Opinion Kerchiefs and colours
You dont have to be Acharya Indu Prakash (Bhavishyavani,India TV) to have foreseen the compromise struck between the IPL and TV news...
You dont have to be Acharya Indu Prakash (Bhavishyavani,India TV) to have foreseen the compromise struck between the IPL and TV news channels for more news coverage of the tournament. It just made business sense. Or that Navjot Singh Sidhu would be back as a double-paced commentator: who else can match Mandira Bedis way with clothes (Extraa Innings,Sony Max)? Sidhu appeared,one evening,with a blue kerchief knotted around his neck,revealing just enough chest to keep us interested.
We thought the zoozoos would return with Vodafone as the IPL sponsor. Theyre darling and find everything funnier than it looks to us. We were also sure Balika Vadhus Anandi would survive the bullet wound in the middle of her forehead because it would have been politically incorrect to kill a girl child on air when the country is talking female empowerment. And anyone who has heard Baba Ramdev go from talking about the all-round benefits of yoga on one channel to raging against corruption,aerated drinks and other foul brews in Indias melting pot on many (seen him on at least 6 channels including DD),knew that one day he would join politics.
What we did not bargain for was that more than a fortnight after Holi,TV characters would still be coloured in its hues (Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai,Star Plus): what do they play with permanent dyes?
Nor did we expect Balika Vadhu (Colors) to stage such a bloody scene when Anandi is shot by the boss goon. Her face was suffused in red paint (or was it Holi colour?) as she fell to what looked like certain death. It was awful. We take FTV off the air for revealing too much flesh; why not channels with blood on their faces?
The serial has clearly run out of ideas if it has to resort to the crude ruse of pretending to kill off its protagonist to win back the viewers. Running was the operative part of last weeks episodes. First the goons are on the run from the police,who with Anandis family run after them; next,everyone is running around helplessly not knowing what to do; then theyre running down the hospital corridor,where they run out of breath and conversation. And finally,the flight carrying the medical specialist who is to operate on Anandi is running two hours late,just to generate enough tension to take us into the next week with the entire family pasted to the windows conveniently placed in the ICU so that they can look at Anandi battling death,and assume grief-stricken expressions.
When Balika Vadhu began,we lauded it for being so different from the K-serials. Now,but for its social theme,it is increasingly like them. The weeping faces,the stock close-ups,the depressing music,the special effects which saw everyone go from colour to black and white (why?) and the drama of deathbed scenes are straight out of Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki.
Last week was an unexpectedly good one for watching sports: after a great hockey World Cup,marvelous on Ten Sports,there was the Commonwealth Boxing Championships on DD Sports,Formula 1 racing on Star Sports,IPL and cricket legend Gary Sobers in conversation with Bishen Singh Bedi on NewsX a real treat.
We did expect plenty of commercial breaks during the IPL matches. We just didnt expect them between balls in the same over. We expected sponsors galore and,boy oh boy,have we got them. Watch the highlights package: the fours are sponsored by one company,the sixes by another,the biggest six by a third,the wickets are sponsored by a fourth. The cheerleaders during the Deccan Chargers-Chennai Super Kings encounter had their own sponsor. Since the players are already sponsored,all thats left is for every ball to be a sponsored ball with a label on it. And what about Sidhus kerchief? Any takers?
shailaja.bajpai@expressindia.com
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