The chanting of shlokas and assorted religious ditties seems to be reaching a peak on our soaps.

In the space of a half hour this week, I was subjected to a menagerie of religious invocations, mostly the 'Jai Ram, Sita Ram' variety, across three of the better watched channels. On Sahara One's Woh Rehne Wali Mehlon Ki, the travails of Parias she battles her marital woes were supplemented with some heavy duty chanting in the background.

(Courtesy: uk.startv.com)

Across at Zee, a recap of the weekly Ravan, not surprisingly, had similar chanting going on, just as Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, running at the same time, had one of the innumerable Sanskrit shlokas they keep ready for emotionally charged scenes. Does this reflect some kind of social trend? Or is TV setting one? Do viewers belonging to all communities lovingly lap up these background scores (otherwise unconnected to the plot), or does the targeted viewership of these shows exclude other communities?

(Courtesy: www.setindia.com)

If some soaps rely on religious undertones, the others make do with Hindi film songs. For several episodes, Sony's Aisa Des Hai Mera used tracks from Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna to bring about the romance between the lead Rusty and Gaurav Chopra. Two weeks ago, Rakshanda Khan wooed her tele-hubby with a full rendition of the yesteryear song 'Bahon Mein Chale Aao' in Sahara's Kuch Apne Kuch Paraye, and Sinddoor's hero last week sat through a Bollywood item number enacted by a bar dancer, before he turned knight in shining armour and saved her from some goons.

This week, Sony's Kaajjal relied on the 1942-A Love Story track, Pyar Hua Chupke Se, to spark off the romance between the lead pair. Is television relying heavily on Bollywood songs, because original tracks, tried on some Sahara soaps, did not work? Or are Bollywood songs a sureshot way of getting viewer attention?

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More on product placement It's happening with greater frequency now. For the last many days, one of the characters on Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii has been sporting the distinctive Airtel ringtone on his cellphone. And his phone rings so often, one wonders if the script had to be modified to suit the client. Another smart insertion this week was that of the Sony Cybershots in AXN's Amazing Race Asia, that reached Indian shores this week. (Courtesy: www.tribuneindia.com) It's a pity the Indian team had to bow out before they reached the country. But it was fun watching the rest of the contestants battle sullen taxi drivers, nonexistent landmarks and more to reach their destinations. Depending on their choice of assignment, they either had to travel to the old spice market in Delhi or fetch a donkey to the Lahori Gate crossing, based on the images given to them on their cybershot cameras. Even Indians would have found the tasks daunting! Raju Srivastav After entertainment news, it's humour that marks most of the non-news hour airtime on news channels these days. Aaj Tak has kicked off a show, Gajodhar Ka Koffee House, that takes pot shots at current events with the help of spoofs. The usual suspects - Raju Srivastav, Gaurav Gera and the others help to evoke laughs with their witty impersonations. But such shows could do better than provoking shallow laughter with their takes on Bigg Boss and the like. If it can achieve what the Marathi channels are doing with their shows on political satire, using folk theatre as the base, it would add a lot of value to the channel.   ****

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Across at Zee, it was better that judge Anupam Kher left the show midway in a huff this week. The downright derogatory way in which Kher had been berating the contestants was not funny. His argument that the current generation is getting opportunities too easy, while people like him struggled to make it to the top, is a bit dated. Times are changing, the competition's much stiffer and obviously the talent shows too are a product
of the changed circumstances. Why agree to be the judge on one such show
and then talk down to the participants, Mr Kher?

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Couch potato's irritant of the week - The completely irrelevant Durgesh Nandini promo on Sony. It may just be a teaser, but the 'Ye Durgesh Nandini kya hai bhai?' is getting on the nerves. May it start soon and end our woes.

(The views expressed here are those of the author and indiantelevision.com need not necessarily subscribe to the same)