After movies that frequently get mired in controversies, it is now the turn of television talk shows to come under fire.
Talk shows, with people arguing for and against a particular subject, have begun to top the charts in recent years as they reflect audience’s minds.
But sometimes, when socially-sensitive topics are discussed on screen, they have been met with stiff opposition from some factions of society — the most recent instance being the debate on the significance of ‘mangalsutra’.
Some television channels have also faced criticism for choosing debates on frivolous topics on their long-running shows. According to channel sources, however, such topics are discussed to present issues in a lighter vein.
K. Sriram, general manager of Star Vijay, says the channel chooses socially-relevant subjects that evince interest among the audience.
There is a team that chooses subjects and also screens participants who appear on the show.
“We conceptualised the show to fill the vacuum in this genre, seven years ago. We are cautious not to repeat the same topics at least for six months,” says Mr. Sriram.
While there have been heated debates on relationships and road safety and public transport, the show has also had people discussing possessiveness over sarees and shopping sprees.
Soviet-era spy series has audiences hooked
Set during the Cold War period, The Americans, now in its third season (on FX channel) follows Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys), two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple living in the suburbs of Washington D.C., raising their children.
At the close of season 2, the two spies were presented an unsettling ultimatum from their handlers. They were ordered to begin training their 14-year-old daughter, Paige, to join what amounts to the family business.
As much as the show is about the duplicitous politics of the time, it also remains at its core a story of a marriage.
“It was the daily struggles of living a dual life and the mental conflict it engenders in the characters of Phillip and Elizabeth that drew me to the show,” says Namita, a postgraduate student who finds the plot very interesting.
Selvi, working in an educational start-up, confesses to have stumbled upon the show.
She says, “I’m not a fan of these long action dramas, but this show really gripped me. Especially, this season’s plotline — with Paige, the daughter, being recruited as a spy, the conflict it provokes is really interesting.”
(Reporting by K. Lakshmi and Nitya Menon)
