'Serial Killer' is the title that I have conferred upon my elder sister, as I believe that it best brings out her love for soap-operas and sitcoms, which transcends her love for almost anything else when it comes to whiling away time. Yes, my sister is a Serial Killer. She loves watching daily soaps and all kinds of TV serials over anything else, despite her being a research scholar at one of the top-most technological institutions in the country. And quite contrary to my earlier beliefs, where I have to say I was heavily disillusioned, I have eventually come to learn that TV soaps are not something that can be generalized to being watched by just bored homemakers, people who deeply enjoy hyper-drama or those who are less intellectually inclined.I know I sound like a massive snob here, and maybe I actually was one, but I assure you, I have come a long way since then. In fact, I now think that a person's intelligence, IQ, profession, age, gender and interests have got nothing to do with them being daily soap lovers, or to say the least, watchers.
My 3 year old neighbour watches them and so do my very old grandparents. I keep hearing about various soaps from my friends at College and I swear one Sunday I heard my very macho neighbour humming the theme tune of "Baalika Vadhu" as he washed his bike away !I also once read an interview in a science journal, where the interviewee was a very senior female employee at ISRO, and she proudly confessed that she too, at the end of the day, wanted her share of Saas-Bahus.
I honestly still don't understand what makes then click, but one thing is for certain, soap operas are here to stay, love them, hate them or mock them.
Now this blog post is not an essay on "How Daily Soaps Have Become A Part ad Parcel of Our Lives" and this is where we come to the fun-part. Observing my sister, parents and close friends, I have come to derive a set of conditions, which, if regularly complied with by a person, can easily be used to classify him as a Serial Killer.
So readers, if you conform to three or more of the following conditions, then Beware! You have been doing some Serial Killing lately. :P
1. Can juggle between watching 2-3 shows running in the same time slot, without missing on any of their plots.
2. Stream and watch the missed out episodes of your favourite shows online.
3. Watch relay broadcasts on weekends, despite having watched all the runs in the week
4. Know (almost) all the characters of your shows by their real life names.
5. Consider Maha-episodes and One-hour specials a treat!
6. Are thrilled by the prospect of guest appearances and cameos of other TV stars and actors on your shows.
7.Wittingly/unwittingly quote the signature dialogues of characters on TV shows in real life.
8. The show's theme song makes up your ringtone, or at least a small part of your music collection.
9. Come to know about world news, upcoming festivals and latest movie songs through a daily soap you watched.
10.Model your style statement on one of the show's main characters.
11. Think of watching daily soaps as a way of interacting with different cultures.
Author's Note: A lot has gone into softening my attitude towards daily soaps and serials, and I have my sister and college friends to thank for it. I look at it as a reflection of what I may like to call my increased understanding of the fact that "People do not always have the same likes and dislikes as you do, nor do they always behave the way you expect them to.....but in no ways does that make them any less lovable." :)
My 3 year old neighbour watches them and so do my very old grandparents. I keep hearing about various soaps from my friends at College and I swear one Sunday I heard my very macho neighbour humming the theme tune of "Baalika Vadhu" as he washed his bike away !I also once read an interview in a science journal, where the interviewee was a very senior female employee at ISRO, and she proudly confessed that she too, at the end of the day, wanted her share of Saas-Bahus.
I honestly still don't understand what makes then click, but one thing is for certain, soap operas are here to stay, love them, hate them or mock them.
Now this blog post is not an essay on "How Daily Soaps Have Become A Part ad Parcel of Our Lives" and this is where we come to the fun-part. Observing my sister, parents and close friends, I have come to derive a set of conditions, which, if regularly complied with by a person, can easily be used to classify him as a Serial Killer.
So readers, if you conform to three or more of the following conditions, then Beware! You have been doing some Serial Killing lately. :P
1. Can juggle between watching 2-3 shows running in the same time slot, without missing on any of their plots.
2. Stream and watch the missed out episodes of your favourite shows online.
3. Watch relay broadcasts on weekends, despite having watched all the runs in the week
4. Know (almost) all the characters of your shows by their real life names.
5. Consider Maha-episodes and One-hour specials a treat!
6. Are thrilled by the prospect of guest appearances and cameos of other TV stars and actors on your shows.
7.Wittingly/unwittingly quote the signature dialogues of characters on TV shows in real life.
8. The show's theme song makes up your ringtone, or at least a small part of your music collection.
9. Come to know about world news, upcoming festivals and latest movie songs through a daily soap you watched.
10.Model your style statement on one of the show's main characters.
11. Think of watching daily soaps as a way of interacting with different cultures.
Author's Note: A lot has gone into softening my attitude towards daily soaps and serials, and I have my sister and college friends to thank for it. I look at it as a reflection of what I may like to call my increased understanding of the fact that "People do not always have the same likes and dislikes as you do, nor do they always behave the way you expect them to.....but in no ways does that make them any less lovable." :)
