theguru.sg
Why Channel 5's "Tanglin" has failed: A SG Indian
Perspective
Posted by The Guru | 14 - Mar - 2016
Firstly, I am genuinely happy thatTanglinhas allowed Mathialagan, James Kumar and Eswari Gunasegar to make the crossover from
Vasantham to Channel 5. I am almost tired of watching Malay and Indian Actors play the token comedian role in Channel 5 productions.
To be honest, if not for SG 50, I doubt this would have happened.
All our Indian actors are doing a spectacular job in their respective roles and this article is not about them. In fact, I think all the other
cast members are doing an excellent job as well. For the record, I do enjoyTanglin.However, I do not find it any different from a Channel
8 serial. As a Channel 5 drama, I expected more and that is why it has failed.
Image Credit: Twitter
According to Mathialagan, who plays a doctor called Bhaskar, all 4 families in the drama are given "equal screentime and emphasis" in
the storyline for the first time. James Kumar, who plays a trainee surgeon called Arjun, stated that characters from other races are
seldom explored in depth on Channel 5 shows and that will not be the case inTanglin.
I have spoken several fans ofTanglin.The common factor is that while they love the drama, they do not connect or relate to theBhaskars(
The Indian Family in the drama ). Most of them, sadly, do not care that they cannot relate to the first Indian family apparently casted
(explored) in depth on Channel 5. A few even accused me of making a big deal out of nothing.
We Indians are the minority in this country. That is a fact. But, if we just accept everything that comes our way, we will soon find
ourselves with nothing. There are certain things that we have to stand our ground on. It could be trivial. But, many trivial issues will be
significant.
Image Credit: Twitter
My point is very simple. What is the difference between a Tamil drama on Sun TV and a Tamil drama on Vasantham? What is the
difference between a US drama series and a local drama series?
Where local dramas are concerned, we relate to them better. Further, media plays a bigger role than merely entertaining. While we
claim to live in a multi-racial society, the fact remains that the majority has very little understanding of the minority races.
Almost every Singaporean Indian would have had the experience of meeting someone who thought we speak " Indian" ( Not realising the
difference between 'Indian' and 'Tamil' ) and that Deepavali/Diwali is our New Year. They have no idea what Pongal means. On the other
hand, most of us would know the Lunar New Year, the Ghost Month (7th Month), Mid-Autumn (Moon Cake). Heck, some of us would even
know the Li Chun Day ( Auspicious time to deposit money in the bank)
Honestly, I do not blame them. I just make sure I educate and inform them. As the mainstream media channel, I would like to think that
they have that responsibility as well.
This is a drama that claims to celebrate the Kampong spirit. The least they could have done is to get the characterisation right. They
should have used this as an opportunity to allow people to understand how an Indian family functions and the issues that an Indian
family in 2015 faces.
Instead, the first time the Mainstream National TV channel casts an Indian family, they happen to be extremely wealthy and live in multi
story house. The father is a doctor. The son is a trainee surgeon. They have returned from India. They eat dinner with fork and spoons.
They have scones for breakfast. The individual sub plot that the Indian family deals with happens to be arranged marriages.
They might as well have casted an expat Indian family. Judging by the way our country is going, that would have been more realistic.
Image Credit: Toggle
Perhaps the scriptwriters should have done some proper research. While I can only hope that the channel takes this as constructive
feedback, I am not sure if we will ever have another multi-racial drama. Perhaps, we might have to wait till SG100.
*This is the personal opinion of the writer. Should you disagree with the opinion, feel free to leave a reply on this page.*
http://tv.toggle.sg/en/channel5/shows/tanglin-tif/features/tanglin-stories-about-5336994
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