Daily soap star Smita Bansal dispels stereotypes that shadow Indian Broadcast TV

For as long as TV was first available to public in India, daily soaps have been the popular form of entertainment in the households.

And with a viewership amassing in millions, it is a platform with much influence.

Yet it still remains one of the most negatively stereotyped industry.

Working now for more than 21 years, daily soap star Smita Bansal describes how it is still relevant, what thinking goes behind its production and what makes it a wonderful industry to work in.

Q. Being involved in so many shows and experiencing TV industry boom first-hand, what prominent change you felt has come about and what still needs to happen in this industry?

SB: [I feel] that it has become more professional now. Earlier we did projects just for entertainment but now it has become much more commercial and competitive. And with the daily soaps coming in we are working ‘round the clock, free time has become less. Previously weekly we could do 2-3 projects at one time but now if you are doing one project doing a second one is next to impossible.

The change that should have happened by now is that the content should become stronger for Indian Television, because you see you are churning out an episode every day, so the content suffers the most.

One thing that has started now is the “seasons” trend, you work on a project for 6 months, then you work on the script and then you come back after 6 months –with fresh story line, new set, maybe even new characters. This way everyone gets a little break, writers also get fresh new ideas, and everyone starts all over again, and it’s a fresher way of working.

Q. Do you see a change in the working conditions for women, has it become more equal in the sense of pay and quality of roles comparing since you first started to present day?

SB: If we talk about TV, women were always a stronger part of Indian Television; that’s always been this way. [Daily soaps] mostly cater to women in the house so the stories and the concepts are always mostly spun around women. So, in case of pay disparity and roles, women have always been stronger and crucial, in comparison to films or even in the west, as the central characters have always been women.

We have very few male actors that are trending, and everyone is very big in India who works in TV soaps and monetarily it is one of the best things to be in.

But because TV also keeps introducing new people [very speedily] it depends on how long you have been working in the industry rather than the character you are playing.

[And] new actors are less experienced so of course their money is lesser.

[And] in TV only content is king, so actually paying an actor more is not going to get you better TRP. There is not so much disparity in TV between men and women, it’s just how much you want that person to be a part of your show.

Q. You have played the lovable mother-in-law in the popular project like Balika Vadhu (an Indian sociological story). What learnings have you taken away from your experience?

SB: [Balika Vadhu] is very close to my heart not only because it was a very popular show and also it gave me a very strong standing in the industry, but because it was a very relatable issue which we were talking about. [And] every day we would come in on sets and work on topics that were so important about the society and so [badly] needed to be told.

I think as an actor it changed my thinking towards my work. Before I was just going for my workday and coming back. But with Balika Vadhu I became more aware, and as a person I felt like we needed to tell people more about these issues and need to promote education for girl child, and need to save the girl child.

So, all these issues became the forefront, and before this I was just acting because I loved acting but Balika Vadhu made me [more of a] concerned human being. And now as an actor I am constantly aware of the social repercussions of my actions and how my actions can influence others to do better.

Q. Indian Tv has a bad reputation that they start with good ambitious story line like Balika Vadhu but over the course of years they lose the sight from their real purpose and end up showing typical drama stories. Why do you think this happens? Is it a demand of public or the producers wanting to continue the show without a set storyline?

SB: Shutting a show is totally the decision of the channel, it was never a decision made by the producers or writers. Channel to shut a show down that has given it such a big viewership at that time and getting a new one and trying to re-build that viewership, [for them] is a gamble. And if a show is getting love and big viewership then the channel does not want to take that gamble and introduce a new show. So, when a show starts doing really badly then the channel takes a decision that ok now remove it as losing that much viewership we can manage.

But if you see Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah, it is a show that has been going on forever almost 8-9 years now and [is] doing supremely well, so the channel will decide to definitely keep it on because its TRP is great.

Q. Do you feel ageism affects women in TV industry as badly as it does to those in film industry?

SB: In TV women already are playing older characters much before they of the same age in real life to play them, like young girls are playing role of mothers or even mother-in-laws.

So of course, span of an actor on TV is longer.

Whereas in films age of an actress is crucial to the role she is playing, and if you think about it, how many movies can she churn out in a year? On other hand TV actress is making an episode almost each day of the year.

And [again] because TV is more [inclined] for women-oriented content, actresses have much more screen life. If you see, it’s not the present generation that follows the soaps, but its their moms and grandmoms, who watch these shows while cooking or doing household work and for them TV needs to go on, it’s more of a habit.

So as evident, Indian TV may run with a bad rep for over dramatic stories, but it still is the king in terms of popular entertainment. As long as this habit remains and there are moms and grandmoms running the household, the daily soap industry will thrive like it does currently.