PUNJABI ANTENNA
Caught in mediocrity
Randeep Wadehra

Exceptions apart, channels often get stuck in a groove of mediocrity. If a particular formula succeeds on one channel, the others exploit it to death through unimaginative and unacknowledged ‘adaptations’. Just when one thought game shows, originally introduced on the Indian small screen by Zee TV, were dead and gone, the MH1 came up with I Want, a roving TV show wherein people on roads, inside shops and elsewhere are approached and offered gifts if they complete a task within a given time limit. 

Bankruptcy of ideas is so apparent, although Monty Singh’s informal style is a saving grace. Phulkaari on Alpha Punjabi gives tips on beauty, home d`E9cor, art, culture, health and hygiene. However, one wishes that slightly more serious issues, viz., career prospects for women in different fields and the problems working women face at office and at home are also taken up. Sadda Campus focuses on issues relating to college-going youth. Its anchor begins with a light banter and then switches on to such topics as bunking and gender equations. Excuse Me Please is going places – literally up the Himalayan heights. 

By the time this appears in print, Alpha Punjabi will be telecasting EMP’s three-episode series covering summer vacations in Khajjiar, Chamba and McLeodganj in Himachal Pradesh. Satinder Satti interacts not only with tourists but also local people of Chamba, depicting indigenous specialties like the famed Chamba rumaal and tourist attractions like the Laxmi Narayan Temple and Dalai Lama’s monastery in McLeodganj. Of course, the scenic splendour, unique to the Himalayas, is a treat to watch.