Why Tamil Serials are popular?

Every day, people hurriedly turn on their televisions in the afternoons and evenings to catch a half-an-hour or one hour of enjoyment. Enjoyment is the only word that can accurately surmise the wonder of serials. Or maybe addiction is a better way to describe the phenomenon that is in serial watching. Or even obsession could describe the serial mania that some people have. Serials are global - the serial phenomenon is not limited to India at all. Indians all over the world are subscribing to Sun TV, Tamilgrounds, you name it - just so they can catch the recent episodes of their favourite shows.
However, or whatever you call it — serials have caught the mainstream and Indians are infatuated with them. From watching half-hour of ‘Anandham’ or glimpsing five minutes of ‘Paasam’, Indian serial viewers are hooked. It doesn’t matter if they started watching from the first episode of ‘Kalki’ or they just learned that ‘Arasi’ is on at night — Tamilians are hopelessly addicted, transforming from casual TV watchers to loyal serial fans. Let’s not forget about ‘Kolangal’,
‘Lakshmi’, ‘Malargal’, and the multitude of others that are there.
And what a variety we have to watch. From the police car chases in ‘Arasi’, to the family dilemmas that dominate ‘Anandham’, to the marriage ordeals of ‘Paasam’ - serials give us two things. They are a unique amalgamation of these two things, and it is this recipe that makes them successful. What are these two factors? They are simple, really. First, serials are realistic — and therein lies their strength. Unlike the movies, where the hero goes from rags to riches in one song, serials exert a realistic nature — that shows the characters as ordinary people just like us — struggling to make a living, while achieving our dreams.

It is this that has garnered the serial mass appeal from the thousands, or I should say, millions of loyal fans who watch them. Secondly, the serial offers surrealism — something which is totally different. Serials show us a world where people are just like us, but these people are able to demonstrate extraordinary things. These characters in the serials are able to gather money within days, are able to conduct weddings within minutes, and sometimes come back from the dead. No, not really - no serial character really returns from the dead…but they are presumed dead and then eventually return to the land of the living — coming back home to an unwary family that has moved on.

These two factors mentioned above, when combined, make a fabulous combination. Add in the emotions — and you have a successful formula for high ratings, and assuredly that TV channel’s success. Every serial, from the dynamic episodes of ‘Chithi’, and ‘Annamalai’, to the tear-jerking ‘Nimmadhi’ and ‘Selvi’ — serials touch our emotions.

Serials make us cry, they make us laugh; mostly they make us tune in. And in a way — they are doing us all a great service. At least for that one half-hour or one-hour episode, we manage to escape from our own realities, stop thinking about our own problems, just for some time.

Thanks: Priyanka Narayanan www.Chennaionline.com