A show of substance

FOR those with a yen for the serious stuff, The Diplomacy Show on Zee India TV is definitely food for thought. Director Rakesh Khar seems to be taking special care to select topics and then get the right mix of people to debate upon them.

Take, for example, the recent discussion on India’s nuclear policy. The speakers included India’s former ambassador to the Disarmament Conference, Arundhati Ghose and Prof. Brahma Chellany of the Centre for Policy Research. Both disagreed with chairman of the Atomic Commission, Dr Chidambran’s view that India should sign the CTBT. "It’s not about testing the CTBT. It is about control through a verification regime," said Arundhati Ghose.

Professor Chellany felt that India should engage in hard bargaining and sign the treaty only if the conditions are beneficial to the country. "Like the Simla Agreement of 1972 we should not lose at the negotiation table what we have gained on the ground. Let not our achievements of May 1998 meet a similar fate". The debate concluded with the warning that if India succumbs to pressure, the pressure will increase.

Like previous shows where different issues were discussed, this too was forthright and full of substance. Though its TRP ratings may not be very high, The Diplomacy Show is slowly but steadily building up a very loyal and intelligent viewership.

Time to woo children

It’s cartoon time on television. What with major channels vying for a foothold in kid-world, it’s fun and games all the way. Cartoon Network and TNT have already got ambitious plans for the festive season aimed entirely at India.

Apart from the usual Diwali Dhamaka and the Children’s Day Special there are also a host of goodies slated for Christmas and new year. There seems no dearth of advertisers. Realising the potential of the toons, a number of companies producing stuff for children are already queuing up to woo children below the age of 14 who seem to be playing a bigger and bigger role where decision-making for households goods is concerned.

According to estimates, India accounts for over 50 per cent advertising on the Cartoon Network. A figure which is likely to receive a major boost this year.

Which all must be great news for the channels. Even as children have a great time watching Scooby Doo and Fred Flintstone, these channels are laughing all the way to the bank.

Shanti going places

The list is endless. Aishwariya Rai, Sushmita Sen, Deepti Bhatnagar, Namrata Shirodhkar.... It could go on and on. It’s about stars who stay on the fringes of Bollywood hoping for that one elusive hit which never comes. In the process, they turn down all the big opportunities which come their way from the small screen.

But Mandira Bedi is different. In fact she seems more down to earth than most other wannabes. After a cameo in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, she realised that Bollywood was unlikely to give her a top berth. And unlike other former models she instantly opted for the small screen.

Today the star is reaping the harvest of her good decision and is deluged with offers, thanks to hit serials like Shanti, Aurat, Sankranti and currently Ghar Jamai, in which she plays the daughter of Satish Shah and wife of Madhavan.

Mandira’s latest offering is a new chat show on Doordarshan, Aap Ki Shanti which is an offshoot of her long running serial, Shanti. Interestingly, though she feels her role in Ghar Jamai is not doing wonders for her career, Mandira is being deluged with offers. "I don’t want to sound cliched but I am really being choosy. After all, I don’t want to take up everything which comes my way and then make a hash of it. It’s good to be selective." Which explains why Mandira is going places on television.

It’s music all the way

It’s party time every Friday night as far as Channel V is concerned. The occasion: the 1998 Channel V Music Awards. Every Friday at 9 pm the channel presents half-an-hour long roller coaster musical ride, with wild and whacky specials announcing nominees in different categories.

The winners will be announced at the Channel V Music Awards show which is to be held on Novermber 21 in Delhi. According to Mandar Thakur, head of the music and artist relations, "the criterion for selecting nominees is purely based on thequality of the songs and the released by various artists during the period of the nominations, album sales, promotional tours and most importantly the popularity of the song."

The nominees for the Best International Artist (female) announced on October 2 include Celine Dion Let’s Talk About Love, Janet Jackson (Velvet Rope), Madonna (Ray of Light) Mariah Carey (Butterfly) and Natalie Imburglia (Middle of Nowhere).

In the Best Indian Female Artists’ category, the nominees are Asha Bhosle (Parde Mein Rehne Do), Raageshwari (Pyaar Ka Rang), Alisha Chinai (Om), Hema Sardesai (Bole Hum Se Kuch Na Gori), Shweta Shetty (Deewane to Deewane Hain) and curiously enough, Ila Arun (Tum Kahan Gaye Thhey).

Put on your dancing shoes and stay tuned to Channel V on Friday nights.

Wild about wildlife

As far as channels go it seems to be the case of one good turn deserving another. First came Discovery with a bagful of shows on wildlife, natural history, science, adventure, environment and people. But even as its popularity has soared, the National Geographic Channel has come rushing into India with a similar mix.

Realising the Discovery is the undisputed market leader as it has had a headstart, the National Geographic Channel is now kicking off an aggressive marketing campaign to increase its reach.

With that aim in mind it is airing special India-themed shows like Tiger’s Eye, King Cobra, The Great Indian Railway and more. The India-thrust is a result of several surveys which have shown that there is a clear-cut niche segment of devoted viewers for such programmes. And once you can tantalise them with excellent programmes, the sponsors are bound to follow.

Which explains why most other channels like Zee, Home and Sony too have special wildlife shows in their primetime viewing. Even DD seems to have now woken up to this fact and DD Metro has joined the rush with with a weekly programme called Animal Planet to be aired every Saturday.

Which has all boiled down to a free-for-all in this category where viewers come from educated backgrounds with high purchasing power whom high-end-sponsors find most attractive resulting in wild marketing wars for the wildlife viewing segment.

— Mukesh Khosla