HIMYM en Inde

Voici un article paru sur le site du Daily Texan le 30 Avril 2009.

 

US sitcoms find place on Indian television

Vijay Parthasarathy

A couple of weeks ago I was chatting with Ananth Krishnan, a former colleague at an Indian newspaper. A mutual friend of ours had bumped into Josh Radnor, who plays Ted Mosby on "How I Met Your Mother," on a flight from Chennai to Cincinnati. Radnor was in India on a visit and was surprised that someone in India recognized him.

During our conversation, Ananth posed an interesting question: Why is "How I Met Your Mother" so popular among urban, Indian, college-going audiences?

The answer is a complex one and lies as much in American cultural imperialism as in the show's antecedents within the context of India television broadcasting.

Indian television has a peculiar history dominated by Doordarshan, the sole national broadcaster in India for more than 30 years after India's 1947 independence. Those of us who grew up in cities like Mumbai in the 1980s and the mid-'90s watched British shows like "Yes Minister" and "Fawlty Towers."

Cable TV arrived in 1991. The unprecedented global success of "Friends" later paved the way for American sitcoms in India. Shows like "Seinfeld," "Frasier" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" have, over the past decade, steadily supplanted British farce in India.

While sitcoms are dying out in the U.S., they remain extremely popular in India. But there is no universal standard of taste that compels audiences across the world to turn away from one cultural product towards another.

Hindi language comedy relies heavily on painfully obvious visual gags and puns that must, because of advertising demands, be instantly comprehensible to hundreds of millions of Indians. Western programming offers the educated, English-speaking minority a way to distinguish itself from the population.

Repeat episodes of "Friends" - a show which many deride as simplistic and formulaic - remain especially popular among many urban, college-going Indians.

Indians would especially love "How I Met Your Mother" if they liked "Friends." For a start, there are certain overt thematic similarities: Both shows star three pairs of friends, in this case with the identity of the last member, the mother, intriguingly left blank. It's a great hook and a reason for viewers to invest in the long term.

Secondly, those of us who grew up with "Doogie Howser, M.D." now know what happened to Neil Patrick Harris. ("Harold and Kumar," featuring Harris, wasn't a mainstream success in India.) A couple of other famous faces - Sarah Chalke from "Scrubs" and Alysson Hannigan from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" - have appeared on "How I Met Your Mother."

Thirdly, "Friends" and "How I Met You Mother" deal with topics that millions of viewers can identify with. The shows are fundamentally about relationships and intimacy, themes that resonate across the globe.

While "Friends" made excessive use of punchlines, "How I Met Your Mother" is much more clever. While it's no "Arrested Development," the show definitely has its moments.
It's like "Friends" 2.0 without the gross caricatures. The chemistry between the actors is superb. Robin is well-cast. None of the lead players are rip-offs of the three male lead characters on "Friends." Ted Mosby is adorable without being cloying and Harris is clearly the superstar of the show.

And really, who can resist Barney Stinson?