television Archives

The Temptation of Trash TV: Why You Need Need Bigg Boss After BoJack

It’s the age of #PeakTV, and there’s a plethora of content out there that is intellectually stimulating, aesthetically pleasing, and artistically rewarding. But it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Acclaimed shows are like caviar – perfectly fine to treat yourself to, but sometimes you just want good old vada pav.

Dushyant Shekhawat June 26, 2016

Pop Culture

Washing a Laptop and Other Gems on Indian TV: What Are Our Daily Soap Writers Smoking?

In a clip from an Indian soap that recently went viral, a couple is seen having a lovers’ tiff. Nothing unusual here other than the fact that they were fighting while falling off the cliff. Because when you are the top-rated TV show, who cares for physics?

Runjhun Noopur June 5, 2016

Culture

Dhakna Zaroori Hai: Why My Sindhi Family Has a Cover for Everything from the Toaster to the TV

In Sindhi households, everything is veiled. It starts at the heart of the home – the kitchen. The refrigerator handle dare not stand in nudity. The mixer, when not in use, stands gracefully under a crocheted hood. Twenty five years ago, I used to mock this great Sindhi cover-up. Today, I’m the one doing the covering.

Lata Gwalani June 1, 2016

POV

When Did Our Parents Go from Hating the “Idiot Box” to Being Addicted to It?

My parents have adopted the television as their own child. From 8:00 am to 11:00 pm, there’s a constant hum of static in the background, punctuated by a laughter track every 10 minutes. It’s ironic that the biggest consumers of the television today are the same parents who hated it.

Aditya Bhalla April 11, 2016

Grub

Some Wafers for the Kadhi Chawal, Please: MasterChef Australia & the Importance of Family TV Time

My parents have never been voracious foodies like me, but MasterChef Australia changed that. They went from merely eating to live, to living to eat. Come have lunch with us and you might hear mother say, “This kadhi chawal is nice but it’s missing a little crunch. Pass the Garden Wafers na.”

Sagar Gwalani March 13, 2016

Pop Culture

Why TED Talks India Nayi Soch is TV’s Most Intellectual Offering

TED Talks could be India’s first step toward creating television that isn’t peddling brain-dead and rehearsed ideas. It has the ability to change the general discourse at the tapri from the #Virushka secret wedding to water conservation.

#VALUE! March 11, 2016

Pop Culture

Why ’90s Kids Love That ’70s Show

In a sea of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Two and a Half Men, That ’70s Show depicted universal adolescent boredom. The basement in the series represented a sort of safe space for countless teenagers like me, who lived with their parents and had very little privacy.

Nihal Bambulkar March 3, 2016

Modern Family

Channel Change Karo! Why Indian Parents Reach for the Remote When There’s a Kissing Scene

Desi parents are some of the most vigilant gatekeepers of “objectionable” content in the world. To ensure that their children turn out to be as sanskari as Tulsi Virani, they turn to the remote control – skip, fast forward, change the channel. But in the age of the internet, is it possible to restrict what their children watch?

Akanksha Dhyani March 2, 2016