Opinion In search of lost time
This is a Slumdog Millionaire quiz. Who asked Satyajit Ray to make a film for them? Who got Ravi Shankar to compose their ...
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This is a Slumdog Millionaire quiz. Who asked Satyajit Ray to make a film for them? Who got Ravi Shankar to compose their signature tune? Who launched the acting career of Shah Rukh Khan? Who persuaded Khushwant Singh to appear in fancy dress on New Years Eve? Who had Sonal Mansingh dance for them and Jagjit Singh to sing for them and Bismillah Khan hold a concert for them? Who got Edward Said and Marlon Brando to talk to them? And who brought you those unforgettable black and white images of Kapils Devils lifting the World Cup in 1984?
If you had watched Doordarshan last Monday night,you would know the answers to these oddball questions. You would also know that there is only one and the same answer: why,Doordarshan of course,who else? The battle-scarred,much reviled,often maligned and too often ignored national broadcaster celebrated 50 years in broadcasting with a one-hour special that reminded us that it wasnt always so scarred,reviled,maligned or ignored.
The documentary renewed our acquaintance with old friends; Salma flower Sultan and Neethi Ravindran newsreading,Dr Narottam Puri sports quizzing,Tabussum presenting Phool Khilein Hain Gulshan Gulshan for a mere Rs 75,Girish Karnad on Turning Point,Naseeruddin Shah in Jagjit Singhs voice singing Mirza Ghalib,Lajo weeping over Nanhe in Hum Log… Oh,how you longed to reach out and say,Hey,hold on a sec,dont go away just yet!
We have made many new TV friends since,but no one can ever take the place of the Nukkad gang,no one can crunch a carrot quite like Karamchand and no one else has ever bothered to bring a National Programme of Music and Dance into our homes so that children who now Bollywood on Boogie Woogie (Sony),for example,know theres more to dance than swivelling their hips like office chairs.
The mid-eighties and early nineties were the golden years of TV in India. It has never got better than that in terms of quality and thank DD for that. No commercial TV channel will ever bring you the galaxy of talent Doordarshan commanded. Why,even NDTV and Aaj Tak owe themselves to slots on DD.
Remember the thrill of anticipation creep up your spine as Chitrahaar began its half an hour of film songs,every Wednesday evening. Now with 24×7 media and communications,theres nothing left to anticipate unless its what Breaking News will serve up next and as to that,theres no telling.
News channels discussed the future of Doordarshan and it was all pretty bleak house stuff. Nobody had a formula to rejuvenate Doordarshan,bring it back on everyones evening schedule at least in cable/satellite homes. For non-satellite homes DD is still synonymous with TV. The only time you watch DD,now,is when youre fed up of news anchors yelling at you and want a calm recitation of the days events. Thats it. Otherwise,its lost the plot: it copies private channels in its entertainment shows and everywhere else,looks like its still wearing clothes it bought in the eighties. Its stuck in a time warp. Why,even that old DD loyalist,the Davis Cup,just played out on Neo Sports. Whos going to clock it into the present? For starters,maybe A.R. Rehman could compose a new signature tune?
Keith Floyd died last week. He was the one to teach us how food could be cooked on television,first. Well,not exactly first,but certainly the first colourful character to wave a spoon before us and hey presto,a five course meal was ours for everything but the tasting. Just recently saw Floyd in India marinate chicken and shove it into an old fashioned tandoor while he sipped,what else but wine. Raise a toast to the guy and DD and eat some tandoori chicken.
shailaja.bajpai@expressindia.com
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