Channel surfer
By
Randeep
Wadehra
One has to hand it to the IPL
organizers for extending the festive season that normally ends with Holi. With this
tournament-cum-tamasha of cricket’s miniature version becoming a regular
feature on the national calendar, one looks forward to jolly good times throughout
the year. Thus, a cycle of non-stop diversions has come into being; when the
IPL tamasha ends, the traditional festivals reappear – punctuated with
assorted international test and one-day series – and the IPL’s next edition
reappearing… This keeps the aam aadmi away from pondering over his
existential problems and perils. Talking of tamasha, the inauguration
ceremony of the IPL’s sixth edition was all over the small screen, with
Bollywood stars Shahrukh, Katrina and Deepika upping the glam quotient despite
Jennifer Lopez’s absence – did anyone miss her? Our news channels added their
own brand of tadka to the celebrations. Experts and panelists on some
talk shows found the opening ceremony rather irrelevant to the game of cricket,
while others pointed out how cricket and Bollywood have been going hand in hand
– literally as well as metaphorically – for quite some time now. Still others introduced
rather somber element when they contrasted the celebrations with the tragic
death of Kolkata’s SFI leader Sudipta Gupta, wondering what the megalopolis was
coming to, thus triggering off a jabber-fest on primetime talk shows. The talk
shows failed to bring any new facts into the public domain; the mutual finger
pointing and shouting matches only helped the confusion to rule supreme.
Nevertheless, juxtaposing cricket with a young man’s death created an eerie
sensation.
The Headlines Today and other news channels
have allocated primetime slots to discuss cricket performances of the day. However,
even before the IPL 6’s inauguration, the ABC News tried to introduce comic
element, with Vinod Kambli and Manoj Prabhakar, sporting turbans, making rather
pathetic attempts at raising chuckles. Their humor could not even reach, let
alone tickle, one’s funny bone. Humor is a serious business. You realize this
while watching the SAB TV; where the dramedy (comic drama) like Chidiya Ghar,
peopled with characters sporting names from the animal world like Kesari
(lion), Ghotak (horse), Gomukh (cow face), Koel, Mayuri,
Kapi (monkey) and Gadha (ass), has been fairly successful in raising
chuckles, while Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma has earned a loyal
following among comedy TV audiences. Sony’s Comedy Circus Ke Ajoobe and
Colors’s Nautanki – The Comedy Theatre serve up slapstick and stand-up,
tragicomic spoofs and satires. Even as the SAB TV’s serials avoid double
entendre, risqué and ribald, the Ajoobe revels in them, with Nautanki
swinging between faux ribaldry and staid jesting.
Yet, none of these comic shows
can match the humor generated on news channels. The seriousness with which they
discuss the Narendra Modi versus Rahul Gandhi/Manmohan Singh showdown in the
2014 general elections is amusing indeed. Character certificates and
performance diplomas are handed out with the solemnity of university convocation.
Witness how, in the past, pundits had been invariably way off the mark in their
predictions of results in state assembly and general elections. But the
incorrigibility is so stubborn that, once again, the idiot box is peopled with
old and new political pundits predicting the political fate(s) of Modi,
Manmohan and Rahul – the political parties’ fortunes figure as afterthought. None,
but none, has cared to discuss the more substantial issues like the state of
governance in the country. Yes, police violence and “celebrity/VIP” killings
are covered extensively – but the tone is more voyeuristic than analytical.
Every talk show collects hordes of noisemakers – to paraphrase Rahul Gandhi’s description
of those who ask him irrelevant questions – to discuss such non-issues as
Modi’s chances of getting a visa to Uncle Sam’s country, and Manmohan Singh’s
probability of a third term as Prime Minister.
Live and impromptu dramas, courtesy politics
and cricket, have become staples of mainstream news channels, threatening the
very survival of entertainment channels in the medium-to-long run.
Published in The Financial World dated 08.04.2013
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