I think we can all agree that Indian TV is quite spectacular – and its shows are filled with all kinds of drama, plot twists, and great acting. Yet there are things that Indian TV depicts in weird, sometimes even offensive way. When it comes to relationships on some of these shows, we see lots of inadequate behavior that teaches people all the wrong things about how to build a relationship or show a woman that you like her. Here are 8 toxic relationship behaviors Indian TV is teaching us that we should never follow.
Women need to be chased
In real life you meet a person and both of you understand quite quickly whether you want to communicate more and go on a date or not. You either click with him/her or not! It’s totally different on TV, though. Indian shows make a whole deal about a guy and a girl meeting and usually, they hate each other’s guts (or she hates him) when they finally get to see each other. It’s a long process from there of him winning her over via a course of numerous episodes. This just doesn’t happen IRL!
Stalking is absolutely okay
If you like a girl or a guy, what would you do? Ask them out, try to start a conversation, or follow them around watching their every step like a stalker? Well, I doubt it’s the latest because normal people just aren’t wired to do things like that. Yet this is exactly what you’d see in a regular Indian TV drama! This is not how you approach a woman you like!
Women don’t have boundaries
In a TV show a girl simply can’t have some time for herself, especially if a guy has been a jerk and didn’t even apologize for his behavior. Oh no, he’ll follow her around, in office or around the house if they’re a couple already, corner her, look deep in the eyes, and wait for everything to magically become okay again. Nope, guys need to say they’re sorry or at least communicate with a woman about why she’s upset. That is if she wants to talk about at all. Women need space!
There’s always some female rivalry
Love triangles probably happen in real life too, but they are incredibly rare. Indian TV shows paint a different picture: when there’s a handsome guy and he gets together with a girl he likes, there will always be some other woman trying to get his attention. She’ll do anything to break up the couple and this, well, becomes the whole premise of the series! In real life you can just build a relationship with a man on love and trust without fearing that some other woman will break you up.
His family hates her
Whether it’s his mom that can’t stand the woman he loves or his sister that doesn’t want the couple to be together, there’s always some family rivalry going on in Indian TV shows. Why can’t his family members just be happy for him? And appreciate that a woman loves their family member (which they supposedly do, too)? All kinds of things happen in real life, of course, but more often than not our family is just happy for us finding love and building relationships.
There is ALWAYS a happy ending
As much as I like happy endings and all those they-lived-happily-ever-afters, people still break up in real life and they do it quite often. Sometimes you realize that the love is gone and you both need to move on, other times the relationship takes an abusive turn and you need to get out of it…things happen! Yet this is not the case with relationships on Indian TV that need to have a happy ending no matter what. Hey, some couples simply don’t want to marry and have kids, they just want to live together and see what it’s like before getting into any kind of commitment. That’s much healthier than jumping into a marriage with a man you barely know.
Honest conversations are for losers
Talking is the basis of a healthy relationship. Whether you’ve had an argument or simply want to share some happy moments – talking is the best way to go! Without honest conversations, you can’t build an honest relationship. Yet when you look at Indian TV shows they’re the opposite of having those kinds of conversation. Couples would avoid taking things out like grown-ups would do and would complain about their partners to friends and family, making matters only worse. They’ll talk to their best friends, mothers, and fathers about what their other half did wrong, but not with the person in question! Which is ridiculous and won’t solve anything.
If you’re ambitions, your husband’s family would hate you
Why is it so bad if a woman wants to become someone or build a successful career? This is based on an old-fashioned belief that a woman’s place is at home, in the kitchen, and with her family (kids included, no family without kids!). Yet we’re living in a modern world and things are evolving fast, including what women want for themselves. Good education and prestigious job are not something to be shamed for! If anything, a woman striving to become successful should get all the support of her and her husband’s family. We should scrape those old-fashioned views and let the ladies do what they want with their lives.
Hypermasculinity is romantic
Nope, it is not. The whole macho thing and a guy treating a girl like he owns her is last century. It is neither romantic nor adequate. It signals about an abusive relationship that a woman should end as soon as possible. Yet we see this quite often on Indian TV – a ‘bad’ guy turns all ‘good’ for the woman he likes, but his actions speak otherwise and he ends up treating her like her opinion doesn’t matter in most cases. It’s toxic masculinity at its finest and it’s not pretty ladies and gents!