Narratives revolving around children is something which seems to be turning into a common trend these days. Be it soaps or sitcoms, channels have started embracing the concept with all eagerness. The recent downpour of children protagonists seems to have started after Mazhavil Manorama came up with its primetime soap ‘Manjurukum Kalam’, so says the show’s director Binu Vellathooval.
He elaborates, “It is natural in case of this serial, as the story starts from the childhood of the protagonist. In general, it becomes easier to hold the attention of the audience once the entire activity revolves around a kid.” Though the soap, which was launched last February, started out with the protagonist Janikutty as a 2-year-old kid, she has now grown up to be a young 17-year-old.
But the year leaps have never got in the way of the soap’s popularity. Says the director, “The ratings that the show has achieved from the very start has been something big for any channel. There was even a time when the rating moved beyond 10, beating viewerships of any soap in another primetime channel. The soap is still maintaining its high TRP ratings.” Besides starting the trend of child-centric tracks in many shows, the director feels that the realistic nature is something which attracts the viewers. He says, “At a time when soaps portray actors in garish makeup, wearing gaudy sarees even in sleep, The soap shows men wearing baniyans and ladies wearing nighties. Moreover, the viewers, especially young girls, will be able to relate to it at some point of time. It shows more realistic events which happen in an ordinary household.
Being telecast during the primetime in the channel, the show receives a lot of response, mostly positive, from viewers, according to Binu. The soap, which is based on a famous novel written by noted scriptwriter Joycee, revolves around Janikutty who is adopted as a young kid, and talks about the struggles she has to face in her life. Adding to the list of similar soaps, the channel has come up with another serial titled Malootty, which again revolves around the child.