PUNJABI ANTENNA
Call of music
Randeep Wadehra

Dial-E-Punjab is a genuine live show. You can interact with the anchors, even as you watch them on your TV screens, and call for your favourite songs. It’s tough on the anchors as they’ve to give off-the-cuff replies to any tricky comment or request. Jasmine Bhatti does it with aplomb. Bobby Sandhu comes up with polite one-liners, while Sudesh Lehri’s humour keeps the audience chuckling. Bhagwant Mann, of course, is a class apart. No wonder each episode gets 6000-8000 SMS messages and about 50 telephone calls. Pity those who deal with the incoming messages.

Colours convey specific meanings. Bright colours are for fun, frolic and kids. Muted tones go well with sober stuff. Satinder Satti, on Kujh Pal Tere Naam, sporting a bright amber mane, with matching yellow salwar-kameez, was interviewing Pakistani singer, Afshan, who was wearing a crimson suit. Surprisingly, the discussion was sober, in soft tones, on a subject close to our hearts — the state of Punjabi music. The two talked about what’s gone wrong with the Pakistani performing arts scene, and how things are better in India. Culture and colour go hand in hand for us Punjabis, what?

Parat Dar Parat normally deals with macro-level social issues. However, one was surprised to see it investigating a murder in the UK involving a Punjabi couple. Domestic violence is a burning issue today, but investigating specific crimes doesn’t gel with PDP’s track record.