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The
recap had started a week earlier. I had geared myself to be inundated with 9/11
programming on 11 September, but Discovery beat me to it. The channel dedicated
an entire week of hour-long shows that dissected every aspect of the gruesome
act, its precursors and its repercussions. I am sure it was an enlightening series
for those interested in the workings of terrorism, but after a while, the dramatised
versions of whispered conspiracies, shady intrigue and invocations of Islam among
the terrorists became a bit of a drag.  Zee
Studio decided not to get left behind and aired two movies on the same theme on
10 and 11 September. Just a shade better than the Discovery attempts, the films
again took the viewer through various conspiracies right from 1993, with various
invocations of Allah and God, and related hyperbole. Agreed, it was by far visually
the most captivating terror act of recent years that shook the western world to
its entrails, but need we have been subjected to so much 9/11 programming? No
one appears to have put in that much of research on the 1993 Mumbai blasts, or
if they have, the efforts are yet to reach TV.
On
the day of the anniversary, of course, both Discovery and History channels devoted
themselves entirely to dissecting the history of terrorism, the psyche of a terrorist,
the complete works. By late evening of course, news channels too had feeds from
ground zero, detailing the entire memorial service, interspersed with human interest
stories of families who had braved the tragedy these five years. This
may sound a trifle harsh, but in a country that appears to be dealing with acts
of terrorism almost regularly, this kind of coverage borders on overkill. And
this is not the blessed US of A, someone should remind the programme executives
at these channels. India
TV however surpassed itself in its eagerness to remind viewers of the tragedy
- a continuous animated montage of the planes hitting the WTC towers ran from
morning till night near the channel's logo. No one could have forgotten the deadly
anniversary had they been watching India TV that day, even if they may have felt
a little vertiginous at the end of the day.
****
| Go
abroad!  The
tide suddenly seems to be in favour of taking the viewer overseas, preferably
to offbeat locations. Last week there was this CNBC Awaaz reporter taking us casually
through the flea markets of Alexandria, Egypt, and the same day NDTV Profit's
correspondents were strolling the lanes of Malaysia, for a lowdown of the country.
ESPN's Football Krazy on the other hand, raked the beaches of Bali on Thursday,
with its cute correspondents hunting the beach stalls for a Southampton T shirt
in vain. NDTV 24x7 even had Katrina Kaif in London, scouring the chic streets
for designer wear, and accosting alarmed shoppers with her chirpy questions. Move
over, Dipti Bhatnagar, there's serious competition for Musafir Hoon Yaaron,
and all of it seems to be coming from the news channels!
**** Talking
about mixed marriages  Last
weekend, the news channels coincided on another theme - mixed marriages. Vir Sanghvi
quizzed Aman and Ayaan Ali, sons of sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, as well as socialite
Feroze Gujral, on the consequences of being the product and part of mixed (read
inter community) marriages. Vir is the perfect amiable host, able to prod his
guests into talking, sometimes when they don't want to, either.
The
same night, Gitanjali Kirloskar led an engaging dialogue between five celeb couples
who spoke candidly on the problems they faced when they married outside their
communities. Kudos to the Times Now research team which had chosen the articulate
couples well. The participants would have made the episode a good watch, with
or without Gitanjali.
**** |
Another
Mandira in the making?  Amrita
Raichand may not have started off grabbing headlines for her attire, but the lady
looks suitably comfortable anchoring Cricket Cafe, Zee Sports's answer
to Extra Innings and its host, Mandira Bedi. Amrita may still be green
at anchoring sports shows, but her apparent knowledge about the game (although
it may not be of the Harsha Bhogle calibre) and her vivacity, make her a promising
host. Although for both the first two matches of the Malaysian series, it was
Tony Greig who took most of the stage, led the proceedings and provided the punch
lines, saving Amrita from making any goof ups.
Better
than some of the other bimbettes that have graced commentary rooms in the recent
past, the Whirlpool mommy is at least a treat for sore eyes for a lot of people! ****
Lonesome,
and going nowhere  One
had high hopes from Sony and BP Singh's joint venture, Akela, now a couple
of months old. But the Tuesday late night show has degenerated into a sad sequel
to Aahat. There's a grim looking villain, a weepy heroine and a foxed cop,
to give company to the deadpan hero, Sudhanshu Pandey. The show's saving grace,
Sumeet Raghavan, who plays a Casper like ghost, has been absent in the last two
episodes. Perhaps he should return from his holiday to add some life to this moribund
supernatural thriller.
****
Couch
potato's advice of the week - would be to Ishita Arun, who hosts Video
On Call on B4U Music. It may be necessary to sit in one place while you chat
to viewers calling in with requests, but you are allowed to change your expressions
and use your hands to make your point. It isn't just important to look pretty
and act endlessly bored while hosting a show, you know! (The
views expressed here are those of the author and indiantelevision.com need not
necessarily subscribe to the same) |
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