By Anant Mathur (May 10, 2012)
Censorship changed drastically during the early 1970s. Audience was broken down based on specific demographic characteristics, including age, ethnicity, education and economic background. The baby boomer generation - younger, better educated, with more disposable income - became the desired target audience for television programming and advertising.
Bollywood is currently going through the same passing of the torch. With all the pioneering producers, actors, directors, etc. virtually gone from the industry Bollywood is filled with youngsters targeting youngsters for their films - rarely do we see family films anymore. Today's entertainment caters largely to the youngsters or kids market. Even though the youngsters have grown up on
television programming of the 1990s and 2000s, their tastes and
values are often in marked contrast to that of their middle-class
parents.
The rapid growth of television channels in the last two decade has only inflamed the conflicts over programming and censorship. Subjects previously excluded from television began to appear with regularity. It was with the advent of Zee TV and serials like Tara, Banegi Apni Baat, Kurukshetra and Hasratein that seductive scenes came to be incorporated expansively. Tara, probably, led the way with a bold and blatant storyline, it was the predominant battering ram that broke down the restrictions placed on television content during the preceding twenty years. Frank discussions of sexuality, even outside of traditional heterosexual monogamy, became the focal point of many of the show's narratives. The serial also introduced issues of pre-marital sex, divorce, smoking, drinking, extramarital affair and live-in relationships as staples of its content. Banegi Apni Baat, set in a college campus, openly discussed condoms, sex and sexuality. Constraints on the use of profanity began to crumble as well. Writers began to pepper dialogue with language not permitted during the more conservative 1980s and 1990s.
The debate and struggle over censorship of programming will more than likely continue into the next decade. It's tough to judge what impact the current forms of entertainment will have on the next generation, but one thing is certain, it will be inspired by the thoughts and ideas generated by the current crop of Bollywood talent.
The rapid growth of television channels in the last two decade has only inflamed the conflicts over programming and censorship. Subjects previously excluded from television began to appear with regularity. It was with the advent of Zee TV and serials like Tara, Banegi Apni Baat, Kurukshetra and Hasratein that seductive scenes came to be incorporated expansively. Tara, probably, led the way with a bold and blatant storyline, it was the predominant battering ram that broke down the restrictions placed on television content during the preceding twenty years. Frank discussions of sexuality, even outside of traditional heterosexual monogamy, became the focal point of many of the show's narratives. The serial also introduced issues of pre-marital sex, divorce, smoking, drinking, extramarital affair and live-in relationships as staples of its content. Banegi Apni Baat, set in a college campus, openly discussed condoms, sex and sexuality. Constraints on the use of profanity began to crumble as well. Writers began to pepper dialogue with language not permitted during the more conservative 1980s and 1990s.
The debate and struggle over censorship of programming will more than likely continue into the next decade. It's tough to judge what impact the current forms of entertainment will have on the next generation, but one thing is certain, it will be inspired by the thoughts and ideas generated by the current crop of Bollywood talent.
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Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.
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