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Sob stuff not for them
THE SCENE is too familiar to even one who is not a regular soap watcher. A middle-aged woman on TV is seen at her saddest best — shedding tears by the bucketful — the teenager beside her is weeping too, but thankfully looks the consolable kind. And amidst tears, gasping and choking with grief, the older one, a widow, goes on about how a woman has no life whatsoever after the death of the husband — regressive theories that touch the nadir of insensitivity! But this is the kind of unhealthy stuff one channel or the other propounds, propagates and perpetuates among thousands of viewers (most of them women), day in and day out for hours on end. While many could ignore such mindless superstitions there could be others who lap it all up. Thus, caught in a time warp, some daily serials seem more a social malaise of sorts.
Just as you throw up your hands in exasperation and scream to yourself, that even if progressive ideas are impossible let not negative thoughts be spread, some serials do hold promise — AVM's ``Aarthi'' telecast on Raj TV, could probably turn out to be one such.
Starring Sithara and Vijay Adhiraj in the lead, the heroine, Aarthi, as of now, appears to be a rational, sane and level-headed girl. However it is again too early to conclude so.
``Not at all'' says its producer AVM Shanmugham. ``We as a banner and as individuals believe that there may be weak, wobbly-kneed men, but women, almost always are bold, progressive and strong. And Aarthi is the typical city bred, working woman of today''.
As of now, Aarthi looks it — calm, gutsy and confident, yet not unreasonably defiant or arrogant. ``She will remain so. Never have my women characters been meek or submissive,'' reiterates Devibala, a name to reckon with, in the story telling technique on TV today.
The title song of ``Aarthi'' is a melodious piece composed by Dhina and scintillatingly sung by Sadhana Sargam. Vairamuthu's lines are so pregnant with meaning and apt choice of words that they mesmerise the listener.
From Sun and ETV to Raj and Vijay, the AVM flag is everywhere. "It is not the channel, but the product that's important — and we take great care about our products," contends Shanmugham. His father Kumaran checks out every aspect of the story and dialogue — with as much diligence as they would for a film. A point Devibala also makes — ``Mr. Kumaran's enthusiasm is unbelievable... he sits with us and discusses everything to the minutest detail,'' he says.
The rapport that the makers and technicians share is great, says Shanmugham. Then why is it that Rangaraj who has directed nearly 20 episodes of ``Aarthi'' been replaced? ``It is just that our way of working is different and probably he didn't fit into that mould. Raja had done all the parts of one of our earlier serials ``Ippadikku Thendral''. And we are happy to have him back."
``Falling into the groove wasn't difficult at all'', says director Raja. "Twenty episodes in a daily soap that could stretch to 250 or 300, hardly matter. The unit is hardworking and AVM is my home ground'', he adds.
Sithara, who plays a journalist in "Aarthi," is another import from tinseldom to storm the small screen, in recent times. ``She has the typical girl-next-door look. She is also very sincere and hardworking'' — Shanmugham certifies their choice. Talking of Vijay Adhiraj, he is an oft-seen TV hero. ``But he is doing only ``Aarthi'' and ``Anbulla Snehidhiye'' at the moment. So that doesn't make Vijay an over-exposed artiste'', says the producer.
The feedback is encouraging — Raj TV's publicity campaign has ``Aarthi'' hoardings staring at you from every main junction of the city.
"There will be enough in every episode to sustain viewership. The story has just begun to unfold and ``there's a lot of interesting angles coming up... check it out'', promises Shanmugham. So let's.
MALATHI RANGARAJAN
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