Who doesn't like a good love story? Millions of viewers tune in everyday with the hope of seeing their favorite couples finally getting together. But sadly, the landscape of romance in Indian TV has been filled with cliches, frustrating the audience to no end. Today, we talk about some of the trite tropes in our shows currently. Feel free to discuss your opinion in the comments section!
Getting lost in forests
And if a tiger follows you, even better! Every relationship requires some alone time with your partner, where you get to know each other and have a deeper understanding of their personalities. But the one way show writers repeatedly resort to is abandoning the fated couple in a jungle. They will spend the night. The female lead will worry, the male lead will take care indirectly. If it is winter or raining, the hero will give the heroine his coat or jacket. (Of course he has a jacket. Which idiot gets lost in a jungle without a jacket?) The heroine will doubt the hero's intentions in the night, but our hero, all noble and honorable, will stay away. And once they escape from the forest, viola! The heroine has now new respect for the hero and isn't angry at him any more.
The third wheel
The couples haven't realized their love yet? No, problem. Just introduce another guy/girl who will flirt with one of them making the other one insanely jealous. Oh, why am I having such thoughts? Oh, what are these feelings? I don't care, I don't care - hey! take your hands off her!
Bonus point, of course, if the third wheel is a villain in disguise. Then our protagonist gets to bring out his true face after suffering humiliation and hardship, and finally wins the trust and affection of his love.
Scheduled wedding that won't take place
This is taking the third wheel drama to the next level. Here the third person is not satisfied with simple flirting. S/he wants to marry. Maybe for property? For revenge? It doesn't matter. We know the marriage won't happen. The heroine (say) will gather evidences against the villain, will proclaim her own love, and on the day of marriage will utter the words - "Ye shaadi nahi ho sakti" (This wedding can't happen.) The villain is given an unceremonious exit and the couples unite. Yay!
Forced marriages
According to TV serials, nothing makes a relationship stronger than a forced marriage. The greater the betrayal, the deeper the passion of romance! Hardly any wedding takes place where the couples already want to marry each other and spend their life with each other. After the wedding, long periods of misunderstanding and courtship takes place, where the female lead and the new daughter-in-law goes through various humiliation in her new house. The male lead does or does not support the female initially, but it has no effect on the final status of their relationship. It doesn't even matter if they loved someone else before marriage. Once the wedding takes place, they will surely fall in love with each other. Eventually.
The curse of the ever falling heroine
She is standing on a chair, searching something in a cupboard. She loses balance. She falls.
She is walking. She trips on the carpet. She falls.
She is fighting with the hero. She goes towards him angrily. She falls.
Every single time, the hero will catch her. And they will have an eye-lock. Cue romantic songs in the background. Sigh... Just once I want someone to scold the female lead for falling all over the place!
The villainous parents
How much easier the life of the couples would be if the parents just accepted them as they are. But no! Based on various reasons, mostly "prestige", the in-laws will refuse to accept the new bride. Worse, the mother-in-law will make plots to creates misunderstanding between her son and the bride, hoping to separate them and throw the daughter-in-law out of the house. Usually, the villainous plans succeed and the female lead has to fight numerous battles to keep her love intact.
Endless separation
This is one trope that I hate the most. Even if the couples get married, one thing or the other will keep them separated. In fact, marriage seldom means physical intimacy or emotional bonding and trust in Indian TV land. If it was an unwilling marriage, the bride will ask the husband to stay away. By the time they do develop feelings for each other, everyone starting from the elder sister-in-law to the father-in-law's friend has managed to create misunderstanding between them. And heaven forbid if they do get intimate, one mistake will lead to the death of a family member and the heroine will get thrown out of their lives again.
These are some of the most common cliched plot lines present right now. Let us know in the comments section if you can think of something more.
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