Seasoned actress Vandana Pathak, who’s popular for playing the character of Jayshree Parekh in “Khichdi,” has been critical of television today. In a recent conversation, she had an air of stagnation, observing a lack of character depth and repetitive content in most programs. Under Pathak’s estimation, the high-speed production cycle of contemporary television offers actors scant or no time at all to genuinely become their characters, a stark contrast to the time she had available for such activities in previous, character-driven productions.
She attributes this impetus to a creative vacuum where innovative and meaningful stories are displaced by formulaic storytelling and speed is valued over substance.
The Fall of Character Depth
Pathak’s career, spanning over three decades, has been defined by memorable characters, each with their own distinct quirks and emotional arcs. She points to a noticeable decline in this kind of nuanced writing. Today’s television, she argues, often reduces characters to one-dimensional figures serving a plot, rather than being the driving force of the story themselves.
The need to produce shows in rapid succession means that producers and actresses alike are compelled to leave before the full extent of a character’s development is reached, leaving hardly any space for the sort of maturation that made her earlier roles so compelling to audiences.
A Plea for Genuine Storytelling
The actress pressed the point of going back to real storytelling. Pathak, with her theater background, points out that a show’s longevity and legacy are based on how well it can relate to audiences on another level. She thinks that the recent trend of shows losing their longevity is because of this lack of diverse material and creativity.
Some good programs, no doubt, still get made, but simply being held under the same formulas blunts creativity and ultimately results in a compromise on a more interesting viewing experience, says Pathak. It is a poignant reminder of the necessity of artistic integrity in a world that is increasingly clouded by commercial priorities.
A recent media graduate, Bhumi Vashisht is currently making a significant contribution as a committed content writer. She brings new ideas to the media sector and is an expert at creating strategic content and captivating tales, having working in the field from past four months.
