TOI: Sisters rivalry in prime time

There was a time when couch potatoes couldn't help gushing over serials like "Betiyaan" and "Behnein", which had female protagonists fighting the entire world for their sisters and even killing an enemy or two if they so much as dared to cast an aspersion on their kin. Move over gushing siblings!

Enter warring sisters! Currently, prime time shows like "Amrit Manthan", "Jamuna Paar", "Sasural Simar Ka", "Haar Jeet", "Baba Aiso Var Deejo", " Afsar Bitiya" and "Saath Nibhana Sathiya" are pulling all stops to celebrate this sibling rivalry. So, how potent is the new ruling mantra on telly? Is it too far-fetched or does it reflect reality of life? LT get onto the hatred trail...

SLICE OF LIFE
As you watch the newage telly sisters plotting against each other and trying their level best to show the other in worst possible light, you wonder if it is really possible for two siblings to hate each other so much. Producer Rajan Shahi of "Bidaai" and "Kuch Toh Log Kahenge" fame, whose show "Jamuna Paar" has a strong track of sisters' rivalry, says, "I have seen quite a few sisters hating each other in real life. In fact, we have so many business and Bollywood families having siblings' war stories, where they go to the extremes. Even though we hate to admit it, the fact is that our close relations are very fragile. More the love, greater the expectations, which can't always be met all lead to problems especially when one sibling starts exploiting the other. In my serial "Jamuna Paar", the older sister sacrifices her talent for the younger one, who is not gifted. Whether they fight for power, status, money or the attention of a man, intriguing wars go on everywhere between sisters!"

PRACTICAL APPROACH
Adaa Khan, nee Princess Amrit Kaur Sodhi of "Amrit Manthan" feels that these tracks reflect the practical approach of the youngsters today. "My character in the serial is a practical girl, who wants to enjoy the riches and status just like so many other girls of my age. In real life too, I know of quite a few sisters, who have gone to all extremes to get the upper hand. Especially when there's more love, hatred is bound to breed. But, life goes on!"
TRP TRAPPINGS
One thing that could have been responsible for sudden rush of these hate-sis tracks is that they spell good news for TRPs. After all, "Bidaai" with its cult sis-hating track, recorded big-time TRPs. "Uttaran" also dwells on similar theme and has been doing consistently well commercially. Trilok Singh, the supervising producer of new soap "Haar Jeet", says: "The love-triangle involving two sisters, with one scheming against the other, always works. So, we aim to score well on TRP meter."

CHALLENGING TASK
Those, who are portraying these negative emotions on telly, don't find it easy, though. "The challenge lies in the portrayal being believable," says Neha Sargam, who's playing the conniving sister Ishika in "HaarJeet". She goes on to add: "Earlier, I played the sacrificing sister Nivedita in "Chaand Chupa Badal Mein". So, the production guys of "Haar Jeet" had a lot of doubts whether I would be able to get Ishika's nastiness right, but I convinced them. It's tough alright to be a selfish sister, who uses her sibling to lay her hands on a guy and his moolah. But then, everyone has negative emotions deep within, so one has to focus on them to get the act right!".