“For once I’ll say it, my friends! Instead of hashtagging #endYHM stop watching it! All stories will not go as you wish as an audience! I love my TV audience, I value your opinion but our creatives work with ratings and TV norms! This is for all show fan groups! Love and respect always.”
This tweet of Ekta Kapoor—posted after the hashtag #endYHM began trending on Twitter recently, begging for the plug to be pulled on her serial Yeh Hai Mohabbatein (YHM)—gives a clear picture of what drives the entertainment bazaar on Indian television today. A band of twitterati, unable to endure one of her longest-running soaps anymore, run an online campaign to demand an immediate end to its telecast! And the czarina of Balaji Telefilms snaps back at them, making it clear in no uncertain terms that the ultimate arbiter of an on-air show is TRPs (television rating points). Her message was succinct but loud and clear: Don’t like it? Then lump it. Period! There are plenty more who do like...
