- Joined
- Jul 24, 2008
- Messages
- 33,627
- Points
- 0
<TABLE id=msgUN border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>
Coffeeshop Chit Chat - IndianFT: I like Li Nanxing & Chris Lee</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>May-22 11:44 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 6) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>33529.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>May 23, 2010
the ex-pat files
Hooked on TV dramas
<!-- by line -->By Rupali Karekar
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
I had never been a fan of television drama serials or soap operas.
On the rare occasions I did sit down to watch a TV serial, especially in India, it was to criticise its larger-than-life characters.
I would roll my eyes at the ridiculous plots and poke fun at the over-the-top acting.
Most soap operas on India's zillion channels, which come in a variety of languages, are typically family sagas.
The storyline almost always revolves around a battle of wits between an evil team of scheming mothers-in-law/sisters-in-law and the helpless, enduring but good-natured heroine.
These women are impeccably dressed in expensive saris and glittering jewellery and have flawless makeup on at all times, be it day or night.
The storyline moves an inch per 15 episodes and dialogue is barked out with ferocity, accompanied by loud music and sudden camera movements.
My revulsion for such assault-on-the-senses programmes transcends geographical and language barriers.
I viewed a mindless soap from anywhere in the world with equal scorn as I would Indian ones.
Their bizarre twists tickled me and made me squirm at the same time.
I had successfully kept away from them - or so I thought.
But television can be an immensely effective means to fill the emptiness in the lives of expats, especially those without a family.
The mindless chatter emanating from the idiot box can give one a false sense of company.
It was during one of those empty evenings in my past two years in Singapore that I got hooked on the local fare of Chinese and English serials.
I stumbled upon the handsome face of a firefighter while surfing channels one day.
It turned out to be that of Gurmit Singh, the talented actor who played Captain Daniel De Souza in the series Lifeline.
The story of the captain's life interested me enough to remember to switch on the TV set the following week to find out what happened next.
The series was not exactly brilliant, but it was a welcome change from what I had been subjected to in India.
Having endured and survived the soap-opera silliness back home, I found these simple stories and their characters believable.
Besides, they came on just once a week and lasted half an hour.
I started to look for more local entertainment in my free time and found En Bloc, in which a family tries to stay together despite challenging odds.
I also began watching English-language comedies like Police And Thief and Phua Chu Kang.
Madam Tan and the gang in My Sassy Neighbour always manage to crack me up with their silly antics.
Then I discovered Chinese programmes.
Currently, I am watching the series Through It All, debating which of the two brothers - played by actors Li Nanxing and Christopher Lee - is more handsome.
There is also the re-run of The Little Nyonya, the epic series which once glued Singaporean audiences to their TV screens.
And even though I know how the series ends, the re-run is still engrossing.
Some of these dramas have given me a glimpse into the Singaporean way of life.
Others have introduced me to the history and culture of this country.
I guess I mustn't sniff at Indian soaps any more.
Like the Singaporean serials, they too can offer glimpses into Indian ways of life to outsiders.
The acting may be over the top and the plots may have seemed ridiculous to me at the time, but my addiction to Singapore fare has made me revise my views of the Indian soap operas.
Indian audiences obviously love them, or they would not have stayed so popular.
The writer is an assistant to the editor at the Straits Times Foreign Desk. She has lived in Singapore for two years.
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
the ex-pat files
Hooked on TV dramas
<!-- by line -->By Rupali Karekar
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
I had never been a fan of television drama serials or soap operas.
On the rare occasions I did sit down to watch a TV serial, especially in India, it was to criticise its larger-than-life characters.
I would roll my eyes at the ridiculous plots and poke fun at the over-the-top acting.
Most soap operas on India's zillion channels, which come in a variety of languages, are typically family sagas.
The storyline almost always revolves around a battle of wits between an evil team of scheming mothers-in-law/sisters-in-law and the helpless, enduring but good-natured heroine.
These women are impeccably dressed in expensive saris and glittering jewellery and have flawless makeup on at all times, be it day or night.
The storyline moves an inch per 15 episodes and dialogue is barked out with ferocity, accompanied by loud music and sudden camera movements.
My revulsion for such assault-on-the-senses programmes transcends geographical and language barriers.
I viewed a mindless soap from anywhere in the world with equal scorn as I would Indian ones.
Their bizarre twists tickled me and made me squirm at the same time.
I had successfully kept away from them - or so I thought.
But television can be an immensely effective means to fill the emptiness in the lives of expats, especially those without a family.
The mindless chatter emanating from the idiot box can give one a false sense of company.
It was during one of those empty evenings in my past two years in Singapore that I got hooked on the local fare of Chinese and English serials.
I stumbled upon the handsome face of a firefighter while surfing channels one day.
It turned out to be that of Gurmit Singh, the talented actor who played Captain Daniel De Souza in the series Lifeline.
The story of the captain's life interested me enough to remember to switch on the TV set the following week to find out what happened next.
The series was not exactly brilliant, but it was a welcome change from what I had been subjected to in India.
Having endured and survived the soap-opera silliness back home, I found these simple stories and their characters believable.
Besides, they came on just once a week and lasted half an hour.
I started to look for more local entertainment in my free time and found En Bloc, in which a family tries to stay together despite challenging odds.
I also began watching English-language comedies like Police And Thief and Phua Chu Kang.
Madam Tan and the gang in My Sassy Neighbour always manage to crack me up with their silly antics.
Then I discovered Chinese programmes.
Currently, I am watching the series Through It All, debating which of the two brothers - played by actors Li Nanxing and Christopher Lee - is more handsome.
There is also the re-run of The Little Nyonya, the epic series which once glued Singaporean audiences to their TV screens.
And even though I know how the series ends, the re-run is still engrossing.
Some of these dramas have given me a glimpse into the Singaporean way of life.
Others have introduced me to the history and culture of this country.
I guess I mustn't sniff at Indian soaps any more.
Like the Singaporean serials, they too can offer glimpses into Indian ways of life to outsiders.
The acting may be over the top and the plots may have seemed ridiculous to me at the time, but my addiction to Singapore fare has made me revise my views of the Indian soap operas.
Indian audiences obviously love them, or they would not have stayed so popular.
The writer is an assistant to the editor at the Straits Times Foreign Desk. She has lived in Singapore for two years.
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
