The symbiotic relationship between iconic characters and TV shows

The whole world drowned in sorrow when Jon Snow was killed by his own Night Guard peers in ‘Game of Thrones’. Closer home, similar hysteria was seen when Mihir Virani (the very popular character in ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ played by Amar Upadhyay) was ‘apparently’ killed in the show. So inundated was Balaji Telefilms with requests to bring back Mihir that the producers had to resurrect him, albeit suffering from amnesia (for some complex explanation for the character’s disappearance). Mihir’s wife, Tulsi (Smriti Irani), became the mainstay of the series. 

Most of the lead team in long-running crime drama ‘CID’ have become well-recognised faces in the country. Led by ACP Pradyuman (Shivaji Satam), Senior Inspector Abhijeet (Aditya Srivastav), Senior Inspector Daya (Dayanand Shetty), Dr Salunkhe (Narendra Gupta) – so strong are these actors’ association with the series that people have not been able to accept them in any other role. 

If one said Dilip Joshi, people might not know him, but mention Jethalal and the whole nation will recognise the lead character from India’s longest running sitcom, ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’. Jethalal’s screen wife Daya (aka Disha Vakani) is equally famous. 

Fans of the supernatural series ‘Naagin’ were disappointed to know that Mouni Roy (the titular Naagin of the Seasons 1 and 2) would not be a part of Season 3 of the series. 

The cherubic Avika Gor became the nation’s darling as little Anandi, the child bride in ‘Balika Vadhu’. So popular had Avika became that people found a disconnect with the grown-up Anandi (played by two actresses – Pratyusha Banerjee and Toral Rasputra). 

Shows on Hindi GECs abound with such iconic characters, who become the main attraction point and bring in the audience stickiness factor. 

Building iconic characters 

According to Anirudh Pathak, Producer, Writers Galaxy Studio, the reason for any character’s success is the connection of a character with the audience. Every audience tries to connect with the character in some or the other way. Be it a domicile woman, a strong headed man or a God like Shiva. The audience tries to find connect with them which involve them with the characters. “A character like Mahadev could connect with the audience simply on the basis of belief. The audience had a bhakti connect in this case,” he added. 

 

 

 

 

Sukesh Motwani, Producer, Bodhi Tree Multimedia, believes that iconic characters get built when the ideals, principles, quirks and story of a character are in sync with the zeitgeist thought prevailing in society at that point. He added, “There has to be something deeply endearing, emotionally palpable, and entertaining about this character. This character has to provide a voice for some kind of emotional need or latent need or hunger in a huge part of the viewer for the character to become iconic.” 

“Undoubtedly, it will also be a function of what the actor/actress playing the character lends to it in terms of X factor, dialog delivery style, smile or some aspect of their body language. The intangible ‘chemistry’ that an actor can create with the viewer whilst playing a certain character is impossible to predict,” he further said. 

“The success is an aspiration, because be it Tulsi or Mihir, it has always been an aspiration to be like her or him. I think when the audience aspires, they look at somebody as their role model and that’s what makes the character iconic,” remarked TV producer Sandiip Sikcand. 

The writer’s hand 

According to Sikcand, such iconic characters are not crafted on paper. He explained, “I think paper is half the work done, the other half comes from the performance of a respective actor or actress who is living the character. Every iconic character that you see, the actors have played the emotions and projected the feelings so well that the actors became the characters and the characters got blended into the actors. I think it’s a combined effort of good writing, good conceptualisation and good acting.” 

For Anirudh Pathak, there is no fixed formula to create characters. It depends from script to script and from character to character. Each country functions in a different way to connect with characters. For example, a show like ‘Friends’ is still consumed by the masses because the teens of the present generation still connect with those characters. “There is no rocket science method used for ‘Friends’ success, their characters resonate to a common regular teen across the globe,” he mentioned. 

In India’s context, a household character connects with the audience. According to Pathak, “A writer needs to think as a commoner to resonate with the audience. People are particular when it comes to their land, their language. They take pride in it. If a character behaves like one of them, the connectivity is established.” 

Elaborating further, Bodhi Tree’s Motwani felt that the writer had to be conscious in some ways about how his/ her characters’ issues and dilemmas were relatable and deeply interesting for the target viewer. Also, the writer has to have interesting and indicative cues for the actor to pick up in terms of body language and style and tonality, etc. “The director, too, contributes by adding to and playing with the writer’s material when the actor rehearses and works on the part in the first few days of the shoot,” he added. 

Adding to the show’s popularity 

Pathak firmly believes that a character makes the show because people connect with the character and hence, the show. Elaborating on this, he said, “A ‘Devon Ke Dev Mahadev’ would not have been a success if the viewers didn’t connect with Mahadev. It was their belief in the character of Mahadev that they were connected to the show.”  

“I would love to believe that it works both ways,” said Sikcand, adding, “In the beginning, the promotion of the show and the compelling nature of the show’s storyline are the factors that drive the viewers to sample the show and sense the character’s journey and build an interest in the character’s dilemmas and storyline. Later, the character’s endearing and emotional appeal drives the story’s twists and viewer interest.”  

In an earlier interaction with Adgully, BP Singh of Firework Productions had called characters the biggest assets of a show and added that they played a very important role. Talking about ‘CID’, he had said that people primarily came to watch the characters and then they got stuck to the storyline. 

What happens when an iconic character dies or leaves the show? 

Parting is always painful, and so is the departure of a popular character from a show. Often times the actor wants out of the show for various reasons – to pursue other roles when Bollywood beckons, ‘creative’ differences, money angle, or in the rare sad case, death of the actor playing the role. So what happens when an iconic character goes missing from the show – permanently, or is replaced? 

Sikand noted that while the producer and makers know why the actor has been replaced, there have to be some reasons which are irreplaceable. 

Motwani admitted that there is flak and a sense of disappointment when a popular character exits the show. In some cases, where the characters and their popularity have overshadowed the theme of the show, the show might fade away gently, he added. “But in some very interesting cases, like ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai?’, the key characters moved out and a new couple was introduced and the beauty of the theme and powerful DNA of the show’s storytelling was so compelling that the new couple was also accepted,” Motwani pointed out. 

On a different note, Pathak of Writers Galaxy Studio felt that we are yet to achieve a timeless character in India. “We make shows keeping in mind the current state of the audience and the nature of people. ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ was a success because it came in an era relatable to its time back then. We draw connect with the character, but when it dies or leaves the show, we bring in a replacement. Nowadays it’s a run of the mill only for ratings. If the show needs a character to be offloaded, it should have enough will and power to run on its own,” he concluded.