The Malayalam small screen has been, for quite sometime, influenced by the success of several Hindi soaps. With many of these soaps dubbed and remade once tasting success - many have primetime slots in different channels - the trend may be here to stay.
The recent entrant among the remakes is ‘Pranayam’, a daily primetime soap telecast in Asianet. A remake of the successful Hindi soap ‘Ye Hai Mohabbatein’, the soap which started airing last year has now crossed 200 episodes. Looking at it’s timeslot, the soap seems to be getting good ratings as well.
Says the director Sudheesh Sankar, “When it comes to different regional language channels, the ratings vary. But we are mostly getting a good response from viewers.” However, just because it is a remake does not make it an easy job, he adds. To people who think that there is not much of a change, Sudheesh says that it is never a scene-by-scene remake. Points out the director, “There is a certain cultural difference one needs to look into when you remake such soaps. We would need to recreate or modify certain situations, into something which is accepted by the viewers here. For instance, the Kerala audience has always been more family oriented and we always have to look into all the small details.”
Talk about Hindi soaps, one imagines elaborate makeup and gaudy costumes. Sudheesh says that he keeps everything moderate. To those who feel that originality is getting lost in the midst of these remakes, he replies in the negative. However, he adds; “There have been many original hit malayalam soaps in several channels like ‘Manjurukum Kaalam’ for instance. As for the remake bug, I believe it’s a trend which will soon pass. Even when it comes to movies, there was a time when horror movies or new gen movies were a trend for some time. This is the same in this case too,” he adds.
‘Pranayam’ revolves around a hot-tempered businessman and single father. His unhappy life takes a turn when he meets a young woman.
A new trend
According to director Sudheesh Sankar, there have been many original hit malayalam soaps in several channels like ‘Manjurukum Kaalam’. He adds that the remake bug is a trend which will soon pass. There was a time when horror or new gen movies were a trend for some time. This is the same in this case too