TV REVIEW
Channel surfer
By
Randeep
Wadehra
Last week, news TV
covered quite a few political flutters. The CIC order that the RTI Act covered
political parties too, predictably, triggered off a jabber-fest on various talk
shows, while party spokespersons rejected the very notion of treating them at
par with public institutions. On NDTV, a panelist described the orders as
impractical because they “do not differentiate between financial and political
activities" and said now people would demand the reasons for arriving at a
particular decision by a political party! Whither transparency?
The BJP’s Goa
convention gave our chattering classes another opportunity to chatter. Is
Modi’s rise as Prime Ministerial candidate inexorable or would the Old Guard
led by Advani and Co., stymie it? And were the reasons behind the absence of
several BJP leaders like Advani, Jaswant Singh, Shatrughan Sinha, Uma Bharti et
al, and what would the consequences be? The discussions were as “thrilling” as
the hackneyed dialogues in Saas Bahu serials. Even Nawaz Sharif’s swearing in
as Pakistan's PM led to familiar speculations vis-à-vis the nature of Indo-Pak
ties in the coming years, with Kashmir remaining the most intractable issue.
There was a time
when Kashmir used to be the Hindi filmmakers’ favorite location for lilting
romantic movies like Arzoo starring Sadhna, Rajendra Kumar and Feroz
Khan, wherein Mahmood had played a simple Kashmiri boatman's role. There were
also umpteen Shammi Kapoor starrers portraying passionate love in the famed
valley’s pristine, snowy environs. Even on TV, memorable serials like Gul,
Gulshan, Gulfaam (Doordarshan) had helped reinforce the traditional
Kashmiri image of idyllic surroundings and simple folks. But, not any more.
Over the years, the vile terrorism has transformed the valley's image.
Violence, bomb blasts and dead bodies have come to dominate various television narratives
– both fiction and news. Although Balika Vadhu's Shiv and Anandi
(Colors) go to Kashmir for honeymoon and one gets to see the long forgotten,
even if stereotyped, scenes and characters, it is Life OK's Do Dil, Ek Jaan
that one finds more realistic. It is the story of Dr. Ashok Kaul and his family
refusing to flee Srinagar despite the terrorist threat. Kaul, a conscientious
doctor, treats patients in his clinic even during curfews, but he informs on
two terrorists who had come to him for treatment of bullet wounds. He is killed
in the bargain. An interesting story so far, but would it be able to sustain
itself qualitatively or it would eventually get mired in the TRP chasing
rigmarole, as had happened to other serials with great beginnings? Let us wait
and watch.
It is already time
for reality show sequels. Jhalak Dikhla Ja (Colors) has come back with
the same trio of judges. The participants' faces may be new but the dancing
remains a hotchpotch of calisthenics, trapeze artistry, and all sorts of
Western, African and Indian dance steps. One look at their dresses and you
sigh, "Hoo boy, whatta circus!" Indian Idol Junior (Sony
Entertainment TV or SET) is back, too. But, what a relief to watch unaffected
display of talent. And even those children who were not selected won our hearts
with their natural candor and verve. Some of them were between 4 and 6 years of
age. At this rate, in the next couple of seasons, we may find babies in diapers
and prams jostling with tweens for the prize money. Although still in its
auditions stage, the show is going to be a genuine entertainer, going by some
of the performances.
Finally, even as
registration for the KBC (SET) begins, Amitabh Bachchan announced his
debut as TV Soap Star in a yet to be revealed serial for SET. Big B obviously
does not believe that Bollywoodian-Hollywoodian skies can be the limit for his
acting prowess, and we endorse his self-belief. There are frontiers beyond
these skies, and he apparently intends exploring and conquering them all. We
wait in eager anticipation.
Published in The FinancialWorld dated 10 June, 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment