Watching the pilot as well as the second episode of Anil Kapoor's new TV series 24 was a refreshing change for Indian TV viewers. But, there were loads of things that were new, in the sense that such things were unheard of previously in relation to TV soaps, 24 of which are:
(1) You
cannot have a title that short and expect the show to work. A 4-letter abbreviation is the bare minimum. Plus, there are no K's in 24.
(2) You
cannot fit in events spanning one hour in real time into an hour long episode. Either
you stretch, say, a 5 minute Saas-Bahu confrontation into an hour long saga accompanied
by drum rolls, customized music and people turning their heads thrice in shock,
or you try and leapfrog 7 years in a matter of one episode.
(3) You cannot have an Indian lady in your show (Tisca
Chopra) portraying a wife who is audacious enough to vent her anger to her
husband.
(4) You cannot show a hot female assassin making out
with a male assassin in the washroom on board a flight before killing him. That
10 seconds long clip would qualify as porno in Indian TV. Plus, this has the
eerie undertones of female empowerment: travelling alone, choosing your partner,
taking up employment opportunities (that too of an assassin) and shit.
