Anchor away

Makes you very, very angry. Take Mr Headlines Today, aka, the man with all reasons for all seasons. He had Srija and Shirish, the newly wed runaway bride and bridegroom from actor Chiranjeevi, at his mercy. Shirish slumped in his chair from the onslaught, Srija tottered on the brink of falling off hers. Mr HT asked Srija what she wanted from Chiranjeevi and when she replied assurances for their safety, he turned to Srija8217;s uncle who in different ways promised her 8220;it8217;s over 8212; come back8221;. Everyone watching the sequence remembered Rizwanur and thought, well, maybe it isn8217;t over, maybe it8217;s just begun.

Not Mr HT 8212; he was anchor away: aggressive, impatient of Srija8217;s refusal to kiss and make up with Daddy when he, the anchor was trying so hard. How much more time do you need? Do you really have the ability to make a judgment? HT took it upon himself to reassure her that nothing would happen now 8212; you8217;re already in trouble, you8217;ve deceived your parents 8212; when she didn8217;t run out of the studio to catch the next plane to papa, he added, so your happiness is more important than your family8217;s? Tell me what more does your family have to do? What about the reputation of your father?

His superior tone was full of reproof as though her family was a victim of her marriage, not, possibly, the other way around. Even Pinky Anand, the couple8217;s attorney, quite a court tigress, was so stunned she subsided into her chair.

Reminded you of Zee8217;s Gudiya Inquisition. That poor girl was ringed in on television by ulemas and her village panchayat, forced during a live broadcast by the won8217;t-take-no-for answer anchor, to choose between two husbands. Here Mr Smug HT declared that since Chiranjeevi8217;s family had provided all the right Confidence Building Measures with anchor8217;s help of course, this story had a happy ending 8212; despite Srija and Shirish and Pinky8217;s reservations. Very poor behaviour, very bad television.

In contrast, Tehelka-Aaj Tak-Headlines Today8217;s sting on the Gujarat riots was spot on. Those caught on camera were scornfully boastful of their misdeeds; the more gruesome the crime the more boastful they became. Correspondent Ashish Khetan said they displayed 8220;no remorse8221;. The crimes have been not merely been acknowledged, they have been graphically depicted on camera: you could paint pictures with the blood that dripped from those tongues sorry for the language. This was not a sting without bite: there was no room for misunderstanding what was said by Babu Bajrangi, Madan Dhanraj Chawal, Arvind Pandya, etc.

Interesting that the sting was on Aaj Tak, instead of an English news channel. Aaj Tak made the telecast accessible to millions more and the sting enjoyed an acceptability it might not have on English 8216;secular8217; bleeding heart types. Unfortunately, the impact was diluted by lengthy commercial breaks 8212; sometimes above 10 minutes. Lesson? Don8217;t mix underpants with murder.