A ctivity . Hum Log: A Turning Point Hum Log was India’s first long-running soap opera… This pioneering programme utilised the entertainment-education strategy by intentionally placing educational content in this entertainment message. Some episodes of Hum Log were broadcast in Hindi for months in – . The television programme promoted social themes, such as gender equality, small family size and national integration.
At the end of each -minute episode, a famous Indian actor, Ashok Kumar, summarised the educational lessons from the episode in an epilogue of to seconds. Kumar connected the drama to viewers’ everyday lives. For instance, he might comment on a negative character who is drunk and beats his wife by asking; “why do you think that people, like Basesar Ram drink too much, and then behave badly? Do you know anyone like this?
What can be done to reduce the incidents of alcoholism? What can you do? (Singhal and Rogers, ) . A study of Hum Log ’s audience showed that a high degree of parasocial interaction occurred between the audience members and their favourite Hum Log characters.
For example, many Hum Log viewers reported that they routinely adjusted their daily schedules to ‘meet’ their favourite character ‘in the privacy of their living rooms’. Many other individuals reported talking to their favourite characters through the television sets; for instance, “Don’t worry, Badki. Do not give up your dream of making a career”. Hum Log achieved audience ratings of to per cent in North India and between and per cent in South India.
About million individuals watched the average broadcast of Hum Log . One unusual aspect of this soap opera was the huge number of letters, over , , that it attracted from viewers; so many that most of them could not be opened by Doordarshan officials. (Singhal and Rogers )