The fundamental mantra in making an Indian television serial is that it must be never ending. It has to take till scrapped by the channel producers.
Based on observations over the years the following guidelines have now been listed as most essential.
The Storyline: As we have stated previously the must mantra above the storyline should ideally have maximum elasticity. Means the storyline has to be structured in such a way that it can carry on endlessly taking in new angles or triangles or developments or shock treatment or altruistic twists or directorial wish and that it should never get caught with a dead end. You merely cannot afford to aim at a most logical end, because you have to aim at earning the utmost revenues possible-both for you personally and the TV channel. If revenues are observed to be dipping the channel producers will automatically and abruptly end it. This does not imply that the storyline ends there.
The Characters: Following as a corollary from the above the characters of one's serial ought to be immense in numbers and stupendous in characterization. Mostly huge joint families are preferred with distant relatives thrown in as and when necessary. Please do not set any limits on the varied couple you can create which range from the granddad-grandma anyone to the truly amazing grand son or daughter vs. great grand in-law couples, if possible. You need to also provide an abundant reserve of dormant characters just to create them alive and kicking depending on the twist-wish necessity. And, also for the dreadful eventuality of the serial inevitably heading for a most logical end you can just withdraw from the reserve and manhandle it onto the constant track again. Say no to the frowns and scowls of the channel producers. Always.
The Location: You have no choice here as a result of the above conditions. You need to will have a huge posh bungalow with a gigantic hall and inner staircases leading to the galleries and rooms above. This requirement is regardless of whether your serial is urban or rural based and whether the protagonist is a computer software billionaire or even a down seriously to earth cultivator. You need to understand, you need the room to move your abundant volume of characters around and showcase their emotions. You'll need the demonic hall, because during a remarkable moment you have to fall into line your entire characters there and carry on taking their reaction close ups endlessly with the cameras doing go-rounds or vertical assaults.
Before we proceed to other crucial guidelines let's take a break. We achieve this in sympathetic acknowledgement of the nut breaking significance of breaks for a serial.