Let’s face it; Indian soap operas have come to stay

Whether you come to the argument against the showing of Soap Operas, especially the Indian ones that have taken over Ghanaian television screens, from the social, religious, educational angle, or from the perspective that argues that these shows are detrimental to the growth of our Creative Arts industry, it should at least be obvious to you by now, that the showing of these Soaps is not going to stop anytime soon.

True, there’s definitely going to be a time when these Soap Operas will fade out, which we will all agree to, based on what we’ve experienced with Nigerian, Ghallywood and the Kumawood Movies.

At least the most disoriented observer would have by now realized that these television and film trends are just what they are – trends which fade away with time as and when newer and more profitable ones are discovered by the television stations. It’s all about the money, you know!

One can choose to disagree, but foreign soap operas – precisely the type that has infiltrated our T.V. screens lately, the likes of Kumkum Bhagyia and Veera, will not fade away anytime soon. Once they are garnering more viewership and for that matter, more sponsorship for the managers of these T.V. stations, fans of these programmes can rest assured that they’re not going to miss the pleasure of viewing their favourite soap operas. At least, not anytime soon.

This is because for as long as they continue to watch these shows religiously, more companies will be willing to sponsor them and this will translate into more cash for the stations.

Maybe parliament is all of a sudden going to introduce a law that will be unfavourable to the stations that show these programmes – perhaps a special tax or something; or ban the showing of these telenovelas altogether, which is highly unlikely, because I doubt they will find any sound basis upon which to do that, however, as it stands now, it’s high tide for viewers and fans of these programmes because they’ll continue to enjoy them.

Several critics may have condemned Kumkum Bhagyia for instance, that it is ruining school childrens’ study habits and that it is destroying peoples’ relationships, nevertheless, it’s still running on our screens with its poor storylines, plot and poor acting, because it attracts more viewers than those that have been deemed more gainful.

Still on Kumkum Bhagyia, many of its initial critics have now either turned out to be ardent fans, or softened their initially entrenched positions that it be completely taken off the screens. They rather want Adom TV to change the times the programme is shown to prevent children from watching it.

For the past years since it first appeared on Ghanaian television screens, the Indian soap opera has made the news in many different ways, including recently appearing in a Primary four exam conducted not by a teacher obsessed with the television show, but by a whole Municipal Education Directorate. This latter development must tell us that even the educationists are aware that the children watch these shows, at the expense of their studies.

Fans of these soap operas are very sensational in their defense of these programmes. Many are those who have pointed out how it has either saved their relationships from sinking or put the wind back into the sail of a lifeless relationship.

Many influential Ghanaians, including pastors, lawyers, politicians, actors, actresses, musicians, and journalists have become ardent viewers of these Indian soaps.

So whether you want to love or hate them, these soap operas are a big business for the TV stations and as long as people continue to watch them, they’re not going to be taken off your TV channels any time soon.