The Hindi GEC shows have always banked on many elements such as romance, happiness, drama, revenge and sympathy to gain ratings. Certain factors play up in the viewers’ minds in a big way, and this adds to the intrigue towards shows.
In this article of ours, we are looking at the element of Sympathy which drives the ratings to their peak in many cases. The expression of being pathos is evoked owing to many reasons. The sorrow feeling usually gives rise to empathy, wherein viewers have a high degree of sympathy for the characters they watch on TV. This makes them hooked to the shows they watch.
Today, we list out the various high points that can bring about the feeling of ‘sympathy’ in the story plots of television shows. We cite examples of the same too.
Deaths: Deaths in Hindi GEC shows have always evoked the highest level of sympathy with regard to viewers’ reactions. Deaths in TV shows have given the biggest of ratings, and this trend has been seen for years now. Those who have been acquainted with television viewing for many years now, will agree when we say that the show Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi hit a huge high with the death of Mihir Virani. We take this trend ahead even today, and viewers of the long-running show Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai on Star Plus saw the epic death recently of Naira, the protagonist of the show. With her death, the evergreen Jodi of Kaira, Kartik and Naira came to an end. The show saw a new high with this death in terms of ratings. Another very recent launch has been the Star Plus show Zindagi Mere Ghar Aana, wherein the main family has lost a very dear one, owing to the scary pandemic COVID. The whole story revolves around the loss of this character. The deaths of the protagonists in Colors show Choti Sarrdaarni before the generation leap was painful indeed.
Separation: Separation of the lead guy and the lead girl means the number registers see a new high. This is one of the prominent formulas used to pep up any show, at any stage. The pain and the agony that the lead characters go through, the feeling of pathos, the loneliness gets projected very well in shows. We have seen such separations happening in popular and long-running shows like Kumkum Bhagya, Qurbaan Hua, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin etc. The list is literally long and can go on and on.
Also, the separation between father and child, or mother and child have raked in numbers. Kulfi Kumar Bajewala showed the separation of a father and daughter. The recently launched Star Plus show Chikoo Ki Mummy Durr Kei deals with the pain that a mother faces after separating from her daughter.
Betrayal: This is another golden formula for success. All the presently running top-rated shows on Hindi GEC have tread on the factor of betrayal at some point of time in the storyline. The examples are in front of you. Anupamaa the numero uno show in Hindi GEC saw the betrayal coming from the husband, where he takes his wife for granted and has an affair as long as 9 years, with his colleague. We also have Imlie on Star Plus, wherein Aditya is somewhere down the line responsible for betraying Malini, after he falls in love with Imlie. Though Imlie is his first wife, he goes on to marry Malini without confiding this truth in her. This is betrayal at its worst!! We also have Udaariyaan on Colors which has peaked in numbers over the last week, with the betrayal of the husband getting known to his wife. Alas!! Here, the husband is in love with his wife’s sister. A huge level of sympathy is evoked when viewers watch the victim sobbing.
Kidnap, Jail, Rape, Illness and other Drama: A lot of other elements like kidnapping tracks (Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 2, Imlie, Qurbaan Hua and many more), jail term (Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Kumkum Bhagya, Kundali Bhagya), rape (the present track of Barrister Babu), illness (Anupamaa’s tumour track) create huge drama that bring in a lot of sympathy for characters going through the turmoil.
Past Love Affairs: Huge drama comes to the fore when the blast from the past appears to ruin the present. Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali recently saw the return of the first husband, which turned the lives of the happily married protagonists.
Unsuccessful Love, and Reincarnation Drama: We have seen the painful and sad end of love stories, which has often resulted in the protagonists returning with new births, in order to fulfil their unsuccessful love. Shows like Naagin 5, Kasam Tere Pyaar Ki, Pinjara Khubsurti Ka etc went through this phase which touched the hearts of viewers with its emotional play.
So yes, the feeling of ‘sympathy’ rides high in Hindi Television. We have only outlined it with a few examples. And why not? It is one big factor that holds huge prominence in the day to day life of all of us. When this emotion gets tapped in the shows we watch, we love to watch them!!
Do you agree with us? Drop in your comments here.