Thrillers in name only

Detective programmes on the small screen lack originality and variety, says Randeep Wadehra

Remington Steele starring Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist had all the ingredients of an entertainer

A lack of genuine competition spawns mediocrity which is reinforced by the reluctance of major channels to expose their products to scrutiny. Star and Zee organise their own award-giving ceremonies, underscoring the absence of credible neutral fora for evaluating various TV programmes. Contrast this with what’s happening in the UK and the USA. Despite all the talk of lobbying, neutrality of the juries that decide the British Academy of Television Awards or Emmy Awards given by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is universally respected. Then there’s the Golden Globe Award, organised by Hollywood-based journalists, that encourages excellence in the field of television and films.

Our television entertainment industry has become a haven for numskulls. Nothing epitomises this more tellingly than the various detective serials telecast on our small screen. Comparisons may be odious but are essential in order to honestly evaluate our so-called creative efforts especially in the field of detective serials. Moreover, whodunnits can be more easily compared with the English ones given the commonalities like democracy, free judiciary and well-organised police. Socials, on the other hand, provide no common ground due to demographic, religious and cultural differences.

CID—Special Bureau is racy, high-tech and generally convincing

While looking at the better-known Hindi thrillers the American shows telecast by the Star World channel in India have been cited here for comparison. Time Bomb 9/11 was an aberration. Not because of various controversies dogging it, but it was, arguably, the only slick thriller ever made for Indian television. The plot was taut and the acting far above par. No wonder it remained one of the popular television shows of 2005. But, barring this serial, when was the last time one actually enjoyed a TV thriller? Can’t recall? Not surprising, given the mediocre stuff that’s being concocted.

Many detective serials promise on debut to zonk our senses, only to prove soporific a couple of episodes later. Some get lost in mushy didacticism while others get mired in over-stretched romantic ‘interludes’. There’s one near-exception, though. CID—Special Bureau, on Sony is racy, high-tech and generally convincing. Its makers do not normally stretch a plot. It’s supposed to be an improvement over its earlier avatar, viz., CID sans the suffix.

However, the difference is cosmetic. But, Detective Karan on our national channel is the epitome of shoddiness. The protagonist goes patriotic at the drop of a dialogue and the plot is as predictable as a stale joke.

On top of it we have an aging Kiran Kumar acting tough in his good-guy role but he’s no Amitabh Bachchan. DD had a saving grace in the form of Jasoos Vijay – the thriller skillfully enmeshed socially relevant messages into the plot, with Om Puri lending starry support as anchor. One must admit that its earlier version and cast were better than the present one.

Star One has come up with DON—Detective Onkar Nath who has a sidekick-cum-mentor-cum-sounding board a la Sherlock Holmes’ Watson. Mercifully, he doesn’t play violin or smoke a pipe or go into long moody silences before resolving a case. Parmeet Sethi is competent but not brilliant enough to prevent you from switching channels.

Talking of Arthur Conan Doyle’s archetypal detective, there’s hardly any Hindi detective whodunnit that hasn’t been influenced by the original. Byomkesh Bakshi (televised on DD about two decades ago) is perhaps the best example of how the English original has been adapted to Indian—in this case Bengali—milieu. Rajat Kapoor’s brilliant acting often made us forget that we were watching an adaptation.

Another Kapoor who came up with a memorable character was Pankaj. Yes, Karamchand Jasoos and his secretary Kitty became household names with the former showing a fetish for carrots as brainfood while the latter, despite her intelligence, acted dumb. Though this serial too was occasionally accused of borrowing ideas from different sources, it managed to capture viewers’ interest.

Sadly, our scriptwriters prefer the easy way out. They wouldn’t dream of taxing themselves with honest research when ideas can be filched from Hollywood productions or James Hadley Chase type paperbacks. Given this attitude, we cannot even dream of watching indigenous and authentic action-oriented stuff like NYPD Blue that used to take viewers through a series of experiences involving the hardened as well as unwitting criminals in the American megalopolis.

Another detective serial that one found genuinely watchable was Remington Steele starring Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist. It had all the ingredients of an entertainer—romance, humour and thrills involving the detective duo.

Of course, The Practice doesn’t strictly qualify as detective thriller, yet the courtroom drams, the off-court emotional, professional dilemmas and cathartic climaxes kept us enthralled.

The secret of these serials’ success lay in original ideas, well-etched characters, thoroughly researched scripts, great acting backed by excellent direction. All this is alien to our television industry’s work ethics. Alas!

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