TELEPROMPT
Casual then, in overdrive now
Mannika Chopra

It took the death of Raida Sheikh in Pune last Thursday from the H1N1 virus to really activate the channels. Ever since the 15-year-old died unfortunately from the disease, TV has gone into overdrive. As the week unfolded, eight persons died from the virus, and swine flu is dominating the channel headlines. Times Now is treating it like an attack from Pakistan (see Rahul Shiv Shankar’s announcement on the seventh death in Pune.)

The funny thing is that the virus—I refuse to call it swine flu, which is really offensive to pigs—has been around for a few months now. When it exploded on the global horizon in April-May, TV took note of it but it didn’t really grab its attention. Even when it was declared pandemic by the World Health Organisation, by television standards there was almost a muted response. The perception was TV didn’t want to create a panic-like situation.

Is the government really equipped to handle the swine flu crisis?

All well and good. But we all knew that the virus had the potential of creating an unimaginable situation, and we also knew that the government was not really equipped to handle it. So didn’t this make for riveting daily investigation reports on a potential public health crisis? Apparently not. So, to make up for lost time, we are getting an overdose in the worst possible way—by pressing the panic button.

In the hot seat was Dinesh Trivedi, Minister of State for Health. Try as we might, it was difficult to spot Ghulam Nabi Azad. Oh yes, there he was on Doordarshan looking quite relaxed, as if he was being interviewed in his home. Later, when push came to shove, he was on CNN-IBN, on NDTV and visiting the PM to give the big boss an update on the spread of the virus. But perhaps communication was not his strong point. In an interview with CNN-IBN’s Seemi Pasha, the Union Minister for Heath opened with: "People have woken up now. We woke up long before."

Later, he blamed Raida for infecting more than 80 people. The family was appalled. Azad said so sorry, and had to get himself treated for foot and mouth disease. Meanwhile, the channels did what they do best, get the experts in. The medical fraternity was out in full force for the most part, giving good advice. Dr Bagai from Rockland, with twirled mustachios and pin-striped shirts, looked like an upper end corporate doc, appeared on both NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India.

I think it’s a fair assumption to say that few people are fluent in both Hindi and English. Bagai in Hindi was very pucca, and very out of place, and the attire really didn’t help. And given the seriousness of the topic, may be the network could have made more of an effort to get a Hindi-speaking medical practitioner. Much more passable was Dr Guleria from AIIMS. DD News did one better by getting a pathologist to outline what it takes to carry out the H1N1 tests.

Meanwhile, Air India and the recession-affected private airlines were also making the news, and getting the flak was Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel. Some channels rather pointedly asked for a bailout package for private airlines, including NDTV, which has a lifestyle channel sponsored by a company that also owns a private airline.

Do I smell conflict of interest here? Some of the questions were a little offensive, too. Patel was told to ask foreigners what they thought of Air India. Why not ask Indians? After 62 years of Independence, aren’t Indian opinions good enough? In CNN-IBN’s Devil’s Advocate, Karan Thapar gave Patel the old wish-I-wasn’t-here treatment, but either Patel was getting used to the media arrows, or he had achieved nirvana—he smiled, led his way through all the barbs, his teeth as sparkling white as his kurta.

I want to put it on record that I am a huge, huge fan of India’s Got Talent on Colors. Amongst all the reality shows splashing around in TV land, this one really touches me. And, sadly, it is the most unsung. For starters, it is not celebrity-driven extravaganza. Except for the three judges—Shekhar Kapoor, Kirron Kher and Sonali Bendre—its contestants have come from the deep corners of India, displaying their incredible talent and expertise. The show is now entering the semi-final stage. My favourites are Prince Dance Group and, yes, in the interests of full disclosure, I voted for them. And will continue to do so.

This group consists of labourers from Orissa, including some afflicted by polio, who have been performing in their spare time. And they are simply outstanding. Their last performance had Kapoor bounce up on his feet and give a long speech about India, Independence and the rise of undiscovered talent. The whole experience had the three judges and me sniffling. It was a perfect Susan Boyle moment. Boyle was the drab-looking British singer in Britain’s Got Talent, who came onto the stage and swept Britannia off its feet.