That annual sinking feeling again

Under any other circumstance, such purple prose would be too colourful; on January 26, you can gush lush mush to your heart8217;s content. From the moment the 8216;8216;ulti rifle8217;8217; a rather nauseating though entirely correct way of describing it, clacked 8216;8216;attenshun8217;8217; to the sounds of the Last Post, our commentators were mouthing platitudes. As if the toothpaste they had used before rushing to their commentary positions, was striped in the tricolours. So Suneet Tandon couldn8217;t simply say that the sun was shining; no, he had to thank the 8216;8216;sun gods8217;8217; who 8216;8216;have blessed us this morning8217;8217;. And Rini Khanna saw 8216;8216;Rajpath awakening to colours dazzling the world8217;8217;8230;

Also, rather like Mel Gibson in What Women Want, the commentators are mind-readers. So Tandon, watching the Prime Minister during two minutes of silence, declared that he was 8216;8216;in solemn reflection8230; reflecting our sentiments8217;8217;. Now, those of us watching may have thought he meant 8216;8216;somnolent8217;8217; because the PM did look rather sleepy, and as for 8216;8216;our sentiments8217;8217; well, let8217;s not tell. Let8217;s instead, along with Brigadier-sahib didn8217;t catch his name, look at the Indian flag and muse: 8216;8216;sach mein jhanda ooncha rahe hamara 8212; hamesha.8217;8217;

So it went on for two rousing hours: every sight was the 8216;8216;best8217;8217;, every moment was a 8216;8216;proud8217;8217; one, every rumble of the tanks 8216;8216;inspiring8217;8217;8230; So what if there are power cuts, water shortages, starvation, etc8230; we8217;ve got the Republic Day parade to watch, haven8217;t we? And not just one. If you tuned into DD National, later Sunday night, you would have seen the entire nation, state by state, on the march as it has been for 54 years. Doordarshan8217;s coverage of Republic Day is vintage. Why don8217;t we simply telecast celebrations of the last 20-odd years and have the President and Prime Minister taking a salute? This would save the country a great deal of money, the citizens of Delhi considerable inconvenience and make not the slightest difference to viewers.

Last week, saw another occasion commemorated as though it was Republic Day, Independence Day and the Academy Awards, all in one. Hindi news channels treated the demise of poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan with more deference than they did Republic Day. There was live coverage, throughout, of different ceremonies 8212; even Amitabh Bachchan8217;s two-kilometre walk to the crematorium. A great deal of time was spent sighting and interviewing the rich and the famous who were present: 8216;8216;There8217;s so-and-so with such-and-such8230;8217;8217;

It began to resemble one of those galas held before the Oscars and what8217;s supposed to be a private mourning was turned into a public tamasha. Where8217;s the sense of proportion? Other artists, politicians, scientists, etcetera, have died; none received the kind of treatment Bachchan did. Which inexorably leads to the conclusion that TV coverage had everything to do with Amitabh Bachchan and sadly, very little with his father. The fact that live coverage has become cheap and possible doesn8217;t mean that we must cheapen its potential.

Lastly, Ekta Kapoor8217;s Balaji Films promotes her brother Tusshar Kapoor in a manner that is less than tasteful. Serials such as Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thhi Star Plus are being used as promotional vehicle for the actor. Songs from his latest film, Kuch Ho Hai play in the background or are sung out aloud, characters talk about the film and extol Tusshar8217;s talents without so much as a blush. Really. Why do channels allow such things? And is Tusshar8217;s career in such jeopardy he needs TV characters to put in a good word?

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