Tata Sky revives Indian poetry with Javed Akhtar

[Dileep Kumar]

MUMBAI: In yet another first, Tata Sky, the leading DTH player today at a literature rendezvous announced the launch of Actve Javed Akhtar service in partnership with Javed Akhtar, one of the finest lyricists of India.

This innovative service gives Tata Sky subscribers an opportunity to experience the rich and classic poetic culture with an unconventional and modern approach.

This interactive platform will have Javed Akhtar describing the true essence of some of the most beautifully penned shayaris and dohas of yesteryears, reminding us of its relevance and definition in context to our lives today.

This conversational format with Javed Akhtar is followed by shayaris and dohas sung by contemporary artists such as Tochi Raina, Roop Kumar Rathod, Shweta Pandit, Aakriti Kakkar, Abhijit Pohankar and many more.

Apart from the video format, the interactive service will also allow viewers to learn meaning of various Urdu & Sanskrit words used in the Dohas and Shayari with the help of the built-in On-demand option.

Thus aiding subscribers in comprehension & enhancing vocabulary.
At the launch, Vikram Mehra, Chief Commercial Officer, Tata Sky said:“Actve Javed Akhtar will enable our audience to relive and learn from the eons of classic Indian poetry with a contemporary touch.

We hence associated with Javed Akhtar, who will walk us through centuries of soulful shayaris and dohas.”

Tata Sky prides in being the preferred DTH player with a list of popular interactive services as part of their offerings.

Actve Javed Akhtar will be another innovative feather in the cap of Tata Sky. This interactive service is available on a monthly subscription and can be availed by a simple SMS (‘Javed’ to 56633) or missed call (076791 76791).

Commenting on his association, Mr. Javed Akhtar said, “I am pleased to collaborate with Tata Sky in their endeavor to bring back the essence of our literature.

This is a project which is very close to my heart as it resonates my love for the subject. The service revolves around the golden shayaris and dohas of Galib, Mir, Kabeer, Rahim and many more, which will continue to appeal to the people regardless of the constant changes that take place in today’ world.”

Tata Sky has partnered with Insync (India's first 24x7 Classical Based Music Television Channel) to collaborate with composers and 50 singers (fresh talent as well as renowned artists) to create original songs for the service, Actve Javed.

A glimpse of the interactive service:
Doha - Tata Sky revives Indian poetry with Javed Akhtar | Indian Television Dot Com /AuhUiL0TpDE
Shayari - Business Standard /422WwmoeLAQ

Tata Sky revives Indian poetry with Javed Akhtar | Indian Television Dot Com

Business Standard

http://www.tellychakkar.com/tv/releases/tata-sky-launches-first-ever-poetic-literature-based-interactive-serviceactve-javed

 

[Aayush Aggarwal]

Poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar talks about poetry, deprivation, catharsis and more
“I don’t know why, perhaps on account of my deprived childhood, but the concept of juice really amuses me,” Javed Akhtar says with a chuckle as he considers the glassful being offered to him. A few minutes and a glass of water later, he resumes the conversation that the orange juice had momentarily interrupted. In the capital recently to launch Tata Sky’s new Active Javed Akhtar interactive service, he gives us a glimpse into his journey as a poet as well as an individual.
There is a gap of nearly three decades between his first break as a scriptwriter with Yakeen in 1969 after several years of struggle in the Indian film industry and Tarkash, his first collection of Urdu poetry published in 1995. What took the poet in him so long to make himself known to the world? “I was always interested in poetry, since I was a child, but never actually wrote myself. There were two reasons for this. The first is that knowledge can be frightening in its own way. I really knew what good poetry was and that intimidated me because I was apprehensive about whether I would be able to write good enough poetry or not. The second reason was the mode of rebellion I held on to for a long time. If the son of a shopkeeper chooses to rebel, the first thing he will do is to stop sitting at the shop. So it was with me and poetry. I used to say, mujhe nahin karni yeh bekaar ki cheez, even though I actually knew a lot of shers by heart,” he recalls.
Along the meandering journey life has led him through over the decades, the lyricist has had to live through some extremely harsh circumstances. “A lot of us tend to romanticise our past, trying to dwell on the good things rather than the travails we have struggled through. There are some things, however, that you cannot forget. There are days when I find myself looking carefully at leftover food on my dining table after a meal and thinking, us din iska aadha hi mil jata? The trauma of hunger isn’t easy to erase from your memory. It teaches you to look at food in a very different way,” he shares and adds, “When I look back, I feel that it was incredibly naïve and foolish of me to have been so optimistic even in those circumstances! It was illogical. I should have been depressed and demoralised. But I’ve learnt that such extreme experiences create extreme reactions. You can be bitter, ruthless, careless or you can become compassionate because you understand deprivation.”
On how far and in what manner these extreme experiences have fed into his poetry and lyrics, he says, “Maybe they do. Poetry, at the end of the day, is born within the no man’s land between your conscious and unconscious mind. Also, when you give your thoughts and emotions an outlet, poetry can most certainly be cathartic at some level. I think that has happened with me too, sometimes.”
Looking ahead, the poet is at this point looking forward to his daughter Zoya Akhtar’s next venture, Dil Dhadakne Do. Having penned the lyrics for its soundtrack, he says, “The music of the film is very good indeed, but above all else I feel that the script is wonderful. I think Zoya has outdone herself after Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, honestly.”

Source: http://www.asianage.com/people/knowledge-can-be-frightening-807