No English Only Vinglish

It’s absolutely fine that English or world music is not there on Indian channels. We are not missing out on anything. As a public broadcaster,it is the responsibility of a channel to cater to the mass audience. There is an audience for English music or world music but it’s very miniscule. We have a colonial hangover which is why some people feel the need to have English music on TV. Hindi is our main language and it’s absolutely fine if there is no international music on TV. People in Europe or the UK or the US don’t debate on why there are no dedicated Hindi music or Bengali music channels on their TV. This is because Hindi is a foreign language for them.

If you play a Michael Jackson or Lady Gaga song on air,two out of 100 people will say “wow,what a song”,the rest of them will say that when they hear a Hindi song.

Personally I am not against any language or a music genre. Also,back in the ‘80s when one could watch English songs on TV,there was no access to internet and there was no YouTube or avenues of downloading music. The only way one could listen to world music was through TV. But this is not the case anymore. Now that people have the access,they can download such tracks and listen in their private space. This way it’s not unfair on the mass audience. The broadcasters are showing what people want to see,not what the niche wants. There is nothing wrong with that.

Channels play music to entertain people,not educate them. Channels such as Zee and Sony are mainstream channels,not MTV or Channel V. It’s all about catering to the biggest denominator in the market and broadcasters are successful there.

NIKHIL CHINAPA

VJ and musician

It’s true that only a small demographic within India listens to English music. But saying “English music has disappeared from Indian channels” is a very simplistic way of looking at this change.

It’s not just that English/ world music is gone from TV. The way in which music is presented has changed. People no longer wait for TV to introduce them to a new song from an American band. The youth discovers new music through their peers,who post it on social networking sites. All isn’t dead for TV,but TV programmers need to buck up and cater to this audience that grew up online. A major problem with modern music TV shows is that the human connect is missing. There is no one voice,or group of voices,who act as that familiar face,to tell us about artistes and their music. Earlier,a music show with a VJ

was entertainment. But now,for this generation,shows such as Roadies and Splitsvilla are entertainment too.

But it’s not all bad news — there are shows such as Sound Trippin,The Dewarists and Coke Studio,which entertain and also keep it informative. We need to do the same things with English and world music,as shows like these are doing for indie music. The presenters and producers of TV shows can bring about a change by selecting playlists,adding trivia,interesting anecdotes and keeping it fun. If we find ways to make TV shows more relevant — by incorporating social media in real time,and making shows a “two-screen” experience (both on TV and online). By doing this we will notice a rise in the number of people interested in

this music too.