The entertainment industry has always been fascinated with cliched formulaic sequences. Infact, they never get tired of experimenting with it in different forms. Of the many lost and found tales, there is one favourite that has even paved its way onto the small screen. We are talking about that oft-repeated tale of two siblings who are separated from their families in a crowded place, only to be reunited later, and then together they kill the villain!
Of course, there are also those painful cliched sagas of a poor chap falling in love with a rich girl. While the lost and found has become even more challenging today, with characters losing their memory often enough on the television, many are finding it difficult to trace their steps back to that fated day. Many Kannada soaps have been undergoing a similar predicament where a few characters who lost their memory are in the process of gaining it back. As TRPs fluctuate, it seems so are the memories of a few characters on TV. Bengaluru Chronicle explores this oft-repeated saga...
“When everything is going smoothly and even vamps or villains have stopped scheming up some evil plans, the makers introduce the most deadliest of all weapons, which is to erase the memories of crucial characters. A minor accident or an intentional act takes away the memory, and the audience is made to wait while the drama of how and when they get it back ensues. In between, much drama, anticipation and attempts to evoke past memory fill the screen. The result is a mini soap within a soap,” says Sneha Prasad, a film writer.
In Jodi Hakki, the protagonist’s mother who has lost her memory, is currently being taken care of by her son. The obvious twist is that neither the son nor anyone else is aware that she is his mother! The audience hopes that she will soon regain her memory, and the serial makers will create a miracle! Even in Lakshmi Baramma, Gombe’s character essayed by actress Neha Gowda, is facing a similar condition but the current episodes are helping her get that lost memory!
“It is human tendency that once something is lost, there is a constant endeavour to gain it back. And, what filmmakers do is add drama to make it an entertaining tale. Around 90 per cent of such tales are truly unimaginable. For example, a hero who lost his memory after being hit by a hard object finally regains his memory, quite ludicrously, when he is hit exactly on the same spot again! Everything flashes like a montage before his eyes. It sounds hilarious but when one is so engrossed in the drama, the audience loves it,” explains director Shashank.
Kannada serial Padmavathi too has had its moments. The hero tries to explore whether he is a reincarnation of a king from a past life. In Kulavadhu, the elder brother has just got his memory back and the two brothers are up against a villain.
“No matter what, it is an unwritten rule to work hard on erasing memories when it comes to typical dramas. They will always exist in one or another form. Unless one loses something, it’s reel value will never to be realised,” quips producer Shankar Gowda as he signs off.
