Affection to defection: No room for run-of-the-mill TV shows (2013 In Retrospect)

Typical saas-bhau or family dramas have outlived their sell-by date! The collapse of "Chhanchhan" and "Dil Ki Nazar Se Khoobsurat" sent out a loud and clear message that viewers want fresh and innovative content.

Old and boring saas-bahu tales were given the thumbs down by fans of Hindi general entertainment channels who lapped up shows like thriller "24", and "Comedy Nights With Kapil". In the drama section, they appreciated "Qubool Hai", a show about two Muslim families and "Tumhari Pakhi", based on Saratchandra Chattopadhyay's novel "Naba Bidhan".

IANS lists the shows that started with a bang, but soon fizzled out:

"Chhanchhan": Preceded by aggressive marketing with interesting teasers, Sony's "Chhanchhan" promised to be a refreshing change from the normal saas-bahu sagas. Alas! It turned out to be a damp squib. If the content was like old wine in the new bottle, the off-screen tiff between lead pair Sanaya Irani and Farhan Khan embroiled the show in a controversy and added to its woes. And when the makers replaced Farhan with Anuj Sachdeva, it didn't help in pulling enough eyeballs. The show, which went on air March 25, finally closed down on Sep 19. Supriya Pathak featured as the traditional and dominating mother-in-law.

"Savitri": Everything supernatural is not watchable. The failure of "Savitri" proves the point. The Life OK show had a fascinating concept, where a housewife, played by Ridhi Dogra, fights evil creature Rahukal to save her husband (Yash Pandit), but it failed to get the expected response from the audience. Many felt that content was not evolved; hence the show, which went on air in February, could only survive till October.

"Mrs Pammi Pyarelal": Lighthearted shows usually yield high viewership. But comedy-drama "Mrs Pammi Pyarelal", about cross-dressing, failed to tickle the funny bone of audiences. Gaurav Gera cross-dresses as a woman and becomes Pammi but his efforts were turned down. As a result, the show went off air within four months post its July premiere on Colors.

"Dil Ki Nazar Se Khoobsurat": Beauty and The Beast concept usually works, but "Dil Ki Nazar Se Khoobsurat" ended not with a bang but with a whimper. The fairytale love story of a girl who falls in love with the voice of an ugly looking guy lacked the fizz to keep the audiences hooked for long. The Soumya Seth-Rohit Khurana-Sachin Shroff starrer went on air in February but was wrapped up in July from Sony channel due to poor ratings.

"Punar Vivah...Ek Nayi Umeed": After a successful season one, "Punar Vivah" came with its second season as "Punar Vivah...Ek Nayi Umeed". Unlike the first season, which was gripping and entertaining, season two was drab and dreary. If Gurmeet Choudhary and Kratika Sengar's chemistry scorched the small screen in part one, Karan Grover, Srishty Rode and Rubina Dilaik's love triangle failed to spice up the story. Obviously, after enjoying a fresh concept and gripping story in season one, audiences were disappointed with the new version. It was also pulled off air in November after six months of airing on Zee TV.

(Aditi Chandra can be contacted at aditi.c@ians.in)