Just seeing someone making coffee with a loud background noise makes the scene look fake and coffee unpalatable. The shadows, the darkness, the sound of that river flowing, that bird chirping, or that spinning of the washing machine is what brings the drama closer to the viewers life. Every face is brightly lit and there is always a background music trying to mute the sounds surrounding the characters. The last aspect I want to highlight is that of light and sound.
MALGUDI DAYS TV SERIES SKIN
Where is the stained teeth, weather-beaten skin or the shadow of other imperfections that are the reflection of a struggle called life? When characters seem real, they connect better with the viewers. All artistes, wearing a thick makeup that makes their skin look smooth, fair, and soft, appear far from real characters in life. Not much attention has to be paid to the details – No need to build a new set, no necessity to think about what should stay in the frame and what should not. Setting the drama as contemporary is convenient. Today’s soaps are made by lazy directors for lazy viewers. Sadly, the plots are recycled with a filling of cliches. The screenplay is what makes the delivery powerful and not the constant flashing of lights or crooked camera angles. Dialogue is what should drive a scene, facial expressions are what should convey the mood of the characters, not some loud music. A loud background music stifles the voice of the artists.
Today’s TV shows are replete with background music. Malgudi days makes us enter new worlds and minds. The camera does not always focus on the face but zooms out and pans to show how people dressed, how the buildings looked, and how people interacted with the surroundings. So much effort has been put in to create a sense of space and time.
MALGUDI DAYS TV SERIES SERIES
The immersing nature of the series makes Malgudi days a hybrid between a book and theatre. But Malgudi days matters to India, it holds a huge lesson to the directors and viewers of today’s soaps. I am sure there are several shows which are awesome. I am not calling Malgudi days as is the greatest show on earth. Why should I watch an old TV series half of whose actors are either dead or about to die? Why should I spend my precious time on Malgudi days when there are so many TV shows to watch ? Why should I care about a TV series which does not use computer graphics, loud background music or is not aired everyday of my living life?