Asians as a whole are not featured on mainstream television prominently minus the odd token character here and there. However Gurinder Chadha has aimed to change this with the recent structured reality show Desi Rascals launched a couple weeks ago on Sky Living. It a show the features an array of older and younger Asian characters as they go about their everyday lives in Hounslow, West London. The show itself is not entirely bad, their are some comical moments and some heartfelt scenes, with the parents providing some comedy scenes and the plot of Shreena moving away from her home to settle into married life makes for good viewing. Apart from that not much else happens, the characters have not endeared themselves to the public as much as hoped as there are not many stand out personalities, Beardy Mo and the gorgeous Rita have made the most impact so far from the younger lot.
The thing with Desi Rascals is it will always be compared to its more successful TV rivals The Only Way Is Essex and Made In Chelsea, so it does need to step up. The reason these shows have such a loyal following is that they focus on a postcode and the way of life in that area whereas Desi Rascals chooses to solely focus on Asians which ultimately alienates non Asian audiences who wont get to see the good things about the show, which is that it does give viewers an insight into Asian culture and traditions. They should take a note from the surprise hit channel 4 show The Family which featured a Punjabi family in the run up to a wedding. It had the right mix of funny, loveable characters, real drama and gave an insight into the typical life in a Indian household in Britain.
Eastenders represent Asians through long running family the Masoods and they have certainly made their mark; the family consists of devout Muslim Shabnam who tries to stay true to her faith but occasionally gives in to temptation of straying from this life she has chosen for herself. Tamwar’s character debuts how modern Asians behave, we do drink, we have relationships, we don’t always have to go university to be successful; and then lastly the family patriarch Masood displays a more laid back approach on life in comparison to his former wife Zainab, who was all about reputation and staying within old school Asian traditions. The Syed storyline was a bold move that highlighted a lot of what is right and wrong about our culture and it was good to see Asian actors being given a big platform to shine on.
There needs to more Asian on the box to reflect everyday life; we lead interesting lives and have stories to share. It is a hard industry to break and there are bound to be a lot of complaints about misrepresentation of Asians as everyone’s opinion is different. Growing up as an Asian in Britain, you are given one responsibility to keep the family reputation. There are temptations to drink, eat meat on a Tuesday or date people who are not of the same religion, and these issues could make for some great viewing on television.
