Is Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah really a family show
This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant
“Taarak Mehta ka ooltah chashmah”, a show doing wonders on the box office since 2008. It was first aired on July 28, 2008 on channel SAB TV. This show has been climbing the ladder of success since then and has never seen any failure.
Even after completing more than 2000 episodes and having a long journey of 9 years, there is something about the show that never made me a fan of it.
As a child I never thought about it but there was something that was holding me back from falling head over heels for the show. If I really think about it now, I can pinpoint some things that I feel are wrongly projected.
A show that claims to be a family COMEDY show, and no doubt it represents a society where all the people live harmoniously like a family and solve each other’s problems.
As a viewer, it is disturbing to watch immoral things being concealed behind the curtains of what they call ‘comedy’.
Our society is patriarchal and so is the show
This show represents a perfect society of people who have normalized the fact that the protagonist “Jethalal” has some improper feelings for his neighbor “Babita”. Taarak Mehta, the wise man of the show even supports his best friend. Is this what Indian sanskars are?
Because I know for a fact that ‘sanskars’ are something that have more importance than a person’s health in this country. How is this then normal?
This show is clearly encouraging a man to deceive his ‘uneducated’ wife and go after an ‘educated’ woman. On top of that it is apparently ‘funny’ that the woman’s husband (i.e. Iyer) has a problem with it.
How many men will be fine if their neighbor tries to woo their wife?
I specially mentioned uneducated because throughout the show Jethalal insults and dominates over Daya based on this fact when he himself is less educated. That means, the show through this shows that it is perfectly fine for a man to, outside his house fantasize about a woman and the husband has no right to even have a problem with it because even the wisest man supports such a shameful act.
Not only this unethical thing is regularized, also the fact that their definition of modernity is speaking in English and women wearing jeans and dresses but not working. All the women are house wives. That is not equality. The people will celebrate all the festivals with enthusiasm but will still not send the women to work. Some might say ‘Malti’ works but still she works from home. In short, stay inside and earn and only if your husband is not able to earn enough otherwise it is okay for women to stay inside their houses.
All religions are equal and should be respected
India is secular so is Gokuldham society, still they will not include any Muslim or Christian in the group of main characters.
Abdul exists only as a small shopkeeper. The show has people from different states living peacefully but I don’t see any north-eastern family or their involvement in any forms. Sikhs are not always loud; there is more to south Indians than their skin color and accent. However, in this show this is how a person is representing the people of its state.
Television represents the people. TV has a great impact on the mind of the viewers. It shapes the beliefs of the society. We do not usually think about things shown on TV. This show is seen by people of all ages and is doing so well for so many years that people have accepted the things without questioning them.
