Understanding Indian Mega Teledramas through Genre Theory of Mikhail Bakhtin

Abstract

Indian Mega teledrama’s are one of the mainstream teledramas in Sri Lanka. This trend observes how the Indian tele-dramas which are being aired on major television channels are being dub only by the telecast in Sri Lanka, a popular mode of enter- tainment that has a tremendous impact upon the Sri Lankan tele-drama industry. The focus of this study is to understand the social impact such dramas have had upon Sri Lankan society. For instance, it can be observed that these dramas lead to the strengthening of stereotypes that prevail in the society. Reading of these dramas as a genre indicate that those dramas can have a profound impact upon the viewers. It is also important to note that these dramas tend to portray a culture that does not exist in their country, but a strategy that they build to maintain the market. Despite their role as an agent in opening up a socio-political reality that is important in understanding the genre, and as a mode of creating a sense of humour, this study argues that they popularise stereotypes within the same narrative which may have a negative impact on the society. Accordingly, it becomes crucial to investigate their impact on Sri Lankan teledramas. The key suggestion of this study is that the genre of the drama has preceded the teledrama itself. Therefore, mega teledrama can only be analysed by understanding the pre-existing genre, the reason why this study car- ried out according to the genre theory of Mikhail Bakhtin.