MANY people have called me up and complained about a drama which is being aired at 8.30pm every day in Vaanavil, Astro 201.

The title of the drama is Alai Payude (Swelling Waves). For the past month, it was advertised that a drama of this nature is going to be aired in Vaanavil, Astro. It was highlighted that many of the scenes were taken in Malaysia and some of the actors are Malaysians too.

Unfortunately, the first and second episodes have degraded the Indians living in Malaysia, as well as Malaysian culture. After the first episode, many women called me to complain and I watched the second episode. Yes, it was so demoralising and unbelievably shameful in nature.

So far the storyline goes like this: A Malaysian Indian man marries a woman from India and brings her back here. His mother and sister ask her to change into a thin flimsy saree and ask her to let it fall off her shoulders, showing her breast area.

“This is what the Malaysian men like,” they say to her. Furthermore, both the Malaysian women are depicted wearing sexy clothes and holding cigarettes in one hand and alcohol in another.

The second episode was even more degrading. There is a party organised and the women are introduced to the VIP party-goers the same night of her arrival and asked to sleep with one of the Indian businessmen, while all the others are watching the scene. She is also asked to take off the ‘thali,’ the yellow wedding symbol of marriage by the women folks of the family.

The other scene shows the VIP in the bedroom and one of the family members watching through a peep-hole while this crook is trying to rape the newly married woman. As she escapes, her so-called husband pushes her back into the bedroom, again watched happily by other party-goers.

What kind of moral values or messages are being taught in the drama? Are Malaysian that low in morality and Indians in this country so bad?

In the rape scene, she stabs the husband with a ‘kutu vilakku,’ the metal light which Indians use for prayers. Putrajaya police come and handcuff the woman and take her to the police station, without asking anything from anyone at the party.

Firstly, the woman is a confused victim and she is handcuffed. Secondly, nothing is asked or investigated at the scene of the crime. The crooked husband is sent to hospital with all the family members crying out loud and one of the male members scolding them for informing the police.

What kind of message is this? None of the Malaysian actors or censor board members had opposed the storyline. Astro must immediately stop the drama being aired before it upset us further.

Our broadcast media should be sensitive to our culture and issues of the society. Such sub-standard dramas will never give an inch of motivation or inspiration to the viewers.

VIMALAH NAIR,
Kelana Jaya.

Source: The Star – February 22, 2008