Members of the Tamil Nadu Small Screen Artists Association will go on a peaceful fast seeking a ban on dubbed serials on the 14 August, in Chennai. At a press meet announcing the decision, it was said that dubbed serials have an adverse effect on actors who depend on Tamil serials for a living.
Talking at the press meet, the President of the association Thalapathi said, “Women have always been fans of TV serials. But now, they are attracted to the clothes and jewellery worn in Hindi serials. Their tastes have changed, moved on from our culture, and it is our duty to save our culture. To ensure that the dubbed serials get banned, we are also going to get the support of various associations from both Television and Film Industries and submit our request to the Chief Minister.”
He added that though there is no law that can stop TV channels or producers from releasing these serials on TV, he said that they must approach this issue on a humanitarian basis, considering the many actors and technicians who are losing jobs because of this. It is not only Hindi serials that he targetted in his speech but also Korean serials, which are gaining popularity among households today. This peaceful protest aimed at restoring jobs and ‘saving Indian culture; will take place between 10 am and 6 pm at Valluvarkottam in Chennai.
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This is not the first time that such a protest is being held. The association called for a strike in April 2015 for the same reason. Among the TV channels screening dubbed serials are, Polimer TV, Raj TV, Puthuyugam, Zee Tamil and Star Vijay. The Telugu TV industry has allowed only 30% slots to dubbed serials whereas in Karnataka, dubbed serials are banned. In Tamil Nadu though, over the past three to four years, dubbed serials have gained popularity and occupy about 50% of the slots.