Where are the urban women?

The feisty Indian women who are independent in their own right and are financially stable seem to have become an extinct species on television. Soaps these days don’t feature such women anymore. Most of them have sari-clad women indulging in kitchen politics or village belles as their protagonists. So, why does the concept of urban working women not work in Indian television anymore?

Actor Mona Singh rues the fact and says, “I know there are no fiery, strong professional women as the leads in dailies these days. That’s because all these shows are made for the masses, most of whom are not ready to see a woman who is not crying. It all boils down to underdogs and the sympathy factor when a woman is a little weak.”

The scenario has a lot to do with the channel boom in the last three years. Most channels have reached faraway places, even villages, where the concept of an urban woman is an alien one. Ajay Bhalwankar, head of programming, Sony, says, “The channels have spread their wings to villages and the shows which are working are a larger reflection of what people in those areas are enjoying.”

Actor Gautami Kapoor says, “Though I am a working women, I will put my home and kids before my work. That’s the way most Indian women are. I don’t feel bad about that and I am sure other women also don’t find it dreadful. And in terms of TV, we are going through a transition; things are changing but it will take a long time. I don’t see the drastic change of Indian women sporting minis on TV shows.”

However, actor and TV host Mandira Bedi is not too happy with this trend. She says, “The shows running on TV are very regressive nowadays. I understand that some of these might be happening in the country but it’s taking the viewers backward. Since TV is closer to reality compared to films, I think this is the responsibility of the producers and channels to mirror the part of society where women are progressing manifold.”

Sukesh Motwani, fiction head of Zee TV, says, “Right now, our storytelling is about value systems and families. I think if storytellers make a correct attempt to depict a working woman as a heroine who fights for her self-respect, it will work. We would love to make such an urban show.”