Hindi daily soap rocks the
fashion world
Neeru Ghale
Rosy Karna
Date of submission- January 8, 2009
Submitted to – Miss Amy Lam
1
Introduction
When an elegant woman, wearing a dazzling sari and classy jewelry, is being
telecasted on a show, the audience certainly gets anchored to their television sets. For a
moment they get swayed by the beauty of the woman. Portraying gorgeous women in soap
operas is one of the strategies adopted by the television industries in India to engross the
viewers. Not only in India, but the number of viewers are soaring up in UK, USA, Europe,
Asia, and Australia.1Due to increasing number of Indian channels and television networks,
people have acquainted themselves with different kinds of daily operas.
Daily soap operas are the genre of television program based on fiction.2 These daily
soaps depict stories to which people can relate their lives with. Most of the soaps share
common themes like family relationships, romance, humor, and conflicts. However, to make
each serial exclusive the director chooses unique clothing and accessories. Ostensibly daily
soap operas are made to deliver messages regarding culture, family relations, struggles of life
and mythology through stories, but instead of the story, the audience is fascinated by the
dresses, actors and the jewelries.
The main purpose of our project is to show the influence of the Hindi daily soaps in
the fashion and the business world. For a long time the charisma of Hindi daily operas has
amazed the viewers all across. Different fads of clothes, accessories, make- up and hair style
are copied by the people.3 These fads are promoted by the media which has increased the
obsession of people to pursue it; thus flourishing the business of clothing and accessories.
1
Wikipedia. “Indian Soap Opera.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian-soap-opera; 16 November, 2008.
2
Wikipedia. “Soap Opera.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_opera; 16 November, 2008.
South Asian Women’s Forum. “Hindi Movie- A Life Style.”
http://www.sawf.org/bollywood/opinions/hindimovies.asp?pn=Bollywood&cn=6; 28 December, 2008.
3
2
Methodology
There are myriads of channels which show daily operas and scrutinizing all of them is
impractical. Therefore, we decided to limit our research on Hindi channels only because the
channels are easy to access. Amongst many Hindi channels we decided to select five
channels which telecast soap operas. Through research we found that the channels like Star
Plus, Zee TV, Sony, Colors and Others (Star One, MAX and NDTV) have secured the
highest position in the box office. (Refer Appendix 3) We also conducted a survey amongst
the Access Academy students to find the Hindi channels they watch. (Appendix 1: Survey
Questions) After evaluating the data obtained from the research and the survey, we selected
three popular channels- Star Plus, Star One and Zee TV. (Refer to Appendix 3 and 5) Similar
procedure was applied while selecting the popular Hindi daily soaps. (Refer to Appendix 4, 6
and 7). Finally, we came up with five most popularly watched daily soaps- “Kumkum”
(Devotion of a Girl to Her Spouse), “Kasauti Zindagi Ki” (Kaleidoscope of Life) and
“Dulhan” (Bride), “Dil Mill Gaye” (When Two Heart Met) and “Bidaai” (Farewell).
From 9 November to 1 December, 2008 the Hindi television channels were in strike
due to conflict between soap producers and the Television Companies. The broadcast of
Hindi daily operas had been blocked. Thus, we were not able to watch the new episodes of
our selected soaps. During that period they were showing old episodes of the show, so we
watched the old episodes to gather our information. But from 1 December, 2008 the
television companies re-started their broadcasting. Since then we watched three Hindi soaps,
“Dulhan”, “Bidaai” and “Kumkum” from the television, in the evening. We watched “Dil mil
Gaye” and “Kasauti Zindagi Ki” from the You Tube as it is not possible to see these soaps
during show time because these soaps no longer air on television.
3
From the above mentioned serials we picked the protagonists of each serial. Then we
analyzed their costumes and jewelries because we think that these elements play a crucial role
in bringing a character into life. We also analyzed about the designers and the trend he or she
uses to make each character so unique; basically, the reasons for preferring a particular look
for the characters. To find out if the design has arrived in the market or not we interviewed
the vendors of the shopping malls. According to the survey done amongst the Access
Academy students, we got two trendiest shopping malls- Ocean City Sun mar and Mimi
market. (Refer Appendix 8) We interviewed forty vendors to know about the influence of
daily soaps on their sales rate. (Refer Appendix 2: Interview Questions)
It was difficult to get a concurrent data from the internet as the information varied
according to the websites. Therefore, for majority of the information we relied on our
surveys, as it is the most convenient and fair way of getting information.
4
Research Findings
“Star Plus dominates every entertainment genre”.4 However, other channels like Star
One and Star Utsav are also popular. From the research we found that Hindi daily soaps like
“Balika Vadhu” (Young Couple), “Bidaai”, “Jai Shri Krishna” (Lord Krishna), “Kis Desh
Mein Hain Mera Dil” (In Which Country My Heart Lies) and “Saath Phere” (Seven
Promises) have secured the highest point in the box office, but only few of them are regularly
viewed by the students. (Refer Appendix 4 and 6)
On watching the soaps obtained from the survey, we surmised that love, family
relationship, social problems and Hindu mythology are some of the common themes
presented in the story. Depending upon these themes, designers design the costume and
accessories of the actors. For instance, the theme of “Dil Mil Gaye” (Refer Appendix 11, a) is
youth, so the designer uses contemporary jewelries and light colored clothing to show the
freshness of youth. On the other hand the costume of “Bidaai” (Refer Appendix 11, c) is a
blend of modern and traditional Indian culture. “Kumkum” and “Dulhan” shares a common
theme- married life. (Refer Appendix 11, d and e) Hence, the actors in both the serials wear
red saree, bangles and bindi (Tika in forehead) as red is a sacred color of marriage.
Furthermore, in all the serials we found that antagonist and protagonist are mainly focused.
The designers give dark colored sarees and big bindis to the former and for the latter the
designers give decent colored sarees and jewelries.
The fashion from the serials- like clothes, accessories and hairstyle are highly
advertised by the media, consequently increasing the customer rate. To support this statement
we had interviewed the vendors of Ocean City San mar and Mimi market. The shopkeeper of
4
Wikipedia. “Star Plus.” http://www.wikinewforum.com/showthread.php?t=4; 28 December, 2008.
5
Latest Fashion (San mar) said that his business is heavily influenced by Hindi daily soaps. He
further added that gypsies and Anarkali design (Refer Appendix 11, b) are popular amongst
the customers. Most of the shopkeepers said that it is difficult to get the exact design from the
serial, therefore modified version are sold in the market. The design is modified by bringing
variations in neck style, back depth, back designs and printings. According to the
shopkeepers the designs mainly came from “Kasauti Zindagi Ki”, “Dil Mil Gaye”, and
“Kumkum”. Besides clothing, accessories are also influenced by the Hindi daily operas. Red
Earth’s jewelry shopkeeper said that more than 80% of his jewelries are from Hindi daily
soaps. The customer rate of unmarried women in clothing shop was higher than the married
women, but it was opposite in the jewelry shop. (Refer Appendix 10)
From the survey we came up with some reasons like passing leisure time, for stories,
for fashion and looking at actors. (Refer Appendix 8) Whatever the reason might be, students
said that they could not disregard accessories and clothing of the characters.
6
Analysis and synthesis of research findings
The communication links brought about by the Hindi daily soap is immense. Hindi
daily soaps have gained attention all across the globe because of easy access to the Hindi
channels. Even if the country is facing financial crisis, it will have capital to buy Hindi
channels.5
Our finding shows that Star Plus is the mostly watched channel. This is because Star
Plus is one of the oldest channels and people are acquainted with it for a long time.6 Most of
the popular shows watched by the students are also from the Star Plus like “Kasauti Zindagi
Ki”, “Kumkum”, “Bidaai”, “Kaahin To Hoga” and “Kis Desh Mein Hai Mera Dil”. The
students prefer to watch these serials because the themes of these serials- love, friendship and
fashion appeal them. On the contrary, the themes of “Balika Vadhu” and “Jai Shri Krishna”
do not appeal the students because these serials are based on traditional beliefs, morals and
ethics. When they watch these serials, they may get bored and also realize that they have
diverted so much from their morality which might depress them.
Most of the Hindi daily soaps are produced by Ekta Kapoor of Balaji Telefilms.
(Refer to Appendix 11, g) In every serial, Ekta makes woman as a protagonist and antagonist.
The reason might be that she wants to satire the existing male dominated society and give the
message about women empowerment. Moreover, we found that antagonist and protagonist
are given different look via clothing and accessories. This has affected the sale rate of sarees
and salwar kameez. From the interview of the shopkeepers we found that light colored sarees
Spotlight. “Watching the small screen grow up.”
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishweekly/spotlight/2202/dec/dec20/coverstory.htm; 20 November,
2008.
6
SatelliteGuys.US. “Star Plus and Star One coming to Dish.” http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-networkforum/127256-star-plus-star-one-coming-dish.html; 29 November, 2008.
5
7
and salwar kameez are in high demand. This might be because the customers want to create a
positive image like that of the protagonist.
Furthermore, we found that one serial offers variety of style. For instance, in “Kasauti
Zindagi Ki,” the characters wear dresses ranging from traditional saree to modern skirts and
t-shirts. The designer uses this strategy to show the difference in phases- youth, childhood
and adulthood in a limited time. In addition, designers of daily soaps focus more on the
costumes and style as compared to designers of the movies. For instance, Ritu Deora, a
costume designer, said, “Films can do with plain costumes, as in most cases they are
juxtaposed against scenic backdrops for effect. While a daily soap relies on frontal views.”7
After analyzing the interview we found that the rate of married customer is high as
compared to unmarried customer in jewelry shop, but it is reverse in clothing shop.
Unmarried women do not prefer jewelry because wearing traditional and old ornaments
might make them look mature. However, shopkeepers said that the number of married
women in clothing shop is increasing nowadays. The reason might be that the married
women too want to look young by wearing modern design salwar kameez.
After analyzing our study we found that Hindi daily soaps have brought a revolution
in the dressing style of common people. Due to over publicity of the same design people are
encouraged to purchase it. In one way it helps binding people, but on the other hand
decreases the value of individuality.
Indiatelevision.com. “Interview with costume designer Ritu Deora.”
http://www.indiantelevision.com/interviews/y2k3/actor/ritu.htm; 16 November, 2008.
7
8
Suggestion
Media has highly glorified Hindi daily soaps. Currently, each serial is shown three
times a day. Due its high publicity people are bound to watch them. For many, Hindi serials
have become daily chores. From the surveys we have found that most of the students watched
Hindi soaps, but none of them said that they were informative. They also admitted that
watching soaps is a complete waste of time; still they cannot abstain from it because
watching televisions has become a routine. Daily soap operas seem very entertaining as they
hit our dreams and aspirations, but in reality they take the viewers far away from the real
world. Therefore, as a critical viewer, people should be able to draw a line between reality
and illusion.
From the research we found that women are mostly focused in the serial. For fashion,
the body of the women actors is exposed unnecessarily. For instance in “Kumkum” and
“Maayka” (Bride’s Home) most of the characters wear transparent saree to show the blouse
design. People living in conservative society often consider this indecent. Therefore, the
designers should consider the viewers and design the dresses without harming the culture.
Moreover, people are losing traditional values and beliefs by imitating Hindi daily
soaps. In most of the serials we watched, the married women wore Sindoor, (red color tika
put in the forehead to symbolize marriage) in a stylish way. According to the Hindu culture
the women should wear Sindoor in the forehead as it is considered sacred, but the women in
daily soaps do not put it in the forehead. The directors should not introduce new trends for a
holy thing like Sindoor. Apart from directors, the viewers should also realize the importance
of traditions that gives us identity.
9
The fashion introduced in the market benefits the designers as well as the salesperson.
Their profit margin is increased, but in what way a viewer is benefitted? Viewers just get a
temporary satisfaction by becoming a part of global fashion. If every person longs for the
same design and style, they will lose their individuality. Having a role model from the serial
is good, but one should not follow their every style and trend blindly.
All the above suggestions might help to avoid criticisms and make serial an
entertaining way of passing time.
10
Conclusion
India is one of the biggest countries in South Asia and has influence in its neighboring
countries. Daily soaps produced in India are not only watched by the Indian viewers, but is
also viewed in UK, USA, Australia, Asian countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.8
Television industries produce daily soaps in such a way that audience gets anchored to their
television sets. The stories of daily soaps vary; some are based on reality, some are based on
fiction and some are based on fantasy. Whatever story the television company advertises,
fashion and style is the pivot of the show.
Most of the Hindi daily soaps are thirty minutes long. In that short duration the
audience can taste every facet of entertainment- comedy, romance, and action. Along with
entertainment they also get to see a range of styles. The styles used by the actors come to the
market within a week or less. This quick accessibility motivates the viewers to purchase the
outfits and accessories used by their favorite celebrity. When the new fashion enters the
market the price is high, but with time the price reduces gradually. According to the
shopkeepers of San mar, the customers do not buy the outfits instantly, but purchase it later
when the price reduces.
In a way television daily soap binds people as most of the people who watch them
crave for the same style and fashion. This desire has boosted the fashion world. For the sake
of fashion, designers sacrifice Indian traditional culture and take up western culture. As a
result people are losing their traditional values. As students said, watching daily soap operas
8
Wikipedia. “Indian Soap Opera.”
11
is one of the ways of catharsis, but too much of watching is unhealthy. It might reduce the
capacity to learn.
12
Bibliography
A wide angle view of India. “TV soaps are actually educating rural women in India.”
http://nitawriter.wordpress.com/2007/08/30/tv-soaps-are-actually-educating-ruralwomen-in-india/; 30 November, 2008.
Amazines. “An Introduction to Hindi TV-Serial: Dil Mill Gaye.”
https://www.amazines.com/article_detail.cfm?articleid=573002; 28 December, 2008.
Bizasia.co.uk. “India TV Rating.” http://www.media247.co.uk/bizasia/; 6 November, 2008.
eArticlesOnline.com. “Fashion of Indian Sarees and Kurtis.”
http://www.earticleonline.com/Article/Fashion-of-Indian-Sarees-and-Kurtis/462740; 28
December, 2008.
India Culture Discussion Chat Forums. “Broadcast media- Television Content- Soap Operas,
tele serials and Programmes, Radio shows.”
http://indiaculture.net/talk/messages/57/3494.html; 30 November, 2008.
Reuters. “Kyuki: Death of an Indian TV Soap.”
http://blogs.reuters.com/indiamasala/tag/daily-soaps/; 1 December, 2008.
SatelliteGuys.US. “Star Plus and Star One coming to Dish.” http://www.satelliteguys.us/dishnetwork-forum/127256-star-plus-star-one-coming-dish.html; 29 November, 2008.
Sententiousness. “The Impact of the Mass Media on Indian Culture and forms of
Communication.” http://princessratna.blogspot.com/2006/03/impact-ot-mass-mediaon-indian-culture.html; 28 December, 2008.
Spotlight. “Watching the small screen grow up.”
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishweekly/spotlight/2202/dec/dec20/cove
rstory.htm; 20 November, 2008.
13
South Asian Women’s Forum. “Hindi Movie- A Life Style.”
http://www.sawf.org/bollywood/opinions/hindimovies.asp?pn=Bollywood&cn=6;
28 December, 2008.
Wikiedia. “Balaji Telefilms.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaji_Telefilms; 28 December,
2008.
Wikipedia. “Fashion.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion; 28 December, 2008.
Wikipedia. “Soap Opera.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_opera; 16 November, 2008.
Wikipedia. “Star Plus.” http://www.wikinewforum.com/showthread.php?t=4; 28 December,
2008.
14
Appendix
Appendix 1: Survey Questions to the students
1. Do you watch Hindi TV serials?
2. If so, which channel do you mostly watch?
3. Which daily operas do you watch?
______ Kasauti Zindagi Ki
______ Dil Mil Gaye
______ Bidaai
______ Kahin to Hoga
______ KumKum
4. Do you watch daily soaps for the story or for style/fashion/accessories?
5. Do you want to purchase the outfits of the characters (of daily soaps), but due to some
circumstances you are unable to buy it?
6. In Chittagong, which shopping centers do you usually visit?
7. Do you think serials are over rated?
8. Who do you think is the most regular viewer of Hindi TV soaps?
Men
Women
9. Jobless women or employed women watch?
10. Why are people so obsessed to such Hindi TV soaps?
a. They like the story.
b. They want to see the accessories and clothing.
c. They want to divert their mind and get relaxed.
15
Appendix 2: Interview questions to the vendors
1. Do you watch Hindi daily operas?
2. Is your business influenced by it?
3. Do you keep the kind of dresses/accessories that are shown in the Hindi serials?
4. Do the customers demand for the particular clothing?
5. How many customers come to your shop?
6. Which design is more popular?
7. Amongst married and unmarried women, which groups mostly come to your shop?
8. Has daily soap affected your profit margin?
9. If daily soaps were not shown would the sale be same as it is now?
10. From where do you import your materials?
16
Appendix 3: Pie chart showing different Hindi channels that telecast daily soaps9
Appendix 4: List of toppers across Indian channels10
STAR Plus: Bidaai (3.8 TVR)
ZEE TV: Maayka (2.6 TVR)
Colors: Balika Vadhu (2.9 TVR)
Sony TV: 10 Ka Dum (2.0 TVR)
- MAX scored with 5 shows in the Top 100
- STAR One with 3 shows
- NDTV Imagine managed 2 shows
9
Bizasia.co.uk. “India TV Rating.” http://www.media247.co.uk/bizasia/; 6 November, 2008.
Bizasia.co.uk. “India TV Rating.”
10
17
Appendix 5
Appendix 6
18
Appendix 7
Appendix 8
19
Appendix 9
Appendix 10
20
Appendix 11: About Hindi daily soaps
a. Dil Mil Gaye: It a a serial about five young intern doctors who are intimate friends.
The show correlates professional and personal life. The five characters play different
roles to show different aspects of human experience.11
b. Gypsies/ Anarkali: It is a tunic shaped salwar kameez. It is tight till the breast bone
and from the waist it is extends like an umbrella. This is mostly worn by Riddhima,
the protagonist of Dil Mill Gaye.
c. Bidaai: It is a family oriented Hindi serial which shows the relationship between two
sisters. The show also show contrasts between a high class family and a middle class
family.
d. Dulhan: The term “Dulhan” means bride. The show depicts the the responsibility of a
married women. The protagonist of the show is a decent, young married woman. The
show also focusses on the struggle of a woman who finally wins the heart of her
family members by her devotion.
e. Kum kum: The term “Kumkum” means a holy color of marriage. The show focusses
in the journey of a married women. The show incorporates traditional Hindu culture.
To show the importance of the holy color the protagonist is named KumKum.
Through the protagonist the director conveys the message of devotion towards the
husband.
f. Kasauti Zindagi Ki: It is a story about the hardships borne by a girl in different phases
of her life. In this serial the protagonist is a young, beautiful girl. According to the
Amazines. “An Introduction to Hindi TV-Serial: Dil Mill Gaye.”
https://www.amazines.com/article_detail.cfm?articleid=573002; 28 December, 2008.
11
21
phases the style is designed for the protagonist; for example, in her college life she
wears a simple salwar kameez, in her professional life she wears a pant style salwar
kameez, and in her married life she wears heavy embroidered sarees and jewelries.
g. Balaji Telefilm: It is one of the leading production houses in India. It is promoted by
Ekta Kapoor and her family. It has produced a number of famous Hindi daily soaps
and films. It is considered to be the largest daily soap production house in SouthAsia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Almost all the shows produced by Balaji
films start with the letter “K” because “K” is lucky for Ekta Kapoor.12
12
Wikiedia. “Balaji Telefilms.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaji_Telefilms; 28 December, 2008.
22