Opinion The televised revolution
We need more foreign correspondents to bring the worlds drama home.
The game is up for Mubarak… it is time for Obama to make one phone call. Thus Time magazines Fareed Zakaria summed up a moment of history in the making (Face the Nation,CNN-IBN). Perched upon the camera-persons shoulder above Tahrir Square,we had a panoramic birds eye view of the peoples revolution in Cairo. As we descended to ground zero we heard Egyptians chant the same message Zakaria had spelled out: Mubarak must go.
In times of international turbulence,we turn to CNN and BBC. Mostly,Indian TV news channels dont retain foreign correspondents; if they do,theyre stationed outside the White House,Big Ben or with snowflakes falling on their heads at Davos. NDTV and Times Now did have reporters leaving on a jet plane for Cairo as soon as it became clear,last weekend,that the Egyptian revolt was more than a protest they were good for soundbytes. Frankly,they should venture out more often. If we are an emerging global superpower,a member of the UN Security Council with economic and political interests beyond our boundaries,we need our own perspectives abroad.
In this instance,Al Jazeeras coverage,some of which was thoughtfully provided by Times Now and CNN-IBN,proved to be most evocative of a country on the verge of a breakdown. The Egypt story was a visual spectacle just to witness the thousands on the streets,to see army officers embrace the protesters like long-lost relatives,to watch Tahrir Square embroidered into a human carpet that was what quickened the heartbeat. And Al Jazeeras visuals were the clearest,the ones that enscapsulated the drama BBC and CNN had grainy satellite shots.
Its reporters also sounded the most authoritative on the ebb and flow of the revolution on the streets; CNN and BBC did too but they often seemed more preoccupied with what did Obama think and what will America do,or what are American concerns. Thats all very interesting and vital but for now,this was an on-the-spot reporters story and Al Jazeera gave us a narrative,not from an American or Western perspective,but one from the region. All the more reason DTH providers such as Tata Sky should be offering the news channel to subscribers,along with others from the Middle East and the subcontinent. Why dont they?
And why doesnt Shah Rukh Khan become a radio cricket commentator? Hed be fabulous not because he owns Kolkata Knight Riders and knows a thing or two about the game but because he can provide such splendid running commentary about balls. During the first episode of his latest TV show,Zor Ka Jhatka (Imagine),every second over,sorry sentence,of his was peppered with balls as he described an obstacle course race somewhere out in Argentina (see how far our national interest is taking us!). And he is clearly enjoying the double entendre: as one of contestants,Natasha Suri,fell into a mud bath,he remarked gleefully,I like dirty girls now big balls are waiting for her oh,shes been clean bowled on the first ball! Or this for Raja Chaudhary (the former other half of Shweta Tiwari who recently won Bigg Boss. They might have little else left in common but the ex-husband and wife sure like reality shows): he has big balls waiting for him.
To understand what he is referring to,watch the show. This desi version of Wipeout (AXN) invites unemployed celebrities like Vindu Dara Singh,wrestler Manoj Kumar, former Miss Indias Simran Mundi and Natasha,plus a host of others well known for nothing special,to jump from one obstacle to another and meet with a watery fate when they fail. Why this play-pool is in Argentina and SRK on his lonesome in a plush studio providing us recorded commentary of the contest,we dont know. SRK is,nevertheless,lively,and entertaining as only SRK can be but after 20-odd minutes you are tired by the contestants physical antics and his verbal ones.
A suggestion: Zor Ka Jhatka is the kind of show that should be scheduled after midnight for insomnia. Thats when youd really enjoy it.
shailaja.bajpai@expressindia.com
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