Zee
TV's Chandra says he has no political ambitions
(Posted on 17 May, 10:30 am)
Pradhan Mantri - a drama series on Indian politics - from
the Zee TV stable has got a lot of media pundits confounded. They
have been questioning Zee TV chairman Subhash Chandra's motive
behind backing a political drama which dares expose the machinations
of hardcore politicians against a naïve and honest prime minister
appointee who dares to defy the corrupt political system.
Subhash
Chandra |
Does he have a political agenda now that he has lost his media
star status? Is he trying to bring about a revival of the
Congress (I) by projecting a Rajiv Gandhi type innocent political
novice as prime minister now that he has reportedly fallen
out of favour with the BJP-led coalition government? Does
he think of himself as a king maker? |
Chandra has a repartee to all these. Says he: "The Zee Network
has 14 channels. One of them is Zee TV, which is an entertainment
channel. We cover other genres like information, news, edutainment,
education and children's programming. Please don't read that we
have lost out in the media stakes. We are the largest in viewership.
We have 30 per cent of all cable and satellite eyeballs in India.
By far, we are leaders in entertainment and we will remain so."
On his political ambitions he says: "There is no need for me
to take shelter behind a programme for furthering my political
ambitions. I have no political agenda. It is just a show. When
we were discussing a new show to get our audiences, this idea
came to us. And the idea was to create a series that would cover
what we would like our country to be, what is wrong about our
nation, what brings about a feeling of helplessness in us. What
is there that can take us forward to the kind of nation we wanted
to be when we won our freedom more than 50 years ago. MJ Akbar tells (he co-ideates and co-writes the script) me
you need 50 per cent MPs who are honest in Parliament who genuinely
care about the nation to make a difference. I say you need just
one. And that is what Pradhan Mantri is all about."
Click for more Headlines
