The Bangla drama ‘Romeo Juliet’ (2021) begins with two males on a bike teasing a burkha-clad girl. They cry out, “firecracker!” Sooner or later, the girl falls in love with surely one of the males – a abnormal final consequence of a blatant act of eve-teasing it looks.
The drama garnered 12 million views so a long way but it’s riddled with controversial scenes.
‘Romeo Juliet’ is no longer by myself. It’s surely one of many dramas with questionable and controversial love memoir narratives. This model of portrayal of “love” — where, to illustrate, the girl “falls in love” with poisonous masculinity – in most cases dominates Bangla dramas.
Even the golden generation of Humayun Ahmed’s television dramas of the late Nineties, which supplied light-hearted storylines and easy dialogue on cowl, moreover got here with its concerns. In subtle techniques, some of Humayun Ahmed’s work depicted unfair vitality dynamics in relationships between the man and the girl. To illustrate, in ‘Amar Ache Jol’ (2008), two sisters tumble in love with a condo assist, and surely one of the sisters has an affair with him.
If we’re to take an mammoth stumble on into in the community-produced dramas, then it looks as despite the indisputable fact that problematic relationships bask in repeatedly had a assemble 22 situation in it.
In the 2010s, the shift to romantic storylines in Bangla mainstream drama took place – ‘Shubornapur beshi dure noy’ (2014), ‘Monsuba Junction’ (2012) and ‘Othpor’ (2014) are one of the examples – and sustained its recognition into the 2020s.
To illustrate, ‘Pricey Like’ (2022) garnered 20 million views on YouTube which contains the end of love interests. Meanwhile ‘Tui Jibon’ (July 2024) garnered 13 million views, which portrays double suicide due to of unrequited love.
A particular sample in the portrayal of romance in these dramas exists. There is more equivalent to teacher-student romantic relationships in ‘Jora Shalik’ (2024). Some moreover normalise stalking equivalent to in ‘Evabeo Valobasha Hoy’ (2024) and inform suicide to manipulate a family equivalent to in ‘Mountainous Marriage ceremony’ (2024).
The problematic tropes
The trendy dramas that describe problematic issues in most cases apply a formulaic script that enhances gender stereotypes, poisonous relationships and home abuse.
Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and Anisul Hoque’s assortment ’69’ (2008) portrays home abuse. On the other hand, the female victim doesn’t take the incident severely – this no longer handiest offers the target market a half-hearted exploration of home abuse but moreover downplays the seriousness of such poisonous romantic relationships.
In Mahmud Mahin’s ‘Pricey Like,’ that comprises Mushfiq R Farhan and Tanjin Tisha, the female love hobby is murdered as she doesn’t reciprocate emotions for her cousin.
There is a more scandalous enviornment in the storytelling. Dramas in most cases inform lead actors the inform of suicide as a means to manipulate their companions. This trope is seen in dramas equivalent to ‘Mountainous Marriage ceremony’ starring Musfiq R Farhan, Sadia Ayman, Kochi Khondokar and Musafire Syed Bachchu and directed by Md Toufiqul Islam. The female lead refuses to gain married, telling her family that she would die by suicide if they forced her.
Then there is ‘Tui Jibon’ – it follows the memoir of a college student from a excellent family who falls in love with an unemployed bachelor. Each the major characters die by suicide as they feel society would no longer accept them attributable to their class difference. On the other hand, at no point in the memoir stop the characters have interaction in a conversation to take care of the project at hand.
“Storytellers bask in this tendency to stumble on their inner thoughts through their artwork. Fiction is a reflection of our custom. On the other hand, social media trends bask in distorted this connection between custom and fiction by popularising controversial matters worship these we stumble on in dramas,” acknowledged director Masud Hasan Ujjal. He has directed ‘Unoponchash Batash’ (2020) as effectively as many Bangla dramas equivalent to ‘Je Jibon Phoring-er’ (2010).
The controversial issues seen in these dramas stop no longer entirely come from the scriptwriters’ stop. The director in most cases has total alter over the storyline and characters.
“There is an imbalance by formulation of moral storylines in the previous 18-Two decades. Scriptwriters in most cases provide what the administrators question of them, and actors apply the role they are assigned to,” explained Masud.
He persisted “The lack of social sense and duty leads to such fiction.”
Beyond romance
This normalisation of poisonous tropes did no longer protect contained in the boundaries of romance despite the indisputable fact that. It has unfold to genres equivalent to comedy.
Frail dramas outdated to work handiest with situational comedy and eloquent dialogue shipping. On the other hand, leaning on the same slapstick humour, administrators inform the female characters as a enviornment for humiliation while rising a unhappy representation of on the present time’s adolescence.
To illustrate, ‘X Boyfriend’ (2019), directed by Kajal Arefin Ome, reveals the male lead tugging on his accomplice’s outfit, policing her to quilt up. With a amusing tune taking part in in the background, the scene appears to be like to be supposed to be taken as a humorous moment.
What could well be performed to rein in problematic deliver? “There wishes to be a collective effort to reform this mindset of ‘views are the total lot’,'” told Masud, adding, “The mass target market will after all watch what is available. Directors, actors and scriptwriters should always swap the provision of deliver which ends in a swap in question.”
By rising storylines which demean, belittle and abuse females in romantic relationships, administrators and scriptwriters validate poisonous relationships which in most cases feed off patriarchal values in precise lifestyles.
“Directors should always be more gender beautiful about their storylines. Boy meet-girl experiences are feel correct but you might perhaps well bask in to undergo in thoughts if a girl says no, then the ideal respond is no longer any,” acknowledged Director Shibab Shaheen. He directed movies equivalent to ‘Kacher Manush Dure Thuiya’ (2024).
Now more than sooner than, creators should always pay ticket to the very precise and detrimental penalties of their work; and work on narratives to promote equal and healthy romantic relationships reasonably than continue the poisonous legacy of Bangla drama.
