Revamp the vamp

Bad characters on the small screen often remain mere caricatures and do not evolve over a period of time, observes Randeep Wadehra

Most of Kaveri’s intentions in Saat Phere are expressed through her eyes

AS far as our soap operas are concerned, bad girls are on the ‘vampage’. Every entertainment channel, old or new, regularly comes up with tearjerkers wherein vamps proliferate. Family dramas revolve around petty and not-so-petty intrigues, making vamps indispensable. Negative characters, especially women, always make a narrative interesting; their evil deeds help underscore the protagonists’ goodness.

Battles between the two opposites keep television viewers glued to their couches. But often, negative characters do not get the critics’ attention they deserve. Hence, serial-makers, invariably do not insist upon developing and publicising vamps and villains on a par with heroes and heroines. But it is time to have a look at this relatively ignored segment of entertainment.

Meet Gargi Sehgal (Tumhari Disha). She is archetypal vamp of today’s small screen. Her string-permed hair dangling like deadly reptiles, kohl-encircled eyes flashing fire, flared-up nostrils, and a contorted mouth spewing malice, she goes about her business with the perseverance of a she-wolf. Her quarry? D. K. Sehgal and his present wife Disha. As if this is not enough, the serial has another evil woman in Vasudha Vashisht who too has scores to settle with the couple.

She, like all self-respecting vamps of our tinsel world, loves to screech like a banshee while resorting to exaggerated mannerisms. While watching these two, one begins to wonder whether television would ever break free of the Bollywood syndrome that made Manorama, Lalita Pawar, Shashikala, Bindu et al some sort of role models for actresses aspiring to make their mark as vamps.

Shouldn’t characters evolve with the passage of time? Must they remain mere caricatures? Doesn’t the stagnation in characterisation indicate poverty of ideas? Surely a smiling, whispering vamp too can be menacing enough to give heebie-jeebies to viewers?

Not that attempts are not being made to lend some complexity to a bad woman’s role. For example, Kaveri in Saat Phere impresses as a diabolical daughter-in-law. She changes colours faster than a chameleon. She smiles and keeps her tone soft to hide her designs; most of her malevolence is articulated through her eyes. She loves to manipulate people by playing on their fears (Shubra) or on their weaknesses (Karan); and doesn’t mind using her own parents as pawns in her deadly mind-games.

Then there is Yana in Sarrkkar, who too is adept at deception. Soft-spoken, sophisticated and evil personified, she knows how to ingratiate herself with her victims: be it the matronly CM Priyamvada, the daughter-in-law Shweta and even Urvashi, the elder daughter-in-law, who has been at the receiving end of Yana’s machinations. Her strong point is her husky voice and a rather cherubic face. Likewise, the lovely Ameesha in Rabba Ishq`85 and glamorous Tanisha in Mamta resort to discreet-but-dreadful vamping.

Another dimension added to these characters is the motive or justification. Ambition remains supreme. While Vasudha aspires to become filthy rich by means fair or foul, Babita, the maidservant in Miilee, dreams of escaping her poverty and getting rich quick by marrying Vishal Rastogi’s brother-in-law, Sagar Mehra.

Sensing that Miilee, Vishal Rastogi’s daughter from first marriage and potential heiress to his fortune, would steal a march over her, Babita teams up with Neena to drive her out of the house.

Yana wants to avenge the real or imagined wrongs done to her family by Priyamvada’s dead husband. Kaveri too feels that she has been wronged by her in-laws and wants to take it out on the two sisters Saloni and Shubra. Then there are individual phobias. Neena knows that she has married Rahul by using the subterfuge of pregnancy. She fears that sooner or later the truth will be out and Rahul might return to his first love Miilee. Hence she accepts Babita as her ally against their common enemy.

All this makes for dull reading and duller viewing as such characters have been around. Therefore, it is time to revamp the screen vamp. Take her out of the confines of domestic conspiracies and let her loose on a much larger canvas. For example, she could be a terrorist, a vile politician, an evil scientist, a schizophrenic poetess or a terrible tycoon. Her range could be transnational or national. However, even an ordinary housewife leading multiple lives, colourful and evil, could be an interesting proposition if handled properly. The 21st century viewer demands wider range of entertainment that cannot be provided through stale ideas and hackneyed plots. It’s time for some genuine creativity. Are the captains of our entertainment industry listening?

First published in The Tribune dated February 19, 2006