TELEPROMPT
Dazzling moments
Mannika Chopra

Briefly, this week television viewers entered the seductive warmth of national happiness when the medium gave us two reasons to be pleased. First, in its coverage of the judgment delivered by a special three-judge Bench over the contentious Ayodhya issue, and later in the spectacular opening ceremony of the 19^th`A0Commonwealth Games. The nervousness that was gnawing at our innards evaporated, and viewers joyously joined in with thousands to celebrate the Games.

In both cases, television networks, known for their constant state of hype and despair, and perhaps scarred by criticism in the aftermath of the 26/11 reportage, and worried about possible government regulations, played an exemplar role.

Thousands of people watched the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in sheer ecstasy Photo: PTI

It could not have been easy covering the judgement. In fact, in the run-up to September 30, channels kept stressing that they would refrain from provoking reactions by sensationalising the issue, and desist from spreading rumours or breaking news when there was no news to be broken. CNN-IBN, in an editorial which ran throughout the judgement day, said so, even misspelling "rumour" in its TV screen note in its enthusiasm. Other channels, too, vowed to abstain from publicising the verdict unless and until it had been pasted on a court’s website in its entirety. In an attempt to create a mood of communal amity, channels coined patriotic slogans like "India First" (Times Now) and "India United" (NDTV).

But, alack and alas, despite vows of restraint, all hell broke loose at 4.30 pm when the judgement became public. The decision to make the judgement available to the media set up in the DC’s office was pre-empted by litigants for the Hindu groups, who, waving victory signs, attempted to announce the verdict in a melee that made the crowds in the Mahakumbh Mela look like little orderly school girls. It was total chaos: all heat but no light.

Back in the studios it was a virtual talking session, with guests urging restraint and reserve. NDTV’s Barkha Dutt, looking surprisingly charming, went solo for far too many hours, with Vikram Chandra having being deputed to the morning slot. While Dutt’s interaction was competent, and sometimes compelling, some of her guests seemed too desperate for solutions. Others wore the affronted hat. Practically wagging his finger, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad was at his dyspeptic best — an attitude he carried over to Times Now and CNN-IBN as well.

Theatre personality Amar Raza Husain on CNN-IBN kept complimenting the media. For that one day at least TV forgot about broken bridges and soiled toilets.

But not for long. On Sunday evening, came the opening ceremony of the CWG starting, wonder of thunders, exactly at 7 pm. For the critics, it was time to eat huge quantities of the humble pie. For the rest of India, it was a defining moment. Sure, it wasn’t perfect — Republic Day type floats, I mean really — but most of it was spectacular and dazzling and memorable.

Especially touching and unrehearsed was the rousing cheer for the Pakistani contingent. Sublime. And, of course, the live telecast by Doordarshan Sports was not really a live telecast as it was delayed by nearly an hour to accommodate the commercial breaks. Meanwhile, internationally, the BBC aired the telecast perfectly. Oh, well.

Forget about great TV or good TV, what the aam janata wants is entertainment. Falling in that category are three big ticket, franchised shows — Bigg Boss 4 with Salman Khan on Colors, `A0Kaun Bange Crorepati 4 on Sony (desperate to make a comeback) with the Bachchan, and Masterchef India`A0 with Akshay Kumar on Star Plus. Clearly, familiarity breeds television or should one say content?

Already on air is Salman Khan’s Bigg Boss 4, which has a strange motley of anti-social elements and crowd pleasers, including Bunty chor alias Davinder (a chronic thug), who has already been thrown out of the BB proceedings for unparliamentary behaviour; Seema Parihar, a dacoit; Veena Malik, the girlfriend of discredited Pakistani cricketer Mohammed Asif; and Abbas Kazmi, formerly Ajmal Kasasb’s lawyer; and, of course, there is the mandatory transgender (TGs), Begum Nawazish Ali, a Pakistani talk show hostess. What will such shows do when they run out of TGs? As yet the reality show has had no immediate impact. Wait and watch.

Yes, it was a week full of emotion and impact, and if you still wanted more of the same plus some dollops of feel goodness, you should have seen the winners of India’s Got Talent, the Chamber Choir from Shillong. Their harmonic flair and unusual fusion of the Indian idiom was simply outstanding.