Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Now that we have seen what we have seen in 1998, let8217;s take a Doordarshan or the long view at what we might, will, see in 1999.
Your children should already be watching Donald and Mickey babbling in Hindi on TNT. Just the latest international channel to understand that Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behtee Hai, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai when programmes are Made in India or at least dubbed in Hindi. Children and women folk are also supposed to be mesmerised by Animal Planet, the new channel offering from Discovery. If they8217;re not, it8217;s not because they8217;re bad kids who would rather watch Govinda happening only in India, but because the channel isn8217;t on air. The decoder for the channel is enjoying some rest and recreation at Customs. So wait on.
The film channel, HBO is expected suddenly this summer. That should rattle the reels off STAR Movies and TNT but for those who are mad about movies, it8217;ll be a real craze. Imagine: three exclusive English film channels. Insane.
There should be an invitation to arechristening, if Sahara succeeds in making it Home TV. But the refashioned channel is taking its own sweet time to go public, which suggests that like everyone else in Delhi, it8217;s developed cold feet. And please welcome back ATN. Either it had declared itself unfit for telecast, or else cable operators placed it on the injury list. Now it has reappeared from seemingly no where to increase our cinema scope with more Hindi films.
You8217;re not invited to it, but a wedding should finally be announced, sooner rather than later. We8217;re naming no names but this romance was last year8217;s best publicised non-event. If it takes place, then the nuptials will represent the biggest media merger in this part of the world. Will that lead other channels, media to look for suitable partners?
After the launch of Punjabi World, we could see others crossing the language barriers though not immediately. It8217;s such a good notion, given the saturation in the Hindi belt. But that could be part of the problem: is it too good to betrue? And will the money invested in such channels be recouped in advertising/subscriptions? Of course, if the marriage we just mentioned takes place, then regionals will take to the air faster.
Each day ESPN counts-down this one. It will be the television spectacle of the year: the cricket world cup in May-June. ESPN has rights to all the matches; Doordarshan to the main draws. This telecast should give an unprecedented boost to the sale of gensets and convertors because if there is one thing that8217;s certain, it8217;s that even dil jisko maine diya Sachin T, cannot light up our screens without electricity.
The Biggest, the Best and in all likelihood, most Boring TV experience of 1999 is something which begins with M and ends with M. Millennium. The end of history for 1999 years of plenitude. BBC, CNN, perhaps Discovery, have been planning on this for a decade that8217;s a guess but don8217;t bet against it and will put out more programmes than you could sit through, even supposing you have a broad backsideor are keen on acquiring one.
Doordarshan8217;s remembrance of things past. Has anything been planned? If the answer is yes, then it8217;s the best kept secret of the century. Doordarshan possesses great archival material and together with AIR, Films Division should be able to put together a memorable series on India 1900-1999. But will it?
Trends in programming are difficult to predict, but here8217;s some pure desi ghee-usswork: we8217;ll have more realistic dramas/sitcoms, more focussed serials than many of the present crop which spread out like Mughal Gardens of infinite and confusing variety. There will be fewer mansions in Mumbai; more middle class mohallas. It8217;s time TV in India got real.
And while the number of music countdown shows is unlikely to fall, it is not likely to rise either. There are only so many ways in which you can show film songs, and we8217;ve exhausted them all. If someone is maha smart, they8217;ll start up a live performances8217; show.
We8217;ll see much less of President Clinton,and except for a few million dollar interviews, nothing of Monica Lewinsky. If anyone claims to be sorry, impeach him or her for perjury.
That leaves 31 December 1999 8212; anyone who watches TV that night, deserves to read this column.
P.S. Like all soothsayers, the author takes absolutely no responsibility for the accuracy of these predictions.
