Television journalism: thrills and threats

PUNJABI ANTENNA

 By 

Randeep Wadehra

Daljeet Singh of PTC News represents the breed of TV journalists that became more visible during 2008. In pursuit of newsworthy stories they are prepared to jump into situations where, let alone angels, even the Devil wouldn’t dare to tread. No wonder, the year witnessed unusually large number of big and small skeletons tumble out of various cupboards with scandalous regularity – be it sale of SIM cards (without filling the requisite forms) in Punjab’s border districts, the sandbag scandal during the floods, sale of liquor on the Gandhi Jayanti Day, sting operations against corrupt officials in different government departments, black-marketing of cricket match tickets, and taking local authorities, including MLAs, to task on developmental issues. One of the enduring images is of Daljeet chasing a delinquent heavyset liquor vendor on 2nd October down a market in Mohali, resulting in an ugly faceoff, with timely police intervention preventing possible violence. Risky, isn’t it?
“Unlike print media journalists TV journalists are easily identifiable,” says Daljeet, “so there is every chance that someone caught on camera doing something illegal gets violent. But that’s one professional hazard you can’t avoid.” Cameraman Deepak, who has been a part of many such exposes, adds, “If you have exposed a powerful person’s wrongdoing you are a marked man.” Similarly, Rajesh Indrepall, PTC’s Ludhiana based senior correspondent, narrates quite a few brushes with violence while reporting on road rage incidents involving spoilt brats of local bigwigs or policemen beating-up a rickshaw puller for refusing free ride. However, Akshay Chowdhary of Zee Khabran says that he has never been threatened by anyone. On the other hand, Surinder Dalla, also of Zee Khabran, avers that sometimes even journalists become helpless witnesses to injustice. He gives instances of how innocents are put behind bars, especially in dowry cases, just because the police and media instinctively side with the bride’s side. Later on, when the accused persons’ innocence is established in the court it is too late to make amends for the loss of reputation and other damages. Dalla also points out the dire need for government guidelines for conducting sting operations in order to prevent the possibility of blackmail by faux journalists. In fact, a news telecast on 23rd December showed Punjab’s TV journalists passing a resolution to banish black sheep from their midst.
PTC’s producer-anchor Devinder Pal Singh, on the other hand, feels that danger from vested interests is minimal because the media works in a genuinely democratic environment. Even when his team has exposed wrongdoings or lacunae in a department’s functioning nobody has ever even whispered a threat. “If you go by the facts and stick to your profession’s ethics you are safe.” Devinder asserts. The same channel’s news editor Ritesh Lakhi corroborates this view and avers that the tendency to push the envelope must be scrupulously eschewed. Giving a personal example, he narrates an incident that had happened in Rawalpindi a few years back where he had gone to cover a jatha’s tour. Contrary to the protocol he and his team began filming a particularly attractive building when they were arrested. That particular building was located next to an unmarked office of a Pakistani intelligence agency. The interrogation was nerve wracking and only timely intervention by the protocol official saved their skin. He further states that if things become a bit awkward journalists must use tact to prevent it from getting ugly. Of course, sticking to professional norms always helps.
THE TRIBUNE

Indian Television: ups and downs By Amar Nath Wadehra and Randeep Wadehra

From just one channel in 1991 to over 300 channels (with more than one hundred 24X7 news channels) today television in India has come a long way from being a state instrument for forging a uniform thought process throughout the country to becoming a multi-dimensional platform for eclectic infotainment. Indeed, 2008 is remarkable in that, finally, DTH has replaced cable television as preferred means of access to television in most of the urban and semi-urban homes. This major shift is perceptible in such rural homes too as can afford TV sets.
In the initial years up-gradation in content quality matched technological improvements, but soon it began to lag behind. This is particularly true of soaps and reality shows. On the soap scene the ‘K’ serials on Star Plus became templates for saas-bahu dramas on other channels as well. Kitsch and melodrama mingled with most unimaginative storylines in order to not just sustain but reinforce mediocrity. So, along with the Kyonki Saas… type of serials such purported tearjerkers as Bidayee (Star Plus), Meet Mila De Rabba (Sony), Maayka & Betiyan (Zee) etc began to sprout all over the small screen. Saat Phere on Zee TV, and some others, did promise to be different initially, but soon fell into the rut of spousal suspicions and confounding confrontations coupled with the stereotypical daughter/mother-in-law intrigues. However, Baa, Bahu Aur Baby (Star Plus) remains a favorite family drama for its excellent script, direction and acting as well as the values it espouses.
However, 2008 saw the TV entertainment scenario getting over its self-imposed inertness. Advent of the Colors television channel has heralded the dawn of serials with original plots. Balika Vadhu, set in Rajasthan, depicts the plight of girl-child in the great sandy outback where child brides are a reality as are child-widows – damned to life-long vulnerability and loneliness – with no hope of remarriage or societal protection. It also highlights the need for proper education (not just literacy), especially of women. Another issue the serial raises is that of bride-purchase wherein overage rich men buy underage wives. But the serial is not a long, irksomely melodramatic and didactic lament; it is an absorbing social drama that pits retrogressive orthodoxy – represented by the matriarch, Kalyani, backed by her elder son, Basant, who spinelessly acquiesces in his mother’s desire for a male heir only to lose his wife and child both – and progressive forces comprising her younger son, Bhairon, the rebellious Gehna (purchased as Basant’s second wife) and the cherubic child-bride, Anandi, whose innocent but uncomfortable questions force one to think – something we had stopped doing during the reign of ‘K’ serials. Then there is Uttaran wherein the fatherless girl-child Ichcha – a housemaid’s daughter – wants all the good things a child of her age craves for but has to make do with rich kids’ cast-offs. Her wistfulness and innocence pull at our heartstrings even as her plight becomes a question mark on the society’s face. The channel’s other popular and substantive serial is Mohe Rang De – set in the Raj days with a female freedom fighter Kranti as its protagonist. She marries barrister Rajbir to promote freedom fighters’ cause and to avenge the hanging of her innocent uncle for which she holds Rajbir responsible. The unfolding drama has been riveting so far. But would the content quality remain consistent in 2009 too?
The various song and dance based ‘reality’ shows on different channels – Boogie Woogie (Sony), Sa Re Ga Ma Pa (Zee TV), Nach Balliye (Star Plus) etc – do not excite anymore. Even other shows like Bigg Boss (before it was wrapped up) only evoked ennui despite bringing in politicians – upstarts like Rahul Mahajan and the little known Shiv Sainik–turned–Congressman Sanjay Nirupam, and the hyped-up politico-parochial controversies. However such shows as Full On (Channel V) and Roadies (MTV) do command a loyal following among youngsters. It is, however, debatable whether expletives and street language used so freely, especially on Roadies, is really necessary. One can display macho/bindass attitude without mouthing all those gaalis.
There are some entertaining comedies too. Star One’s Miley Jab Hum Tum is certainly a good one as is SAB’s Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma. Then there is the archetypal Sarabhai… which, despite several repeats on Star One, remains one’s favorite comedy serial. Yes Boss and FIR on SAB too raise a laugh or two but it is Office Office (repeats) that still retains its attraction as a classic satire. However, kids have their own favorites, viz., Ben10, Power Puff Girls (Cartoon Network), Raven, Hannah Montannah, Lizzie Mc Guire, Son Pari, Shararat (Disney), and Doraemon, Shinchan as well as Perman (Hungama).
Launched in September 2007 NDTV Good Times, which picked up its own specialized viewership in 2008, remains the only lifestyle channel on the Indian small screen. It offers shows on food, fashion, entertainment, automobiles and all those good things that add substance to your lifestyle. This is indicative of a trend that is only going to get stronger in the coming years, viz., emergence of dedicated, niche or specialized channels catering to a particular taste. So, apart from sports channels, we already have a comedy channel in SAB, youth and music oriented channels like MTV and Channel V etc, knowledge and documentary based ones like History, Discovery, and Animal Planet etc. Zoom is dedicated to Bollywood – no, not cinema but programs revolving around film stars etc. Would the coming years see the emergence of channels dedicated exclusively to horror shows, spy/suspense thrillers, or travel and adventure-sports?
Another noticeable trend is the emergence of children as increasingly more visible characters and artistes. Already, reality shows are full of them (Chotte Ustad, Little Champ etc); now they are emerging as main protagonists in regular serials (Balika Vadhu, Uttaran, Jai Shri Krishna etc) and as stand-up comedians in shows like Chchote Mian. If these productions click with the audiences (chances of which are bright, given that kids are natural actors and telegenic too) one might well see the women’s citadel (which TV soaps are at present) being stormed by the barely-out-of-diapers brigade.
Our news channels too have gone through a lot of twists, turns and, of course, terrors during the year. In February we saw MNS goons going after north Indians in Mumbai in Raj Thackeray’s version of ethnic cleansing. May heralded the summer of shame when our media (barring an exception or two) behaved like mohalla gossips rather than responsible disseminators of information while covering the Arushi case. Then followed the (inter)national mortification when the cash for votes scandal exploded on our TV screens. And just when one thought that our politicians can’t get greedier and stupider than that Mamta Bannerjee played out the tragic-comic Nano cantata with more than mere egg on her face while Ratan Tata and Narendra Modi had the last laugh. The happy images of Chandrayaan soaring moonward had just begun to kindle national euphoria when grim reality struck us like megaton explosions. Pakistani terrorists started a bloodbath in Mumbai, and we stayed glued to our television sets for spine-chilling sixty two hours.

So, the abovementioned events/incidents, gave our chattering classes enough opportunities to spew flowery/hyperbolic verbiage on-screen throughout the year. We watched familiar faces like Karan Thapar, Vinod Dua and others jaw-jawing with politicians, socialites and savants in their attempts to give us the clichéd ‘clear picture’. High decibel levels and histrionics kept the viewers in thrall as Rajdeep Sardesai and Sagarika Ghosh matched Vikram Chandra and Barkha Dutt punchline for punchline. In all the mayhem and noise the media ignored VP Singh’s death on 27th November; perhaps no one really cared for this accentuator of social stratification and antagonist of merit. However, there is general consensus that the Mumbai carnage’s live coverage helped unite the nation, banishing fissiparous tendencies.
Postscript: - TV screens lit up around the world when the Egypt based television channel Al Baghdadi’s reporter Mantadar-al-Zaidi threw shoes at President George Bush. On American television channels there were spoofs, good-natured ribbing, trenchant lampooning and even shoe-throwing competitions inspired by the incident. And what did we have? A far from spicy Gustaakhi Maaf!
THE TRIBUNE

Indian Government and Politics by Bidyut Chakrabarty & Rajendra Kumar Pandey
Sage. Pages: xxviii+359. Price: Rs. 295/-

The Constitution of India is often described as quasi-federal in nature. Although it contains several features of federalism it retains such salient features of the unitary form of government as a strong centre and the parliamentary system. This sophisticated structure didn’t come about by accident; a lot of thought had gone into it. So far it has admirably coped with India’s humongous diversity with countless competing interests, rising aspirations of the downtrodden, various parochial pulls and pressures and other daunting challenges. Moreover, it has facilitated the morphing of the elitist-genteel-club-style politics of the early post-independence years into the more inclusive and robust avatar of today.
This comprehensively researched volume, structured as a textbook for undergraduates, deals with not just the “drier” aspects of political science and public administration curricula but also acquaints you with the transformation that India’s political scenario has undergone in the recent years. Moreover, it contextualizes and explains, briefly, some of the major issues in Indian politics like coalitions and regional governance etc. This book can prove invaluable to those aspiring to sit for the civil services and other competitive exams.
THE TRIBUNE

The rise and fall of Eurocentrism By Randeep Wadehra

Eurocentrism by Samir Amin (Translation: Russell Moore)
Aakar. Pages: xiii+152. Price: Rs. 195/-

Eurocentrism was a result of European imperialism that had reached its zenith in the 19th century and waned in the aftermath of the Second World War in the 20th century that saw the rise of Americentrism. In every aspect of global cultural-political-economic activities European influence has had high visibility. If you look at the Eurasian continent there is no salient geographical feature that divides the White Europe from the “Colored” Asia. However, the European “continent” was demarcated on the basis of cultural commonality based on Greek and Roman heritage.
The author traces the global cultural center’s shift from “south of the Mediterranean” to the “shores of Atlantic” even as he investigates this phenomenon with particular reference to the rise of liberal capitalism and the decline of “Islamic-Arab” influence. This book is basically of archival importance as the 21st century is witnessing the rise of Asia as a new politico-cultural and economic power, bringing about a paradigm shift in the global center-periphery equations.
THE TRIBUNE

Another story of Punjabi chutzpah By Randeep Wadehra

Have guts…!!! the untiring truth by Jaswin Jassi
Diamond Pocket Books. Pages: 144. Price: not mentioned

The saga of Punjabi refugees from Pakistan – peppered with rags to riches tales – has become a genre in its own right. What fascinates one is that the tales invariably shut out the blood-bathed past and tackle the here and now. This volume too narrates the true story of a refugee kid who started off as a pavement seller and is now, apart from being a familiar face on Doordarshan, the owner of a successful media production house. But before he reached this comfortable perch Jassi had to go through a rather long period of struggles and waywardness not to mention problems and discords within the family – especially with his elder brother. Although he completed graduation Jassi is candid enough to confess that he had cheated during the exams. At college he had earned notoriety as a gambler, drinker and a lothario. However, his wife appears to have been a stabilizing influence on him.
It is an interesting read but would have been better off without the overdose of miscued Americanisms and mixed metaphors. More diligent editing could have made great difference to the quality and flow of this narrative.
THE TRIBUNE

Improve it, don’t scrap it

PUNJABI ANTENNA

By 

Randeep Wadehra

It was an attractive weekly magazine with immense possibilities. Every Sunday morning it treated us to a wholesome fare comprising interviews with invited guests ranging from media personalities to university dons, a healthcare section and a brief biopic on an actor/singing star from Punjab and, finally, astrological predictions. True, there was quite a bit of room for improvement both in the content and presentation style but Good Morning Punjab (PTC News) did not deserve to be scrapped. And, what has the show been replaced with? Another set of news bulletins, which are increasingly getting sweet on the region’s politicians-in-power, especially the Badal Parivaar. If the channel has decided to increase airtime for news based productions then let these be more variegated. Instead of repeating news bulletins throughout the day (with occasional updates) it would be advisable to have niche shows aimed at different segments of viewers, viz., general knowledge based quiz shows, unbiased and expert news analysis of national and international affairs, sports, healthcare, lifestyle, childcare and women’s issues.
In Punjab, Muslims outside of Malerkotla too have started participating actively in the mainstream politics. You realize this while listening to the Ludhiana based Shahi Imam of Punjab, Maulana Habib-ur-Rahman Sani in conversation with Devinder Pal Singh on Face to Face. We were acquainted with the venerable Maulana’s nationalist “pedigree” when he mentioned how his grandfather had provided shelter to Bhagat Singh’s mother and other family members when many others had shunned them out of fear of the British rulers. Similarly, one of his uncles was arrested on his wedding day for having assisted Subhash Chandra Bose in his escape from India by escorting him to Afghanistan in a Pathan’s garb. The Maulana was quite forthright on issues ranging from terrorism to poor education levels among Muslims. He readily admitted the leadership’s responsibility for the community’s backwardness and current plight.
PTC Punjabi’s family based game/reality show, Ghar Ghar Vich Ghuggi, anchored by the well known actor Gurpreet Ghuggi, is bound to climb up the TRP ladder. The team selects two couples and visits their homes and involves them in question-answer sessions, a bit of “search the treasure” exercise and a sporting competition. The light banter, garnished with Ghuggi’s trademark asides, keep the participants and viewers smiling. However, the manner in which cash prizes are showered after each correct answer reminds one of UTV Bindass’s hit road show Cash Cab. Certain ideas are infectious indeed. But, then, who is complaining?
Episodes of Chal Mere Naal are being repeated and we should thank PTC News for the same. In travelogue format, this show features famous as well as little known places of tourist interest. The innate beauty of the historical, religious and mythological sites in different parts of the country has been brought out with the help of competent camerawork and a fluent narrative that is an attractive mix of folklore, mythology and historical facts. This series has great archival as well as repeat value. Such shows also provide knowledge to youngsters about India’s history and its rich cultural heritage. We should have more of such tele-series.
Finally, all credit to Zee Khabran (Zee Punjabi) for its extensive and analytical reportage on the Mumbai terrorist attack. Its access to the national level network of its sister channel Zee News came in handy while keeping the region’s viewers informed about the happenings in Mumbai and national as well as international reactions thereto.
THE TRIBUNE

Ushering in quality infotainment

PUNJABI ANTENNA

 By 

Randeep Wadehra

The twin channels – PTC Punjabi and PTC News – haven’t taken much time to capture the lion’s share of the viewership, thus ousting the Zee group from its perch at the top. The reasons are clear enough. Almost the entire creative-cum-administrative staff, including many journalists, has migrated to PTC from Zee. Rabindra Narayan and Rajiee M. Shinde – PTC’s President and COO respectively – were formerly Zee Punjabi’s top brass. Moreover, the PTC group has bagged exclusive rights for live telecast of Gurbani from Harmandir Sahib, thus sending the TRPs zooming to the stratosphere.

Quality freelance documentaries like Wing Commander (retd.) A.S. Bedi’s on writer-poet-philosopher Devinder Satyarthi – telecasted in November – help enhance the channel’s popularity. Moreover, PTC News has become the most extensive news network in the region. It’s impacting the grassroots level governance with its investigative reportage, sting operations, stirring talk shows and well researched documentaries. One can gauge the intensity of this impact from the frequency of choicest gaalis and even violence resorted to by those exposed – for instance the liquor vendors in Mohali caught on camera selling hooch on 2nd October almost bashed up the reporter.
This column has been relentlessly pitching for quality TV dramas and soaps. On 8th November PTC Punjabi began two daily serials that are set in Pakistani milieu. The first one, Najiah, is based on Razia Butt’s bestselling novel. It depicts changing relationships which become fickle with the passage of time. The story’s main protagonist is a girl named Najiah, who belongs to a poor family and goes to great lengths in order to give happiness to her family. Shot extensively in Mauritius, the serial traces the trials and tribulations of Najiah. The other serial, Koi Lamha Gulab Ho has Faiqa as its protagonist. She is secretary to a rich and manipulative woman who uses every trick to marry off her cancer-afflicted son. Although the tempo of both the serials is slow, the manner in which various characters’ mindscapes are explored is interesting. However, one wishes that the language was Punjabi. Would the Punjabi producers from this side of the border take up the challenge?

The Masters:-Sitaare Punjab De debuted on PTC Punjabi with a curtain raiser on 15th November, and Hans Raj Hans as the first featured maestro. He regaled the audience with Sufiana Kalaam sung in different styles, viz., Khayal (Megh Raag), Qafee and Quawwali. What gave heart was the majority presence of youngsters among the audiences who listened to the singer with rapt attention – sans impromptu bhangra, untimely clapping or uncalled for heckling, whistling and hooting. Another striking feature of the show was the old world mannerisms and courtesies coupled with the charming ambience created by the imaginatively fashioned set and camerawork. It appears that the long lost Punjabi tehzeeb is being resurrected. If it happens, and endures, substantial credit should go to The Masters.

The Miss PTC Punjabi 2008 grand finale proved to be grand in every sense of the term: Imaginatively created onstage ambience, fantastic performances by the contestants as well as the invited singing stars, great camerawork with compere Satinder Satti in her elements (barring a few slips of tongue – the professional hazard live shows’ anchors face) whose humorous interaction with the audience, pithy verses et al kept the cold induced stupor at bay. This extravaganza was qualitatively miles ahead of its earlier avatars as Miss Zee-ETC Punjaban. And, now the channel is organizing a world beauty pageant.
THE TRIBUNE