Indiantelevision.com > Box Populi by Aparna Joshi

Thank God for the rains in Mumbai. Else, news channels this week would have en masse morphed into temporary sports channels in their gushing coverage of the historic India win over the West Indies and the two nail biting soccer semi finals.

But haunted by the ghosts of 26/7, news channels sounded alarm bells the minute it started pouring in the metropolis over the weekend. By Monday, the doomsayers on the tube were out in full force, staring grim into the camera, dripping criticism for the system. Not to be outdone by rivals, channels outdid themselves in sending forces into the most low lying corners possible, and did their piece to the cameras in knee deep water, voicing hope in frantic reports that there wouldn't be a repeat of 26/7. Just what the doctor ordered for spreading the unintended wave of panic among an already paranoid citizenry.

Nearly every channel had a representative at the suburban Milan subway - which has been always the first spot to get flooded when the rain gods smile on Mumbai, for the last 20 years. NDTV, Aaj Tak, Star News and Sahara Samay (which visited practically every flooded lane in the city) all gleefully recorded each malfunctioning traffic signal and closed subway, while equally torrential rains in Orissa, and even nearer in Satara and Vidarbha just got nodding mention. Footage from these areas for those who cared, was only available on regional channels like ETV Marathi.

Mumbai got unwavering focus for three days. The field reporters obviously did a commendable job, hopping locations across the city to get a feel of submerged roads and traffic snarls, but they couldn't hide the real spirit of the metropolis that came across in people's own voices. "This is a problem 365 days of the year," was the acidic comment from an office goer whom an NDTV reporter stopped to ask about the reluctance of rickshaws to accept passengers outside Andheri station. It would be altogether better to drop inane and obvious questions to stranded school children and gritty office goers, on why they are going where they have to, even if it's pouring. This is Mumbai. Or don't the reporters know?

The only candid and touching narrative came on NDTV from an adolescent vendor whose usual digs under a flyover was usurped by the rains. "Can't even hang out my shirt to dry," he shrugged in his clinging wet clothes, "or it would get stolen."

Whether it is market dictates or a consuming curiosity about Mumbai in the rest of the country, the city dominated the news with determination. A lackadaisical administration may have been guilty for not being able to deal with the downpour, but fear psychosis (reinforced in nearly every half hourly report by references to 26/7) couldn't have played a minor part.

And if the private channels seemed to be awash with Mumbai rain reports, DD News took its sweet time taking cognisance of the afflicted metropolis. But even by Tuesday, neither DD News, which got mayor Datta Dalvi on the telephone nor private channels who got the joint police commissioner and municipal commissioner on the phone, could provide the officials' photographs to go with the audio. One had to be content with pictures of different models of phone receivers as a substitute. Aren't pictures of these officials part of a news channel's library?

And it was Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh who probably got the last word on Aaj Tak, when he acknowledged that the media was doing a better job of disseminating information than last year, "if only you wouldn't keep repeating visuals recorded in the morning till late evening." Valid point, Mr CM.

For Vinay and Ranvir, Duniya Goal Hai

The funny side of soccer

The Stan-Laurel jodi of Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey continues to extend its easy camaraderie on ESPN's Duniya Goal Hai. Easily one of the most talented pairs on the small screen today with their perfect sense of comic timing and spontaneous repartees, they were a good way to keep the eyelids open till the first semi final took off. The Dive In segment, a hilarious take on some of the stupendous attempts at scoring, and the B News, which spoofs real soccer news, are worth sitting up for. But hiding a guinea pig inside one of three cups, two of which are hacked open with a butcher's knife, to guess which team will win??? Ewww. Vinay-Ranvir, surely you can do better than that.

****

The "Akela" Sudhanshu Pandey at the show's official launch

A new chill n thrill flavour

BP Singh's Fireworks has finally grown up and beyond CID. The first episode of Sony's Akela was pacy, laced with good dialogue and some crisp acting, though lead Sudhanshu Pandey could do with some more use of his facial muscles. Nevertheless, he's convincing as the cop who comes out of eight years of coma and discovers his new talent - that of being able to converse with the dead. If the pace holds and BP is able to weave some interesting plots in, there's no reason why Sony shouldn't have a solid weekly slot in its armoury.

****

Couch potato's man of the week - Johny Joseph, as in municipal commissioner of Mumbai. He was all over all the channels, probably calling up the newshounds even before they called him, giving updated news on the works undertaken, sailing on the Mithi, tramping down King's Circle, he was everywhere except at headquarters. No wonder, he was the media's darling this week.

(Rain pics by Satish Gurnani,
Ranvir-Vinay & Akela pics by Satej Shinde)

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