PUNJABI ANTENNA
Of fun, frolic and jarring notes
Randeep Wadehra

Star performers on New Year’s Eve: Punjabi channels offered a mixed fare

The live telecast of Jazzy with Fauji on ETC Punjabi was remarkable for several reasons. For one, the audience was disciplined and restrained in its appreciation of the items presented on stage – not surprising since most of them were faujis and their families. Secondly, both choreography and camerawork were better than earlier presentations. Songs by Madan Maddi and Jazzy B sent even the most stolid of spectators into raptures. Satinder Satti, with her trademark couplets, was her scintillating self. However, it was the Just chill, chill number by Parmita Katkar that de-froze the male audience.

The New Year’s Eve programmes on Punjabi channels were a mixed fare. While MH1 scheduled the grand finale of Awaz Punjab Di for New Year’s Eve – which was remarkable for graceful conduct and wonderful performances, ETC Punjabi and Zee Punjabi lined up some of the current star entertainers for the occasion. Dial-E-Punjab featured Bobby Sandhu, Navjot Noor, etc. In Hass Lo Nach Lo, we had Sudesh Lehri, Bhagwant Mann and Gurpreet Ghuggi. Kakka Nkki Time’s New Year special brought an interview with Shankar Sawhney, while Sadda Top Ten on ETC Punjabi was full of fun and frolic.

Punjabi news channels, however, struck a discordant note of sorts, courtesy the cops. The brutal beating of Sukhwinder Sukha in Phagwara scared the daylights out of not just those present on the scene but also of television viewers. The intrepid Ritesh Lakhi and his team captured the spine-chilling violence that our so-called protectors-in-uniform are capable of meting out to unarmed civilians.

Hardly had one got over this that once again one shuddered at the blood-curdling sight of shopkeepers and even innocent bystanders being battered in Amritsar, which only reinforces the oft-repeated adage, “don’t take panga with the Punjab Police.” But the media’s readiness to take up cudgels on behalf of the underdog keeps optimism alive.

Nonetheless, one has full faith in the enduring quality of Punjabi joie de vivre. Let’s look forward to a fear-free 2006, with the electronic media doing its bit by playing its dual role of entertainer and conscience-keeper.