SIGHT & SOUND
Viewers shortchanged
Amita Malik

TV channels and the cable networks are at each other’s throats again. At the time of writing, viewers had missed the Pakistan-India and Belgium-India hockey matches from Madrid because the two parties were slugging it out and blaming each other. At one stage, the cable operator kept on telling angry viewers that Ten Sports would be restored any moment. And there was a brief flash by Ten Sports on their so-far-blank screen to say that viewers should ask the operators to pay up and restore the service. In the end, of course, nothing happened. But viewer tolerance, and helplessness, would reach its zenith if, by some horrible twist in the dispute, they miss the opening cricket match with Pakistan, which would be around the time this column appears. Angry viewers have rung up to ask me to suggest that the government, which interferes arbitrarily in other matters, should surely step in now, and bring the cable operators to heel. They also believe that subscriber figures are fudged to keep down legitimate payments to channels, and it is time some method was found to ensure their accuracy.

The week had a lot of variety on other channels. Holi was by and large covered in a routine way, with the usual focus on netas and film stars. However, two channels broke away with some innovative ideas. Sahara Samay did an amusing act, using Sholay, complete with Gabbar, Basanti and the lot, to do a mad mix-up of Sholay’s most famous lines and songs and make fun of the elections, under the guise of Holi celebrations. Quite funny. It was, however, left to Pankaj Pachauri to bring together kathak danseuse Uma Sharma, king of Punjabi pop Jasbir and a delightful music group to do some sprightly group dancing and singing in Hum Log. While Uma Sharma explained the classical traditions of Holi, followed by a spectacular Holi dance right in the studio with limited space but with an ecstatic audience, Jasbir preferred to begin with a Punjabi folk song about Holi, which he later converted to rhythmic pop and rock without in any way destroying its basic character. The singers’ group also whirled around the limited space, with the audience chipping in spontaneously. Then there was a grand finale, with everybody performing together. Throughout, the traditional fervour was kept in focus with writer Manohar Shyam Joshi pointing out its finer points. A lovely programme. I caught up with the repeat in the early hours and sat up fascinated in bed to watch ever moment.

Like the politicians, the TV channels have also turned their focus on Muslims with elections round the corner. Once again it was left to Hum Log, with a timely topic, "Whom can the Muslims trust?" to fill the studio with ordinary Muslims, small-time traders, women, students and modern-minded young professionals to speak out. And speak out they did, fearlessly and armed with facts and statistics about discrimination. It would do our netas a lot of good to watch this programme. Where they would find quite a few surprises about how the younger generation feels about Pakistan (same as other Indians) and how they are well aware of how they are neglected in the way of education and equal job opportunities, particularly in the government and the private sector. I would like to mention in brief some other good programmes. The first part of Miditech’s BBC programme on India’s ad world had formidable gurus from the trade and a well-researched history of Indian advertising and its changing styles. Part two will be telecast next Sunday at 10 pm. While CNN has been behaving a lot like Doordarshan, particularly over the USA’s attack on Iraq, I always find absorbing its Late Edition, with Wolf Blitzer, the Tim Sebastian of CNN, putting on the screws on VVIPs. On Sunday night, he tore Vice-President Dick Cheyney to shreds, and followed up with Senator Edward Kennedy, who dealt several well-documented body blows to Bush and his cronies.

Smriti Iraani: Too loud for comfort

Is India Shining? I had my doubts after watching Tavleen Singh in a pathetic little village in Bihar, without water, electricity, health and education facilities. The village pradhan turned quite belligerent when she headed towards the isolated Harijan cluster. Neither the Road Show nor the air-conditioned Rath are likely to pass that way.

Tailpiece: Someone should tell loud-mouthed Smriti Iraani that her pushy ways on TV (she tried to take away the anchoring from Barkha Dutt in last week’s edition of We The People and butted in unasked when others were speaking) are becoming unbearable, as viewers don’t like her aggressive ways.