Why Anupamaa on Star Plus is More Than Just A Daily Soap

Anupamaa on Star Plus an Indian television show that airs every Monday to Saturday at 10 pm. It has become popular and for some measure is putting women centred conversations at the forefront of daily soaps. Programmes on Indian television each night have fed viewers a healthy diet of stereotypes and infighting between families.

Anupamaa is about the life of a family oriented woman, whose desires and wishes are often neglected in her household. The show features her journey from a housewife to a business woman exploring her own joys and happiness along with her family's. At times it even carries a message.

What's the Anupamaa Show Plot

Anupamaa's everyday life is that of a typical Indian bahu, waking up before sunrise, washing up and praying, cooking for the family, looking after all the little needs, likes and dislikes of the family, being a caring mother, a respectful daughter-in-law, a loving aunt, a reliable sister-in-law and a perfect wife.

The one thing that Anupamaa forgets more than often is herself. Her wishes and her desires are not just side-tracked by her family but she herself does that too.

Being the person she is, she helps everyone around her without any expectations. Her life changes upside down when he sees her husband making out with his colleague in their room on their 25th anniversary. The world was shattered for her as her first love, the guy she worshiped, cheated on her. And that day marks the beginning of her fight for her self-respect, dignity and pride.

What Makes Anupamaa So Popular ?

The show throws light on various issues of a patriarchal society. The society is happy when the woman stays inside the house tending to its family but gets offended when the woman wants to have a life outside home. This becomes clear when Vanraj kicks Anupamaa out just because she went out with her friends, after more than 20 years, and got a little late to return. This shows how a housewife is not allowed to have a personal life apart from her family.

The show also touches on the stigma around divorce that prevails in the society, specially when it is a woman who wants it. Anupamaa is asked to not divorce Vanraj even when he cheated on her. And Vanraj also advocates that, not because he loves Anupamaa but because he wants Anupamaa to take care of his family as he knows that she does that perfectly.

Anupamaa shows the life of women and how they are judged in society. Judged for being a divorcee like Kavya, Devika and Anupamaa, being called a home breaker when the man too had equal fault in it like in the case Kavya and Vanraj, judged for starting her life again after 40 like Anupamaa and her dream of a dance academy. Judging women for having guy friends like Anuj and Anupamaa, judging them for their choice to not have kids or being infertile like Nandini and a lot more.

The show raises correct questions and displays realistic situations. Vanraj was wrong to cheat Anupamaa but not for being in love and same goes for Kavya. Anupamaa is always trying to sacrifice herself for her family that is not good as she is a human and not a Goddess that she can make everything right.

Anupamaa on Star Plus also raises questions on how the society puts the pressure of being the provider on a man.

When Vanraj and Paritosh are unemployed while their wives go to work, they feel inferior because they are taught that a man who doesn't earn is not respected. They do not see Vanraj's effort to start afresh with a cafe but judge him for doing such a menial job. That is something that we as a society need to work on, recognising the efforts of people, of a cafe worker and a homemaker equally.

Kavya is highly judged for thinking about herself and thinking practical. Her comparison with Anupamaa upsets her and she doesn't know why they want them to be like her. She is an educated and liberal woman who cannot be called bad just because she can't cook for her family. Yes, she tries to play dirty tricks but isn't that because of her insecurity evoked by her comparison with her husband's ex.

However, the show also displays a supporting and helpful relation between Kavya and Anupamaa and shatters the image that a man's ex and his current wife cannot be friends. Well, we can't actually call them friends but they stand with each other in hard times.

The show is loved by everyone because it normalises the so called taboo thoughts of the society. Divorce, selflessness and selfishness, woman's employment, man's unemployment and a lot other things. The show does not show the fault in people but the shortcomings of our society as a whole which is true as we are highly influenced by it. But it also shows that individual efforts can bring the changes we want to see in the society.

There are a lot of things that Anupamaa tries to convey through its characters. All those things are directed to build a better and inclusive society that does not judge people on their gender, choice and status but also displays the problematic part about the patriarchal society and the need to revolutionalise.

Views expressed are author's own

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