Urban Indian Youth and TV

Let’s make a tenuous assumption that we are all not idiots.Now let’s switch on the idiot box at home and surf through the great potpourri of channels available to us. Let’s carry out this activity at different times in a day.

It’s 8PM, what do we see? Our biggest entertainment networks are busy showcasing soap operas. Soap operas that defy the whole concept of wholesome entertainment. A tyrant mother-in-law scheming against her oh-so-daftly-innocent daughter-in-law who is bound by culture and tradition to obey every command of her almost Nazi mom-in-law.

It’s now 9PM, what do we see? Indianised versions of world famous game shows and reality TV shows, which are a combination of the original game show idea and rating boosting staged drama and histrionics.

It’s 10PM, what do we see? More soaps! A certain channel begs to differ on weekends. It showcases an old man, who uses cheap hair color, and his team which includes a pudding head solving criminal cases in the most fallacious manner.

It’s 11PM (we’re now losing hope), what do we see? Still soaps and even worse, re runs of these soaps!!!

One may argue that these soaps are entertaining for those who follow them but few realise that these soaps are straining our relationships, narrowing our outlook and retarding the growth of what is potentially India’s brightest generation. Our TV and entertainment industry, today, is nothing to be proud of.

I am not belittling the pool of talent or the effort that goes into making these shows which are ostensibly illogical to a person with average IQ. I am simply highlighting the plight of growing up in urban India. Yes, we aren’t denied education or food but we have problems as well. One problem being, we are denied food for thought.

The “chota and sukhi parivaar” (small and happy family) we Indians were once proud of, seems like something from the times of Jesus Christ. Social networking websites, online games, chat applications etc have been blamed for distancing our youth from the rest of the family. How often do you hear your mom call you a Facebook/Youtube addict? And judging by the number of friends I have online right now, I wouldn’t say that your mom is entirely wrong. The travesty we have on our hands is that we, the youth, need addictions and we don’t have too many others right now that are as safe as Facebook.

High time the guys managing these TV networks woke up and tried to win back the market they lost to social networking. We, young urban India, like watching TV. We just don’t like what you have to offer! Or how else would you explain the fervour with which we watch entire seasons of American/British TV shows in one day?

I’ll sign off for now leaving you to ponder over this thought. Cheers.

What if the FIFA World Cup 2010 was organised in India?

What a year it has been! The T20 World Cup, the FIFA World Cup and now we have, the Commonwealth Games coming up. For sports fans this year just can’t get any better.

The CW games will be hosted by India in the capital city, Delhi. The authorities there are leaving no stone unturned to make sure that this grand event is celebrated with great pomp and pageantry.

The authorities have even gone on record to say that India is ready to host the Olympics. Ahem! Are we speaking a little too much too soon? But this ignited a few thoughts in my generally idle mind, thoughts which turned into pictures and pictures which turned into words and came out in the form of a question. What if, the 2010 FIFA World Cup was held in India? Wouldn’t that be brilliant? If a developing nation like South Africa can organise it, why can’t India?

So let’s have a lighter perspective of how the World Cup would have been organised in India.

1) All matches would be played in Kolkata. As the Salt Lake City ground is by far India’s best football ground and probably the only ground fit to play football on, well at least international football on.
2) Instead of Paul-the octopus, we’d have Appu-the elephant (clichéd, but there’s something about Elephants and us).
3) The football wouldn’t be a Jabulani, it would be a “Made in Jalandhar”
4) Vuvuzela’s would be replaced with hooters (a la the IPL) and instead of the ruckus being created by the fans, the organisers would blare the hooter every 10 minutes and fans would scream each time the cacophony was heard (a la the IPL, again).
5) All announcements would be made in 3 different languages i.e. the local language, in Hindi and then in English. This means, we would have longer matches as it would take longer to announce substitutions. So more added time. Woohoo!
6) Assuming, our general bad luck in sports we are generally bad at continues, the Indian team which would qualify for the Cup by virtue of being the hosts, would land in the “Group of Death”
7) All matches would also be screened on Doordarshan and somewhere around the 70th minute of the match, telecast would be halted for the daily “Samachar”.
8) The opening ceremony would be the same old set of dances from the 29(..or wait is it 30?) different states of India.
9) Seats in the stadium would be reserved and there would be a special quota for OBCs, SC/ST, etc.
10) No hot chicks with painted bodies :(
11) The person heading the Football body of India (if there is one) would be caught in a scam after the Cup would end.
12) Pakistan immediately announcing, soon after the Cup, that it is also ready to organise a FIFA World Cup and that the country is safe for sports. *cough cough*

~ Karan Bhatia

Red Tokree signs up with Love Music

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Red Tokree has signed up with Love Music - A soon to launch music recording company. 
Love Music is formed by Saba Sen, in association with Lalit Sen, Sameer Sen and Soheil Sen.
Saba Sen played a major role in management for Saba Film International. While Sameer Sen has been glued to the Bollywood industry by giving hit tracks for over 100 films. Soheil Sen is the latest talent from the recent generation. Soheil is the music director for Ashutosh Gowariker’s last film - What’s You Rashee.
Love Music’s aim is to connect with all those who are from the music field.
If you are addicted to music, wish to be a establish singer/musician, if you need a guru in the music field, Love Music is the place for you.

Join Love Music on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Be-it-Filmy-Or-Be-it-Rock-I-LOVE-MUSIC/130580996965604?ref=ts

Regards,
Hiral

Just how much do we love entertainers?

India is a land filled with diverse cultures and multitudinous festivals. It hence should not come as a surprise that we love having fun and we love being entertained. And more so, we love the ones who entertain. For example, Lalit Modi. With the IPL becoming a household name with everything in it for everyone, three years ago, Lalit Modi became a star. On Twitter he has more than 81,000 people following him. And that is more than the number of followers Sania Mirza, Arbaaz Khan, Vijay Mallya, Mallika Sherawat, Jiah Khan and Yuvraj Singh have. So yes, that makes him considerably well known and liked.

Two prominent names in Cinema from down south are Mohanlal and Mammooty. Honestly, I’m scared that I maybe killed while walking on the road because I haven’t prefixed “Sir” before their names...such is the fanaticism that these two names can bring forth. These two actors have done close to 50 films together. There are rumours that in a village in south India, on the eve of the release of one such film, the village resembled a riot stricken place simply because that afternoon the villagers had debated who of the two was a better actor?

Few things transcend boundaries. Love could be one of them and love for a superstar is definitely one of them. More than 4 decades after the death of the legendary Charlie Chaplin, in a small town in Gujarat called Adipur, a local Charlie Chaplin fan club still has members who dress up as the comedian and roam around town on his birthday. And it’s not just the men of the village, but even the kids and women who don’t mind strutting around sporting toothbrush moustache, bowler hat, scruffy black suit and cane.

When Argentina footballer Diego Maradona visited Calcutta a couple of years ago, the stadium was literally made a fortress. Security was to be top notch and the stadium was obviously jam packed. Infact, the Calcutta's police chief then even went on record to say that the frenzy Maradona generated, had increased the police force’s work load as much as a terror attack would.

Temples for film stars in India is not uncommon as well. While the celebrities, sensibly, say that a temple made in their name is taking things too far, the fans or should we say “devotees” continue to flock to these “temples”. In a country where we often hear people say, “Cricket is our religion and Sachin is our God?”, the question arises of how far is too far? So, just how much do we love entertainers? How far would you go?

- By Karan Bhatia

Oorvazi Irani's Film Education Blog Launches

Film Educationist Oorvazi Irani launched her blog last week which is dedicated to film studies. The blog has the perfect blend of professional talks, interviews with the pros, intriguing tips and tricks on acting and film making, art appreciation, film school reviews and much more…

Check out: http://oorvazifilmeducation.wordpress.com/ 

Young India’s hope on the union budget, 2010

Survival of the fittest! These words of Darwin have started taking a huge share of Armaan’s mind space these days. He knows that he neither earns any income, nor pays any taxes. So why must the Union Budget, 2010 worry this 20 year old Urban Youngster? Well, he realized he must, since his parents that provide him with pocket money (which stays for very little time in his pocket) do pay taxes! The Budget will affect him through his parents.


Suddenly, with the Rs. 2.70 hike in Petrol, his 3-month old Cruiser Bike seems to be so more of a liability than a style-statement, which he hoped for. His date next week seems to be a far fetched dream, now that food and beverages taxes have hiked up, and his hopes with the college hottie have proportionally seem to go the other way round.

Armaan’s troubles are puny but yet prominent. An unpaid internship and a meager Rs. 3000 per month pocket money from home, inclusive of the phone expenses don’t help too much. His parents wouldn’t lend him an advance or an extra amount for his expenses. This is a situation common to many urban youngsters in the country today. Like Armaan, they live a hand-to-mouth existence (in their terms, at least). What they all look for is not less expenditures, since they are in a growing stage in life, they know so will their expenditures. What they want is a balance between the inflow and outflow of ‘hard-asked for’ cash!

However, with the world becoming smaller (in short, global village for the bigwigs) and multi-national companies looking out for youngsters to do their low-end short-term jobs, earning a quick buck isn’t a very mysterious deal anymore. Youngsters, like Armaan, in need of money, and not in need of a career, but a short job, will happily do most jobs asked for by the corporate for a few thousand rupees. Event Management, Freelance Acting etc, is the leeway that Armaan and his counterparts will adopt till they obtain a substantial balance, to spend on their personal expenditures.

This situation is somewhat similar to what the Hyenas of the African Savannah do on a daily basis. They scavenge, if they can from the Big Cats, but hunt if the Big Cats won’t share any of their kill. The Urban Youngsters of India are very akin to Hyenas in ways of survival: Allowance from parents (Big Cats); or Odd-Jobs at MNCs. After all, it is all about Survival.

The Union Budget, 2010 has affected everyone in one way or the other. But, Armaan knows that, if he has to send some romantic messages and make some exceptionally passionate late night calls to score with the college hottie for next Saturday, all he has to do go is sell a few passes or manage a crowd or even go ahead, pick up a tray and serve some booze at a high profile party.

Article by: Mohnish Modi