The much awaited TV serial of Amir Khan started with a big bang when it touched the chord of common man in its very first episode. There were reports from across India of people crying while watching the painful narrations of some of the victims. The victims were carefully chosen by AK from different strata of the society to drive home the point that this problem was not confined to any particular section of society, but was widespread across the geographical and social strata.
Actually the episode was a finely blended mixture of a reality show cum chat show cum journalism cum motivational serial. The editing was very good in first exposing the issue, then giving some live examples, some consequences and finally some remedial measures. This goes with his usual ‘perfectionist’ tag that whatever he attempts to do, he gives it full.
The people in their forties and above would recall that in mid eighties, there was a serial on Doordarshan titled ‘Rajni’ which gained immense popularity in those days. Priya Tendulkar enacted the role of Rajni a housewife, who attempted to expose and eradicate the small wrong doings in society like unlawful allotment of gas cylinders depriving the needy, delays in government offices for getting work done etc. The effect was so pronounced in urban areas that Rajni became an idol for all the housewives and there were some marches organized in Mumbai and Delhi against the inefficient system on the lines as shown in the serial.
Another person to have earned the mass appeal from the common man was Anna Hazare, who stood up bravely against the corrupt practices of the central government. He shook the parliamentarians and made then run for cover in his 12 days fast, which is already claimed as the modern day mystery, with many management institutes studying in detail, as to what gave the person and his cause an unprecedented success. He was and continues be a very simple man with no assets, and had gained the cult status among the young Indians.
Amir Khan has tried his hand at the TV serials for the first time and struck gold mine. In the Khan rivalry, the khans who featured in TV serials were not half as successful. Salman Khan did the ‘Dus ka Dum’ and SRK did KBC and also the remake version of ‘Are you smarter than the fifth grade…’ Both were met with lukewarm response from the vast middle class Indian janata. In his backdrop, he scores big points against the other two khans.
Amir has successfully added another chapter in his glorious career. His earlier brave moves, which were widely appreciated, were those of Lagaan, Ghajini and 3 Idiots. In Lagaan, AK believed in the potential of the story and took the big risk. As has been proved in last few years, not every movie focusing on cricket is hit. It required extraordinary courage to invest in a movie on a topic of pre-historic period with cricket as the main theme. And it was a runaway success.
Everyone knows that for Ghajini, AK did the body building exercises for almost two years. That shows the dedication of the person to his work. He had to change his life style for two years to match the requirements of his role in the film.
And immediately after, came the blockbuster 3 Idiots. Here, everyone was surprised to see his boyish image performed so well. And the film emphasized on the management point that if you have passion for your work, success will automatically follow.
Coming to Satyameva Jayate, AK has shown his genuine intentions to be a catalyst for the much needed change in the society. Now only future can say, how successful it will become. That depends on various factors like the topics he chooses for the coming episodes, the extent their relevance in the common man’s lives, and the execution of those episodes.
The detractors of AK are already saying that what is so great about Satyameva Jayate? After all, he is making this for fame, popularity and money, as he has been doing all the time. What is his personal contribution to the solutions proposed by him? Is this his new gimmick for his smooth entry into parliament? Is this his new promotion gimmick of a film slated for release next year?
Whatever be the case, AK has done it once again and that too in a style. Let us hope that he continues to be successful, because it is justifiable that when a person goes behind his passion, success automatically follows him…!
Satyameva Jayate…!
