Thakur
Banned
- Joined
- 30 Aug 2013
- Messages
- 14,856
- Reaction score
- 8,575
Time to reinvent
Doordarshan
The newly-launched channel, Zindagi, by Zee
Network is like a breath of fresh air. The
subjects chosen by the makers are bold,
characters credible and actors natural,
particularly the women who seem to belong to
our planet.
In comparison, mainstream Indian
entertainment channels have been churning
out a series of unbelievable soaps, with heavily
decked-up and agedefying women. The stories
of some of the series begin well but later drift
from the issues they had taken up initially.
Glamour-struck creative teams
Indian TV serial producers are so glamour-
struck that no one wants to touch anything
close to reality. Recently, I was asked why I
was not making something like ‘Neem Ka Ped’
that I had made in the ‘90s? I asked him to
first get it approved by any channel. Having no
clue about the system of working in the Indian
entertainment industry, he was a bit
disappointed.
Normally, a group called creative team is let
loose on the writer and director and they drive
them to a point where they would either
surrender to the creative team’s wishes or go
crazy and quit.
Most girls appearing on Zindagi channel would
not pass the “look test” (a futile and farce
exercise) on most Indian channels, simply
because they look just like girls next door. A
belief deeply embedded in the minds of our
channel’s creative teams is that only glamour
and clothes make a character.
We must have been crazy when Pankaj Kapur
was made to wear a sleeveless jacket in ‘Neem
Ka Ped’ and was given a worn-out look by
scrubbing the floor. Was that jacket the
character or the actor’s perfect understanding
of the character? The jacket added to the
character’s appearance. Nowadays, even a
poor man must wear ironed and sparkling
costumes. So much so that goddess Parvati
must also appear as though she has just
walked out of a beauty parlour. I think the
makers need to learn a lesson or two from
Pakistani serial makers.
Restore DD’s glory
Let us come to stateowned Doordarshan (DD)
that actually laid the foundation of Indian TV
entertainment with exceptional software and
later lost everything to the corporate world.
Why did this happen? This question needs to
be answered by the government. I had written
to former information minister Manish Tiwari
saying that if DD wanted it could give all
private channels a run for their money. I also
hinted about unfair practices prevalent in the
approval of proposals.
He was quick to acknowledge the mail, but did
not take any step towards cleansing the
system. No creative and self respecting
filmmaker would like to work for DD under the
prevailing conditions, where political
connections and unethical means decide
approvals. No producer dares to say this in the
open for the fear of being blacklisted. Is the
new government listening and willing to
cleanse DD and bring it back to its old glory?
2
Doordarshan
The newly-launched channel, Zindagi, by Zee
Network is like a breath of fresh air. The
subjects chosen by the makers are bold,
characters credible and actors natural,
particularly the women who seem to belong to
our planet.
In comparison, mainstream Indian
entertainment channels have been churning
out a series of unbelievable soaps, with heavily
decked-up and agedefying women. The stories
of some of the series begin well but later drift
from the issues they had taken up initially.
Glamour-struck creative teams
Indian TV serial producers are so glamour-
struck that no one wants to touch anything
close to reality. Recently, I was asked why I
was not making something like ‘Neem Ka Ped’
that I had made in the ‘90s? I asked him to
first get it approved by any channel. Having no
clue about the system of working in the Indian
entertainment industry, he was a bit
disappointed.
Normally, a group called creative team is let
loose on the writer and director and they drive
them to a point where they would either
surrender to the creative team’s wishes or go
crazy and quit.
Most girls appearing on Zindagi channel would
not pass the “look test” (a futile and farce
exercise) on most Indian channels, simply
because they look just like girls next door. A
belief deeply embedded in the minds of our
channel’s creative teams is that only glamour
and clothes make a character.
We must have been crazy when Pankaj Kapur
was made to wear a sleeveless jacket in ‘Neem
Ka Ped’ and was given a worn-out look by
scrubbing the floor. Was that jacket the
character or the actor’s perfect understanding
of the character? The jacket added to the
character’s appearance. Nowadays, even a
poor man must wear ironed and sparkling
costumes. So much so that goddess Parvati
must also appear as though she has just
walked out of a beauty parlour. I think the
makers need to learn a lesson or two from
Pakistani serial makers.
Restore DD’s glory
Let us come to stateowned Doordarshan (DD)
that actually laid the foundation of Indian TV
entertainment with exceptional software and
later lost everything to the corporate world.
Why did this happen? This question needs to
be answered by the government. I had written
to former information minister Manish Tiwari
saying that if DD wanted it could give all
private channels a run for their money. I also
hinted about unfair practices prevalent in the
approval of proposals.
He was quick to acknowledge the mail, but did
not take any step towards cleansing the
system. No creative and self respecting
filmmaker would like to work for DD under the
prevailing conditions, where political
connections and unethical means decide
approvals. No producer dares to say this in the
open for the fear of being blacklisted. Is the
new government listening and willing to
cleanse DD and bring it back to its old glory?
2
