly so, Subramanya, a TV analyst explains that the past of a character is always better if it is short but at times, the popularity of it makes the makers carry on with it, and the main plot is completely ignored and many start feeling disjointed from the core subject.
