It
seems
TV
content
is
getting
regressive
by
the
day.
After
saas-bahu
sagas,
now
TV
shows
like
second
season
of
Iss
Pyaar
Ko
Kya
Naam
Doon?...Ek
Baar
Phir
and
Doli
Armaano
Ki
are
capitalising
on
domestic
violence
to
get
eyeballs.
Iss
Pyaar
Ko
Kya
Naam
Doon?...Ek
Baar
Phir
is
beamed
at
6
p.m.
on
STAR
Plus
and
Doli
Armaano
Ki
comes
at
10.30
p.m.
on
ZEE
TV.
Set
in
the
patriarchal
set-up,
"Iss
Pyaar
Ko
Kya
Naam
Doon?...Ek
Baar
Phir" has
the
most
horrific
scenes
where
the
head
of
the
family
-
Niranjan
Agnihotri,
a
character
played
by
actor
Manish
Wadhwa
-
is
often
shown
beating
his
subservient
wife
Anjali
(Geetanjali
Tikekar),
either
with
a
stick
or
a
belt
if
she
fails
to
carry
out
his
orders.
If
that's
not
enough,
the
story
also
shows
how
Niranjan,
who
hides
and
manipulates
the
truth
about
himself,
uses
his
wife
to
impose
his
regressive
set
of
rules
and
undermine
his
family
members
behind
their
back.
At
the
centre
of
this
web
of
deceit
are
also
his
two
sons,
daughter,
daughters-in-law
and
granddaughter.
In
case
anyone
of
them
falters,
Anjali
has
to
bear
the
consequences
-
she
is
beaten
black
and
blue.
Submissive
Anjali
accepts
it
as
her
fate
a
la
many
women,
who
are
mistreated
in
our
male-dominated
society.
It
is
humiliating
and
shameful
to
be
beaten
by
your
husband,
but
not
on
this
show.
The
role
of
women
of
the
family
is
just
restricted
to
the
kitchen
and
they
have
no
say
in
any
of
the
matters
of
their
lives
or
family.
Their
job
is
to
obey
the
rules
set
by
him;
the
more
disturbing
part
in
the
show
is
that
they
have
no
right
to
celebrate,
not
even
their
birthdays.
Why?
Because
according
to
Niranjan
Agnihotri,
women
are
insignificant
and
they
should
seek
happiness
in
the
joys
of
their
husbands
or
fathers
or
brothers.
Except
for
his
wife
and
youngest
daughter-in-law
Aastha
(Shreenu
Parikh),
the
rest
of
the
family
has
no
inkling
of
his
true
personality.
Atrocious!
If
Niranjan
Angnihotri
unleashes
his
terror
in
the
garb
of
a
loving
and
doting
husband
and
parent,
Samrat
Singh
Rathore,
played
by
Mohit
Malik
in
"Doli
Armaano
Ki",
openly
abuses
his
spouse.
The
worst
example
of
a
male
chauvinist
and
a
slippery
character,
Samrat
gets
sadistic
pleasure
in
terrorising
his
family
members,
especially
his
wife
Urmi
(Neha
Marda).
If
anyone
tries
to
cross
him,
the
penalty
could
be
frightening.
In
the
show,
set
in
Jhansi,
the
character
of
Samrat,
who
constantly
cheats
on
his
wife,
tries
to
have
an
upper
hand
by
demoralising,
terrorising,
insulting
and
bullying
her.
Her
status
is
no
more
than
of
a
doormat
and
if
she
ever
dares
to
do
something
without
Samrat's
permission,
he
makes
a
savage
attack
on
her.
Due
to
his
savage
behaviour,
Urmi
has
lost
her
confidence
and
has
accepted
his
brutalities
as
her
fate.
Not
surprising!
Even
her
son
Shourya
has
started
following
his
father's
footsteps
and
shows
no
respect
to
her,
something
not
unheard
of
in
our
country
where
often
a
male
child
is
not
disciplined
or
restricted.
In
the
ongoing
sequences,
Urmi
decides
to
follow
her
dream
and
joins
a
dance
class
without
informing
Samrat,
a
development
that
leaves
him
raging
like
a
bull.
And
in
Samrat's
words,
to
teach
her
a
lesson,
he
plants
a
guy
in
the
dance
class
who
starts
bothering
and
following
Urmi
and
one
day
he
lands
at
her
place
and
proposes
to
her
in
front
of
the
whole
family.
While
Urmi
is
numb
with
shock,
Samrat
is
having
the
last
laugh
as
he
has
succeeded
in
stopping
her
from
pursuing
her
dream
against
his
wishes.
Even
if
Samrat's
brother
or
father
tries
to
reason
with
him,
they
find
themselves
at
the
receiving
end
of
his
vindictive
persona.
There's
another
show
-
"Ek
Hasina
Thi",
in
which
a
character
who
plays
the
vice
chancellor
of
a
college
beats
his
wife
because
she
dares
to
question
him
about
his
womanising
ways.
What
is
the
point
in
showing
such
male
bullies?
According
to
National
Crime
Records
Bureau,
the
rate
of
crime
committed
against
women
was
41.7
percent
in
2012,
a
rise
of
6.8
percent
over
2011
and
by
24.7
percent
over
2008.
The
violent
domination
is
not
restricted
to
just
one
stratum
of
society!
If
on
one
hand
the
country
witnessed
the
Nirbhaya
case,
on
the
other
hand
we
have
Bollywood
actress
and
businesswoman
Preity
Zinta
who
has
filed
a
written
complaint
of
molestation
against
her
ex-beau
and
business
partner
Ness
Wadia.
Why
shouldn't
timid
women
folk
instead
be
taught
to
keep
bullies
off
them?
Something
like
Channel
V's
"Heroes",
which
celebrates
real
heroes
fighting
against
sexual
assault
or
harassment
or
UTV
Bindass'
"Halla
Bol",
which
encourages
girls
to
be
fearless
and
fight
back.
"Sadda
Haq
-
My
Life
My
Choice",
which
is
aired
on
Channel
V,
has
a
positive
and
constructive
story,
which
shows
how
the
protagonist
Sanyukta
Aggarwal
(Harshita
Gaur)
not
only
fights
with
her
father
and
brother
to
fufil
her
engineering
dream
but
also
takes
on
her
classmate
Randir
Singh
Shekhawat
(Param
Singh)
by
proving
herself
at
every
step.
It's
time
to
encourage
women
power
instead
of
showing
them
as
second-class
citizens
who
are
subjected
to
domestic
violence
if
they
dare
to
disagree
with
their
male
counterpart.
(25.06.2014
-
Arpana
is
Entertainment
Editor
at
IANS.
The
views
expressed
are
personal.
She
can
be
contacted
at
arpana.s@ians.in)