Add and Subtract Game

[partyon]

@Lmangla Sweetie, I forgot that Yoon Shi Yoon is your oppa too.

 

9 hours ago, kokodus said:

Wow I have just said the same exact things about their characters 7 years back too. LOL. I almost believed you when you said they changed the script midway, but after seeing that I have shipped them from the beginning, that means there have been hints from the start.

 

No way! They weren’t meant to be together. 
 

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[kokodus]

2 hours ago, partyon said:

No way! They weren’t meant to be together. 

In the shipping world we call this denial. LOL. 

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[MayanEcho]

ctto

 

Ah, more rains here...

 

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[kokodus]

The editing is soo funny. 

 

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[partyon]

3 hours ago, kokodus said:

In the shipping world we call this denial. LOL. 

 

Or:

 

 

 

648

 

 

[kokodus]

26 minutes ago, partyon said:

 

Or:

 

 

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Yes exactly. Glad that you are aware of your condition. LOL. 

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[partyon]

Just now, kokodus said:

Yes exactly. Glad that you are aware of your condition. LOL. 

 

MY condition? When have I even been shipping anyone?

 

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[partyon]

@Lmangla sweetie, what’s going on here?

 

How long is an episode of an Indian series, if this is the speed of a dramatic scene?

 

- no number -

[Ernie]

646

[kokodus]

@Ameera Ali @Lmangla Sanggu is miserable. I used to think his father is being harsh for raising his hand on his grownup sons like that. But sanggu deserves all the beating. Seriously. 

 

 

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[Lmangla]

On 2/12/2024 at 11:38 PM, partyon said:

@Lmangla sweetie, what’s going on here?

 

How long is an episode of an Indian series, if this is the speed of a dramatic scene?

 

- no number -

kekekek... this turned out to be an essay but only way to answer your question is to give context.. 

 

any Indian series is a half hour slot. however, the actual episode length is usually around 17-19 minutes. the rest of it is just ads. and they can run as long as they have ratings. sometimes, it is about the producer enmeshing with the channel. some of these producers have really deep pockets and connections. so if the current drama is not going well, it is now common to just wrap up the story and then do what is called a 'generation leap' where the story then shifts to the children of the protagonists and what happens to them when they grow up.

 

basically the channel needs to kick out these producers but they won't and so you just have the same drama airing for years. I kid you not. years. even if they stick to the same characters, sometimes, you will have different actors portraying them because actors get fed up and leave. they will botch the story in several ways. generally I only watch the first 100 eps of the drama or so and then I drop it because by then the drama goes off the rails.

 

according to some in this Indian drama forum, there are A writers and B writers. the A group will be the ones who start the drama and at that point, everything will be interesting to watch. once, the ratings are established, the A group is rotated out to work on some other dramas while the B group, the junior writers, then take over. these are the kids who have no idea what they are doing and at this point, they are writing nonsense, butchering the characters and so on. then when ratings dip, again, the A group writers are brought in and immediately there will be a change in the drama's tone, characterization and level of drama. 

 

very few dramas remain solidly good story telling from beginning to end. most people just watch these dramas as background noise while preparing dinner or having food. basically these trend of dramas that go on for hundreds of episodes really happened around the 90s when satellite television came in and channels wanted a way to have audience loyalty and less channel flipping. 

 

the other part of your question -- dramatic scenes are really amped up with freeze shots of all the characters (their faces doing omo) and dun dun music. people make memes but still, it continues because it is not only dramatic but absurdly funny.  

 

this absurd way of doing dramatic scenes really started with a producer called Ekta Kapoor. She has become synonymous with these types of dramatic scenes. like how kdramas use the word 'makjang' to describe, people here call it 'ekta' for this type of style.

 

she has an interesting back story -- basically she is the daughter of a famous actor but growing up was rather overweight and a couch potato. she loved tv dramas and so decided to become a producer. whatever one may think of ekta kapoor dramas, it is very clear that it is produced by someone who really understands why people enjoy watching dramas. basically she is a drama fangirl who decided to produce what she loves to watch. 

 

she does make some really good dramas. however, some of her choices are interesting to say the least. 

 

so this was one of her dramas that was a ratings gold and initially people were like "huh????" when the promos came out. basically she went against the grain by casting these actors (who were 35+ish) and making a story about an older couple as the leads.

the actor playing ML was overweight and was trolled for it. people were wondering how he got cast but ekta was very intentional with her casting as she wanted to try something different with actors who had acting chops.

it was about a 30 something professor who is unlucky in love and rejected for being boring and a 40 something businessman who is lonely and rejected for his weight -- how these two end up getting into a contract marriage for the sake of their families and how that turns from a "this person is weird" into a friendship into love.

even though people initially trolled the concept, it was ratings gold because the characters were really just lovely and there was great chemistry between the two leads.
 

Spoiler

 

this drama was so popular that in subsequent years, other producers have tried to replicate that similar kind of magic with other contract marriage dramas but never been as successful

 

now, to get back to your question, while these type of dramas were good in terms of storytelling as well as characterization, these dramatic type slow-mo techniques were more appreciated because it adds to the romance or the comedy or the conflict. people do love them in those type of dramas.

 

to give an example, one of the arcs that I remember was a fight about cupboard space. so he shows her his room where she will be moving into after marriage and then shows her two small shelves that he has designated for her. she does a total eye roll and gets annoyed. he does not get it and they have a huge fight. later he comes to apologize and she shows him her room and asks him how she is supposed to wrap up all her memories and put it into a few small shelves.

they then have a lovely discussion about how to share spaces and making room physically as well as emotionally for a new person in their life.

all of this was well-written but it wasn't a serious tone. ekta kapoor dramas always leans in on more makjang+ comedy+ emotion type storytelling. so a fight about shelves turns into something hugely dramatic (while still being funny) but also indicative of the emotional growth. this is done through freeze shots, dun dun music and scenes that are extended over several episodes. 

 

where this type of dramatic slow-mo techniques gets very very hilarious to watch are the supernatural/horror genre. the IG clip is actually mocking a series of very well-known season of dramas from this producer called 'naagin'.

I have never watched them and so I can't tell you what they are about but the clips themselves are hysterical. basically it is a mix of intentional bad acting, CGI and ridiculous storytelling. no one is watching because it is realistic. they essentially watch it because it is weirdly funny and engaging at the same time -- that is what I have heard from forum members. so people poke fun at it but they still keep watching anyway. 

 

ekta kapoor is trolled but she is well-known as she has had many ratings gold. hence this essay to explain how she created these weird dramatic scene type shots and music and made sure every single one of the dramas she produces has the same.

 

many other producers also do it as well now but it is still known as ekta kapoor style whenever we see it. in the Indian drama forum I am part of, we did have discussions on whether this technique is good or bad. some people really find it annoying but they also do acknowledge that in ratings gold dramas, it can amp up the drama even more to make it more entertaining and can produce a positive effect in ratings. so the trend continues no matter how many people troll or meme it. 

 

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[kokodus]

@Lmangla Woww...I didn't even know all these about Ekta kapoor and her style. I have watched countless hindi dramas during my childhood. LOL. When they come tamil dubbed.....the one you shared, bade accha lagta hain, aired in zeetamil or polymer dubbed in tamil. I remember watching it with my mom. It is cult classic. Plus my favourite one was Uttaran aka sindhu bhairavi in tamil. It started airing when I was in 8th std I think and it went on till I was in 3rd year of my college. LOLOL. As you said, we can only watch the first 100 or so eps, after that it becomes too much. LOL. Some of these shows actually come with some really strong social messages too. There was one called Balika vadhu which was about child marriage, and there was one where the female lead wants to become an IPS officer while her husband is a jalebiwala who supports her. I dont remember the name of this. Even uttaran showed about social inequalities and other things. But thankyou so much. You have opened the nostalgia box, now I have to go and search whether any OTT platforms have all these old serials. Hehe. 

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[Lmangla]

2 hours ago, kokodus said:

@Lmangla Woww...I didn't even know all these about Ekta kapoor and her style. I have watched countless hindi dramas during my childhood. LOL. When they come tamil dubbed.....the one you shared, bade accha lagta hain, aired in zeetamil or polymer dubbed in tamil. I remember watching it with my mom. It is cult classic. Plus my favourite one was Uttaran aka sindhu bhairavi in tamil. It started airing when I was in 8th std I think and it went on till I was in 3rd year of my college. LOLOL. As you said, we can only watch the first 100 or so eps, after that it becomes too much. LOL. Some of these shows actually come with some really strong social messages too. There was one called Balika vadhu which was about child marriage, and there was one where the female lead wants to become an IPS officer while her husband is a jalebiwala who supports her. I dont remember the name of this. Even uttaran showed about social inequalities and other things. But thankyou so much. You have opened the nostalgia box, now I have to go and search whether any OTT platforms have all these old serials. Hehe. 

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bade ache is really a cult classic and what is fantastic is how it is relevant even today. you should watch the initial episodes as an adult and it will totally hit you in a different way.

 

you would think a fight about cupboards is ridiculously petty but when put into the context of letting someone into your life, it takes on such a different emotional plateau. what I enjoy about ekta dramas is her ability to take social type issues and really make them kind of makjang drama without anyone getting too preachy or philosophical or shouty. that is actually very difficult to do. 

 

look at bade ache which tackled on the issues related to getting married when you have been single for so long and what it is like for those in their 30s and 40s.

 

sakshi who played the FL was initially surprised to get the offer because she didn't think people would write a lead who is in her 30s but sakshi brought such a wonderful warmth and grounding precisely because of her life experience. a younger actress would have never been able to create those beautiful scenes like where the FL cries and yells at her family and asks why her relationship status is being discussed to death and whether her value is less just because she is single.

 

another scene that was great was when she goes on a date and is told by him that she isn't who he is looking for because he wants someone young, funny and attractive. you can just see the emotional slap move across her face but she just sits there politely without making a drama and walks away from the date with dignity but also feeling really deflated. those kind of scenes would still feel so emotionally angsty to anyone even today. 

 

ram who played the ML was freaking out when he realized he was cast as the ML and not as some side character like uncle, father or brother. he had been depressed about not getting jobs and gone into this spiral of overeating and struggling to lose weight. his wife had to really convince him to go for the role and he did it to essentially play bills because they really needed the money. he got trolled like crazy but he said it convinced him to go on a journey towards better health and weight management.

 

so when the drama puts in scenes on how the ML is always ignored and even his own family want to use him for his money, ram hit it out of the park because he personally knew the struggle of being overlooked. the ML is so matter of fact bitter that he will always be alone because he is not necessarily good looking or super charming. those are feelings that people will struggle with in any age especially now with the whole online culture where you are judged on your pics.

 

that is what makes bade ache a cult classic. I re-watched it a few years back and I loved it.  those type of scenes, those emotions anyone can relate to right? gah. such feels! what I think is funny is that both ram and sakshi still have no idea apparently why people loved them so much as an onscreen pairing. sometimes a drama isn't just about good writing but also about the actors ability to make them human, relatable and just lovely to watch. 

 

646

[kokodus]

@Lmangla Yes yes everyone can relate to it, that is why it became such a huge hit. I really loved that show so much, I remember thinking that I should get married to a guy like Ram. Chubby and grumpy at first like a cute little bear. LOL. Too bad he lost weight now. I follow him on insta. Hahaha. 

[gm4queen]

 

Wishing my lovely chingus a happy valentine's day ahead.

 

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[kokodus]

@Lmangla @Ameera Ali ohh my poor sanggu. I dont know whether to beat him up or hug him and console him. He is talking to oh min hui's life size standee. I think he will have to spend the rest of his life with his wife's standee only. He should be grateful that she made them. It's helping him now. Lol.  Men and their pride. Sighhhhhh

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[MayanEcho]

ctto

 

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[Ameera Ali]

19 minutes ago, kokodus said:

@Lmangla @Ameera Ali ohh my poor sanggu. I dont know whether to beat him up or hug him and console him.
 

 

No slap him 

this drama have everything except food slap lol 

 

[kokodus]

11 minutes ago, Ameera Ali said:

slap him 

this drama have everything except food slap lol

Yeah, I think only a kimchi slap can make him come to his senses. It's so frustrating when he keeps saying he didn't do anything wrong. Sigh. Doesn't he know that 'wife is always right'? 

 

Plus his wife is being very reasonable right now that i cant help feel bad for her. I expected her to go full crazy on him. But she handled it quite well. 

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[MayanEcho]

This looks like good stuff, LOL! 🔥

 

Is this really sci-fi? 🙃

 

 

Oh yey, after site's last update, YT with emoji titles can now be posted without hitch? Cool!

 

🤩 Emojis too without tapping the emoji tab!

 

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