From 'Anupamaa' To 'Udaariyan', Hindi TV Shows Become Culturally More Inclusive

Television has been a medium of wide reach for many years now. From daily soaps, comedy to crime shows, the family viewing experience has made it a popular medium. Now, in a move to make the characters and stories more relatable, showmakers are not sticking to a vague regional identity. They are including more and more regional dialects in the dialogues for a stronger connect and well defined sketch of the characters.

For instance, in popular daily soap 'Anupamaa', the family is shown to be of Gujarati descent, hence even the dialogues and diction is also of a person from Gujarat. Similarly, in the show 'Udaariyan', many dialogues are in Punjabi, something that Hindi shows earlier didn't pay much attention to. 

Similarly in Ankita Lokhande's show 'Pavitra Rishta 2.0', she is shown as a Marathi girl. Even though the show is Hindi, a lot of dialogues are Marathi.

Reacting to the same, actors share their opinion on how important it is to strengthen the connection by adding stronger regional dialogues and dialects in the television shows.

Vijayendra Kumeria

Vijayendra Kumeria- Yes though the shows are Pan India but if you add a regional touch, it enhances the backdrop and adds colour to the narrative. The makers understand their target audience and pick the region so that some relatability helps them in grabbing eyeballs and hearts. The region targeted does help increase viewership in that particular belt as well as among people who are keen to know different cultures, languages.
 

Angad Hasija

Angad Hasija- Family dramas, be it in TV, films or web series, will always be the audience's favourite because they are easier to connect with. Nothing can take away their loyal audience. And I totally agree that a regional connection, be it the dialect or the costumes, definitely gives a show a TRP boost. Though at the end of the day it all comes down to the storyline, having a regional connection definitely grabs more eyeballs.

Hasan Zaidi

Actor Hasan Zaidi.

Hasan Zaidi- This is obviously a factor that influences popularity. The regional languages and the costumes definitely attract the audience. If someone has incorporated that in the story then the audiences feel that it is their own story. In that sense, any regional aspect, any language adopted and dialect applied to a storytelling generates interest. Also, another aspect is every language, be it Punjabi, Urdu, Gujarati etc have their own twangs and that’s what makes them unique. If you make a funny show and there is a Gujarati character that talks in a certain way that becomes the focal point. If someone speaks good Urdu and does shayree then that also connects with the people. All these factors in a diverse country like India do add to the product. It does give a certain extra USP and flavour.
 

Hansa Singh

Hansa Singh- Well it just makes them more earthy and local. Under the Uber sophistication, all want to soak in the basic local flavour. So that’s why they are becoming popular. Going vocal for local all the way.

Charrul Malik

Charrul Malik-Yes, characters speaking in a particular dialect really matter a lot. In Anupamaa and Saathiya there is more of a Gujarati touch. Udaariyan is a story based in Punjab. It is also in the top 5 shows. All these shows are brilliant. Rupal Patel's dialogue has a Gujarati touch which has helped a lot with the show’s reach. Of course, people see the regional stuff as they feel connected to it. It helps with the viewership. I am fluent in Punjabi as I was born and raised in Chandigarh. Shows having a particular dialect or have storylines related to states and cities, have a lot more viewership.

Perneet Chauhan

Perneet Chauhan- Yes, I think people connect more with the regional dialect. But I personally feel we should keep it simple. The content and the story is what should connect to people’s hearts more than anything else.