'Meri Bhabi' or 'Meri Doormat'?

Just done watching the show ‘Meri Bhabi’ (My Sister In Law), which airs at 8:00PM from Monday to Friday on Star Plus.

This sister in law, Kittu, is the ideal wife, ideal daughter-in-law and of course the ideal sister-in-law. She is a character with whom the audiences instantly fall in love just as her family did. 

I do not like this soap opera much because of how the characters on the show including her husband, Anand, and his family take her for granted and walk all over her. I do not know what message the director wants to convey to us about Kittu. Is he/she trying to tell us that this is how an ideal bahu and wife should be, let everyone walk over you or is the director trying to show us that being an ideal self sacrificing wife and bahu isn’t the best thing to do.

I have been watching this show for the past month with my mother. She loves Kittu for being the ideal woman and I dislike Kittu for forgetting that she is a self respecting individual. Kittu is in the bad habit of sacrificing her individuality. I find her guilty of sacrificing her needs to accomadate her husband and his family with a gracious smile. I do not believe normal educated Indian women can ever endure being treated this way. Yes her husband’s family loves her and it comes across in their dialogues but the storyteller misses hitting the bullseye as he shows no love filled actions coming across from her husband and his family towards her. By actions I do not mean the mother-in-law placing her hand over Kittu’s head and blessing her, I mean coming to Kittu’s rescue and actually doing something for Kittu so that she is not taken for granted by everyone.

Her husband is one of the worst kind ever and throws up many red flags which women watching the show must take note of. The director only protrays him as a loving son and dedicated brother. He conviniently forgets the husband part. The character is forever angry at Kittu, misunderstanding her all the time and blaming her for everything. I have not seen this husband smile at his wife on his own ever. He needs to be goaded into smiling at his wife by his sister. He sees his sister’s pain and is extremely sensitive towards her whereas he does not sense the hurt he is causing Kittu by showing hardly an interest in her well being or in Kittu herself. We see Kittu mostly in the kitchen or walking around the house with a tray of tea cups for everyone or with a tray of something for her husband in their room. Wah re bharatiya nari!

Anand is a very bad husband. On their wedding anniversary he gives the expensive necklace gifted by Kittu’s mother to Kittu to his dear sad and depressed sister without asking Kittu if she would be needing it. Obvioulsy Kittu’s mother is furious when she finds the necklace being worn by someone she dislikes a lot instead of her dear daughter. Any mother would be furious. Kittu is blamed for her mother’s reaction and anger mostly by guess who, the husband. That ingrate of a man throws away the gift Kittu got him out the window!

I hold this against Kittu. To me she comes across as very stupid and a weak woman who cannot stand up for herself. She has forgotten she is a woman and cant say nay to anything Anand or his family do/say to her.

I strongly dislike this protrayal of the traditional Indian family. These are values being taught to the audiences, an audience that believes every tradition and every action on TV and cinemas to be gospel.Wonder what the reality in the households of these devout audiences are.

I hope the audiences also notice how incorrect and shameful this protrayal of the modern Indian bahu is. To me Kittu seems more ancient than Eve to me if that is possible.