She sobbed continuously as tears rolled down her eyes. She found comfort in her partner who held her
tightly in his arms. Everyone else just looked at them solemnly. Silence
echoed.
And there I was on my couch staring at the TV screen and
wondering, “Kya Chutiyapa Hai!”
In all the reality TV shows you will invariably have THAT
ONE MOMENT dedicated to the mother of a contestant where he/she weeps, the
judges weep and the audience weeps because it is so fake. Mothers, ma or amma
are another TRP tool. If a Mother India
can get gods to reincarnate her kids why can’t she get channels high ratings?
I was watching one of these top rated dance shows where post
the dedicated performance an embarrassed mother just sat there hoping that the
camera will not capture the awkwardness. The production house smartly dresses
up the “ma” in a simple saaree or salwar kameez to give authenticity to ‘Struggle wale contestant ki struggle wali ma’
portrayal. Then to add to her
embarrassment she is called on the main floor to blurt out lines like “meri beti ek din boht badi star banegi. Mera
aashirwaad iske saath hai”. The rest of the contestants think “are jao aunty sabko pata hai badi star wala
material hoti toh yaha nai hoti.” Then the host comes up with a silly one-liner
to lighten the mood which actually signals iodex
malo, kaam pe chalo.
Talking about parents never goes wrong. There is an
unexplainable bond between a child and parents and everyone on the planet
relates to that form of love. The marketing experts use it for their advantage
to sell content, sell brands (Mother’s Day) and sell movies (Par andhere se
darta hu main Maa). It is a sure shot way of gaining sympathy.
I too have sinned. I cried at the amateurish lyrics penned
down by the renowned Prasoon Joshi for Taare Zameen Par.
Consider this.
Jab Bhi Kabhi Papa
Mujhe Jo Zor Se Jhoola Jhulate Hain Maa, Meri Nazar Dhoondhe Tujhe Sochu Yahi
Tu Aa Ke Thaamegi Maa.
Beta Papa ko bol do
dheere jhula jhulaye !
Nobody wants to talk about dad’s contribution to the
childhood. Just because Indian dads are supposed to be ‘strong’ doesn’t mean
they don’t get sentimental right? Poor dads, they do not even get as much
screen time as the mom even when they are present at the shoot.
It isn’t really the fault of the highly paid channel
creative consultant who comes up with this ‘unique’ idea of introducing ma ka angle . Indian mothers do have a
tendency of being overtly involved with their kids… even the 35 year old kid. It isn’t unusual to
see an Indian mother tell her 35 year old child (who himself has two kids) “haaye kitna dubla ho gaya hai”, “haaye kaise
khayaal rakhega”, “haaaye main roti bana du”, “chai piyega?”. Why cannot
these mothers train them to do things on their own? It is good to love your
kids but it is better to raise mature, responsible adults whom we lack in this
country and how! This would also ensure less emotional drama in personal life
and also on the television which anyway has enough blouses getting tighter than
the scripts.
Here is an idea all you creative guys and gals working for
TV and brands. We have the caring mother, the strong mother, the emotional
mother, the struggling mother and we are so done with it. Why not have a Badass
Mother? Who takes no shit and does no shit. Afterall Kab tak Ma ki mamta ki ma ki aankh karoge?
