Friday, March 13, 2015
Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki (The Story of Every Home)
Intro
|
1
|
Disclaimer.
|
|
2
|
Open to a close-up shot of a bangle-laden hand lighting the lamp.
Blurred image of Hindu gods in backdrop.
|
|
3
|
Hands disappear from the shot. The images of Shiva and Parvathi.
Burning pedestal lamps on either side.
|
|
4
|
Close-up of the protagonist. Actress is a married woman.
|
|
5
|
Actress turns her smiling face toward camera.
|
|
6
|
The whole family comes running from the stairs.
|
|
7
|
Actress looks at the family, smiles.
|
|
8
|
Long shot of the prayer room.
|
|
9
|
The family stands mid-way. Background song begins.
|
|
10
|
Grandmother and her daughter-in-law are holding diyas and
praying, smiling.
|
|
11
|
Side shot of the actress clasps her hand, looks at them and
smiles.
|
|
12
|
Grandmother and daughter-in-law look toward each other,
acknowledging the bonhomie.
|
|
13
|
Side shot of the actress.
|
|
14
|
Grandmother and daughter-in-law bows before the god and goddess.
|
|
15
|
Long shot of grandmother and daughter-in-law sitting.
|
|
16
|
Close shot of a girl child crying.
|
|
17
|
Patient actress
|
|
18
|
Close-shot of actress's hands wiping the girl's tears.
|
|
19
|
Long shot of the girl in bed surrounded by toys.
|
|
20
|
Long shot of the actress standing in between the burning
pedestal lamps.
|
|
21
|
Close-up of the girl, now turning happy.
|
|
22
|
Side shot of the actress, clothesline in the background.
|
|
23
|
Enter husband from in between the clothes, which are blowing in
the wind.
|
|
24
|
Actress dancing, carries a small, white flower in the hand.
|
|
25
|
Another girl touches the flower and touches her forehead.
|
|
26
|
Actress carries the plate containing the diyas.
|
|
27
|
Actress descends the stairs, away from the prayer closet, runs
out of the shot.
|
|
28
|
Close up of husband's hands protecting the lamp; blurred image
of the gods in the background.
|
|
29
|
Actress' hands comes above her husband's hands.
|
|
30
|
Close up of the actress.
|
|
31
|
Close up of the husband turning, smiles, frowns and turns back.
|
|
32
|
Actress's hands comme again above husbands, holding providing
shelter to the lamp.
|
The intro taken up for analysis is of a
popular Hindi-language television soap opera called “Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki” (The
Story of Every Home). The first shot, though, warns the viewers from
over-interpreting the serial’s title or from drawing any connections to real
life, which, as this article will argue, is far from being the case. The serial
is aired at the beginning of the prime time on Star Plus channel and is
rescreened a couple of times during the day, ostensibly targeting Indian women,
in particular the “homemakers.”
The opening shots give credence to this
as it shows the protagonist in the lady of the house role: close-up shot of
bangle-laden hands lighting the lamp with blurred images of Hindu God and
Goddess (Shiva and Parvathy) in the backdrop. Be it a movie or a soap opera,
the recital of Gods is but customary. What’s more interesting however is the
juxtaposition of the homemaker and the Gods, together with the immanent notion
that the homemaker in its role is a reflection of God. This relationship is
established in segments 2 through 4, where the protagonist is shown in the
traditional North Indian attire (Bindi, Kajal, Sindoor and ghoonghat) engaged
in the act of worship.
In the next segment, the setting of the
scene is revealed through a long-shot: A large house accommodating a joint
family, which comes together as a single group to offer prayer. The shot of the
prayer closet is interspaced between the 7th and 9th
segments as the theme song kicks in, connecting the visuals verbally. The
exchange of glances, nods and smiles between the protagonist, her mother-in-law
and sister-in-law in segments 10 to 15 achieves a rather rare moment of
bonhomie, thanks to the collective act of worship. The theme music, in these
moments, recounts the values and trifles of a good family, “every” family.
Segment 16 expands on the daily trifles
by showing a teary-eyed girl. The protagonist, content, and in prayer mood,
wipes the girl’s tears, comforting her as she slowly realizes the drifting grief.
Segment 20 explains the solution to the problem because it shows the long-shot
of the protagonist in godly light. The protagonist stands between the burning pedestal
lamps. This shot is particularly important as it portrays the protagonist as
divine, similar to segments 3 and 9, which show Shiva and Parvathi between the
burning pedestal lamps. The strategic positioning of the Gods and the
protagonist, in a sense, erases the distance between them. The solution is
finally represented in segment 21, in which the girl resumes her happiness.
While the protagonist is presented as
divine, she is also shown as someone following the cult of domesticity or the
“cult of true womanhood.” The protagonist is a homemaker, the lady of the
house, a problem-solver, who, in the absence of men (note the conspicuous
absence of her husband, apparently out at work), should attend to all “homely” problems.
The scenes, therefore, naturalize the cult of domesticity.
Up to this point, the shots are
dominated by female characters. Segment 22, therefore, paves the way for the
entry of a male figure: the protagonist’s husband. Breezy day and wavering
clothes, create a Segway to what would be a romantic encounter. But
unsurprisingly, there are other, more pressing matters at hand. The romance is implicit and need not to be
shown. Instead, segments 24 through 27 show the prayer rituals as the
protagonist shares the sacred offering (flower) and carries the plate
containing the lamps. She then walks out of the scene (segment 27), leaving behind
the prayer closet in the shot.
The final set of shots, again,
reinforces the cult of domesticity; in segment 28, the protagonist’s husband,
or more specifically, his hands are shown to support and protect the lamp from
extinguishing. There is also the blurred image of Shiva and Parvathy in the
background. In the next segment, the protagonist keeps her hands above her
husband’s. The husband’s hands thus provide the foundation for the house, and
the protagonist builds up on this foundation, to serve the family. With the
hands still in the scene, the final shot shows the title of the serial. The
words in the music repeats itself, saying that this is the story of every home.
Thus, by bringing the mediated images
of a home, the intro invites the “homemaker” to participate in the meaning
making process and to consume the dominant meaning. Furthermore, given the
intro’s focus on the Hindu worship (dominant religion in India), Hindi theme
song (dominant language in India), and the upper-class, joint-families, it
celebrates life as lived within a dominant culture – contrary to its titular
claim of every home or every culture. Finally, the deeply feminine imprint on
the intro – frequency of feminine characters, female voice in the theme song,
the timing of the show – together with its uncritical adaptation of traditional
gender roles, serve as a trope to attract and convert the Indian women into docile
subjects of dominant, patriarchal ideology.
# posted by Unknown @ 1:59 PM 
