May 25, 2013
Smita Patil with Raj Babbar. A scene from the film, Mirch Masala. Special Arrangement
According to the so-called golden rules of market logic, competition spurs variety in content and quality of production. But if one looks at the history of Indian television, one can't but think without a tinge of nostalgia at the era when Doordarshan was the only television we had and monopolised our tele-visual world. Maybe, the only thing we do not miss will be their news broadcasts, which were boringly statist than balanced or investigative. All over the world, the very idea of news was radically transformed by the entry of live telecasts and 24x7 news broadcasting, the constant and instantaneous flow of which was something unimaginable to a generation used to scheduled bulletins by very composed and mature news 'readers' and 'presenters'. It was also a time when content was considered king, which in the globalised and privatised era, gave way to scale and reach. But other than news, what about the variety and quality of content in Indian television today? Has the entry of private satellite channels and their endless proliferation actually translated itself into plurality in content and more fulsome representation of our cultural diversity?
The most unfortunate effect of the 'opening up of the sky' was upon our public service broadcasting. Unable to withstand competition from private channels, Doordarshan itself seemed to lose faith in its strengths and began aping private television in programming and content. Instead of setting benchmarks in quality, authenticity and commitment to the non-negotiable values of democracy and pluralism, it began to see itself as just another player in the market, vying like all others to capture eyeballs. It was caught between State and Market, and mired in an identity crisis of sorts. In a cursory comparison of the quality of tele-serials and other cultural programmes then (culture and entertainment didn't mean just 'cinema' then) and now, the fall is strikingly glaring. Serials like Buniyaad, Nukkad, Tamas, etc. were narratives that connected with the collective memories and aspirations of a nation, compared to the saas-bahu variety we are flooded with now. Likewise, in cultural programming too, there was always an attempt to keep in mind the linguistic and socio-cultural diversity of our country.
One such major initiative of Doordarshan was its telecast of award-winning films during the weekends and, most................
The most unfortunate effect of the 'opening up of the sky' was upon our public service broadcasting. Unable to withstand competition from private channels, Doordarshan itself seemed to lose faith in its strengths and began aping private television in programming and content. Instead of setting benchmarks in quality, authenticity and commitment to the non-negotiable values of democracy and pluralism, it began to see itself as just another player in the market, vying like all others to capture eyeballs. It was caught between State and Market, and mired in an identity crisis of sorts. In a cursory comparison of the quality of tele-serials and other cultural programmes then (culture and entertainment didn't mean just 'cinema' then) and now, the fall is strikingly glaring. Serials like Buniyaad, Nukkad, Tamas, etc. were narratives that connected with the collective memories and aspirations of a nation, compared to the saas-bahu variety we are flooded with now. Likewise, in cultural programming too, there was always an attempt to keep in mind the linguistic and socio-cultural diversity of our country.
One such major initiative of Doordarshan was its telecast of award-winning films during the weekends and, most................
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