Indian Media and Bollywood

I start with a disclaimer: I am an admirer of certain sections of the Indian Media – both print and electronic – for the courageous work they do under the prevailing circumstances in our country by taking various administrative bodies and governmental systems head-on and holding them accountable.

Nevertheless, i have always been aware and amused by the close similarities displayed by the Indian Media with our esteemed Bollywood! ... Hold on for a few moments and you too will, perhaps, agree with me.

It was one of those evenings when i was generally chatting over coffee with a friend from the US and while talking we tread into the domain of democracy. Both of us expressed our individual pride that how fortunate we were to be born in the largest and the oldest democracy respectively. So in general terms we touched upon all the three arms of a functional democracy and then came to rest on the fourth – the Press, which in today’s parlance is popularly referred to as the Media.

‘You have so many news channels in different languages! While flipping channels yesterday evening i almost lost the count!’ my friend’s expressions were hilarious.

‘Yes, we are a big news country!’ i went along.

‘But tell me one thing. Do Indians argue a lot?’ i knew exactly where he was coming from.

‘I saw everybody debating loudly on almost all news channels; even the topic seemed to be the same!’ he had certainly not watched such television news programs before.

‘Well, have you watched any Bollywood movie? If no, then watch a few and you will understand the Indian television scenario,’ i offered my sincere advice.

‘Yeah, i have watched a couple of them. You have very beautiful actresses and even male leads look so much better than an average Indian. I love its colours! But honestly, they seem to be much Indianized,’ he was trying to be careful with his words.

‘Don’t sound diplomatic; you are echoing my sentiment.’

‘But i didn’t get the Bollywood connection in the Indian Media,’ he was genuinely perplexed.

‘Bollywood is just an analogy. If you watch carefully you will notice that the feel of both are very similar... Ok, let me explain,’ and we spent the next hour discussing the topic threadbare.

I beforehand explained to him that when i say Bollywood i do not necessarily mean Hindi movies exclusively but the Indian cinema per se. And when I say the Indian Media, it includes all and sundry in both print and television.

Like Bollywood, the Indian Media industry is the largest in the world in terms of number of channels on air and the number of dailies published in various languages and their combined viewership and readership respectively.  However, the sheer numbers do not necessarily mean the top slot or the top standards, rather much below when compared with the established names globally. 

Like Bollywood, the Indian Media is doing brisk business at home, in the local currency; however, when talked in terms of gross earnings, it seems not so significant in front of the global media giants’ revenues.

Like Bollywood, the Indian Media is hugely impactful within its national boundaries; however, its worldwide influence pales in front of the foreign press.

Like Bollywood, the Indian Media has some immensely talented people with global appeal; however, because of the limited scope of their work, they have remained almost incognito in the international news circuit.

Life Bollywood, the Indian Media has done some path breaking journalism; however, a large percentage of its cumulative work has remained mediocre.

Like Bollywood, the Indian Media has a good number of honest and courageous professionals; however, it needs to take a serious look at allegations and accusations maligning its integrity and its susceptibility to succumb in face of manipulations. 

Like Bollywood, the Indian Media is largely defined – and driven – by one segment which is the English news channels; however, its identity is highly fragmented with the Hindi and the regional news channels having their own larger loyal viewers’ base.  

Like Bollywood, the Indian Media is largely built upon larger-than-life elements drawn sometimes from imaginary ideas and its spectrum is wide enough to encompass lots of drama, tragedy, comedy, heroes and villains; however, its storyline sounds repetitive, howsoever hard they try to remain – or claim to be – contemporary, and its proximity to an average Indian’s life per se is primarily remote; one does not often witness real life imitating the ‘reel life’.

The perfect examples are the beautiful songs and dances being integral components of any Indian film whereas in reality no Indian has ever been sighted singing and dancing in public in their daily life – except in weddings or parties on movies’ music for enjoyment! In fact, a couple of my Chinese friends who were visiting India for the first time about seven years ago were really surprised to see their perception of an average ‘singing & dancing’ Indian shatter to pieces when they did not find any Indian singing and dancing in streets, which they had seen them do so often in Bollywood films!  

Today’s Indian Media landscape is largely dominated by the electronic media which has the power to swing people’s opinion. They also garner the largest pie in the overall ad-spend. Over the years, following the path towards true Indianness, they have evolved and gone even beyond news – they also provide entertainment. Newstainment! News with full entertainment! For them, and for the public as per their logic, pure news is plain and boring. The argument proffered is that they have to do so in order to remain viable in a cut-throat competitive environment. And they seem to be contented with their unique way of presenting news which borders on trivializing the concept and the profession of journalism in many instances.

Well, to clarify, if i have to watch television for news on India i view only the English news channels but i have flipped through various Hindi and regional news channels out of curiosity and have been dismayed at the standard of their telecast. Not that their English counterparts don’t require sincere introspection for improvement.

India, with its global aspirations, and the capabilities, cannot be seen as having a Media which is below the international standards. Exception, i reiterate, to a great degree is the English language Media in both the formats – print and electronic.

As the English language press defines the Indian Media, therefore, it needs to set benchmark for the rest of the fraternity. Simultaneously, India is waiting to see them claim their place on the global platform.

I start with the English newspapers. Times of India has the largest readership in the world; however, it is not even on the horizon when global dailies are discussed. The other newspapers also have to pull themselves up and modify their reportage so as to remain contemporary but first and foremost credible – and relevant - from the international perspective.

A foreign colleague had remarked a few years ago seeing the semi-porn texture of a newspaper supplement: ‘Are Indians so frustrated sexually?’... Each of the publications needs to read the legendary New York Times and Washington Post, to name a few, to understand what i am referring to.

Now coming to the English news channels, i credit Prannoy Roy with reshaping the Indian Media and giving us a credible alternative medium to get news and current affairs information other than the Doordarshan, seemingly government’s mouthpiece. I also thank him for giving India its beloved news anchors! Including Dr. Roy himself, whether it is Barkha Dutt or Rajdeep Sardesai or Arnab Goswami, we haven’t seen anybody better than them so far in the newer generation television journalists. In this case too, the situation is akin to Bollywood where we haven’t yet got the comparable replacements to the holy quartet of Mangeshkar Sisters Lata and Asha, Md. Rafi and Kishore Kumar in singing!

Not to forget, emphasis on producing international standard news programs got initiated with Karan Thapar coming back to India and soon he floored – literally, just ask his guests on his shows – the entire nation with his intelligent, incisive and interrogative interviews! Vir Sanghvi is another very good television journalist that we had till recently. However, today both have almost receded into the background comparatively but their contributions cannot ever be forgotten in improving the news coverage and analysis in India.

These anchors are par excellence and are comparable to any international repute newsperson of the world! Honestly, in certain aspects i find them better than anybody in the global news business. Each one of them has their individuality and tremendous qualities and contributions towards the evolution of the Indian Media.

Prannoy Roy is the pioneer in the field of the Indian television news channels! His stupendous success with NDTV 24x7 propelled the fast expansion of the industry. He retains his charm as a newsperson but his style is more suited currently for serious yet leisurely discussions with statesmen and leaders in various fields. His legacy is being carry forwarded properly by his prodigies.

Barkha Dutt is true blood international in her talent! Her command over language and style of delivery is better than even the internationally established anchors on the iconic channels like BBC and CNN. She looks original in her attitude and attire. Not easy for any new news anchor to copy her. ‘We The People’ has remained popular solely because of her. And she is the face of NDTV, besides Dr. Roy.

Rajdeep Sardesai is the original angry young man of the Indian Television Industry! When he announced his leaving the NDTV, every Indian viewer felt a void as to who would moderate the ‘Big Fight’ now. He has a perfect blend of aggression and poise and is many viewers’ choice for a television news anchor. His acumen and sensibilities made him establish his new channel CNN-IBN and soon overtook his professional alma-mater.

Arnab Goswami, the most famous and the most feared television personality in our nation! He has singlehandedly redefined the news scenario in India ever since he moved to and started Times Now. Seeing the channel’s terrific success overshadowing the media giants’ like NDTV and CNN-IBN in a short span of two years and sustaining it for five years now proves one thing: Prannoy Roy could not assess his true potential. Arnab invented a new style of news presentation: he mixed it with high voltage debates! And the unprecedented popularity of his ‘The Newshour’ forced the entire industry to follow suit. He made people realize that news was not only for viewing as-it-had-happened but for dissecting and analysing and making people concerned answerable, and the perpetrators punished. His sheer courage is infectious! And his impact is immeasurable! ‘The Nation demands an answer!’ has become his tagline. He has a large fan following among the English news viewers and even the non-viewers regard his value.

Newshour has one more distinction: its hugely popular debates now having become a standard format for news on all channels have nurtured the breeds of so-called spokespersons and activists! (How i resent these omnipresent ever-visible creatures! If i had little bit power, i would mute their voices and blurr their faces! And how their purely predictable line of arguments has forced me to curtail my news – and Newshour – viewing drastically...)

Among the other English news channels, Rahul Kunwal in Headlines Today is doing a good job and is getting better gradually. Rest are almost non-existent. And the rest of the non-English channels are pure imitators and most are pathetic.

What emerges out of this brief review is that a news channel mirrors the personality of its editor-in-chief and both become synonymous over a period of time. And, as the news industry is spearheaded by the English news channels, so is the latter performing as per the nation’s expectation? Well, yes and no.

YES, because the Indian Media has effectively discharged it role as the fourth estate and we have seen certain changes taking place in various field in our country: a few powerful but criminal politicians and others being sent to jail; a few scamsters being punished; a few victims getting the much denied justice; ...

And, NO, because the Indian Media hasn’t discharged its ‘fourth estate’ duties to the fullest as it hasn’t taken up its nationally critical international responsibilities seriously. Its vision has been narrow and it has failed to look beyond our geographical boundaries. Once in a while we do witness a few debates dedicated to Indo-Pak relationship but nothing more. Howsoever significant events could be happening anywhere in the world, our media limits its coverage to internal matters only, some of which could be genuinely important but mostly are the usual ones. 

One more sincere suggestion: they should allot debating time depending on gravity of news item; all news broadcasts cannot – and should not – be treated in the same manner.

The Indian Media has to break its self-created cocoon and spread its influence worldwide. When India gets discussed, its media should get mentioned in the same breath. And when the voice of one fifth of global population gets heard by the world, it should reverberate! Our media should be able to shape global opinions and chisel geopolitical changes. When India’s media commentators like Arnab or Rajdeep or Barkha or Prannoy speaks, the world should sit up and listen. When TOI or HT or Hindu writes or reports, the targeted subject should get shaken up. And through them India should be able to project itself more comprehensively on the global canvas.

We have many Indians now become household names globally; it’s time the Indian Media added a few names to the list.

Our English news network with its highly accomplished anchors has the potential to break into the big league of BBC and CNN. Al-Jazeera from the Arab world has achieved this feat in a small time with its quality international journalism. I have no doubt whatsoever about the success of the Indian Media – all languages, both electronic and print – in the global arena. After all, the fourth pillar of the world’s largest and the most populous democracy should have – and has – the power to stand firmly and reshape the global news sphere.

Frankly speaking, i certainly do not mean to say that the world media is perfect in all aspects. They too need to introspect and review their own style of functioning so as to make a greater impact on various governments and global happenings. One case in point: with the amount of air time spent on covering Africa by both BBC and CNN, the Continent could have come in the forefront of the world affairs by now, which sadly hasn’t happened. 

Honestly, the international media – including Indian Media – could amalgamate the best aspects of all the players and remodel its reportage on current affairs. ... Who knows soon the world will watch debates as a regular style of news presentation ... and Bollywood type songs and dances could become a routine in Hollywood ... ;)  

Wanted: an International Interlocutor for Iran

It was only yesterday that I came across a thought provoking article in one of the issues of The Speaking Tree from the Times of India and my thoughts on Iran issue crystallized! That the world needs an able international interlocutor to deal with Iran! Now, what should be the qualities of this interlocutor saddled with the immense responsibility to bring Iran to the table?

This international interlocutor should be a Taoist. That’s it! That this international interlocutor should have a comprehensive view of the world, his vision encompassing all possible facets of life. Sounds daunting? Well, no, if the international interlocutor is a Taoist!

International interlocution is an extremely difficult task in which chances of success – sustained success – is rare. We have witnessed many talks fail at the initial stages itself or go on till eternity without any probable solution on the horizon visible ever. Beyond a period the entire exercise starts resembling a time-pass job for the person(s) involved. And with time the matter gets erased from the world’s memory till the topic resurfaces later because of some ‘triggering factor’. And the whole mechanism is reignited… Welcome to the world of international interlocution!

The first UNO Secretary General had famously stated that it is better to jaw-jaw than war-war! He was in his own way defending the infamous state of the United Nations Organization’s reputation of being a place for perpetual talks, and no action! Well, if you take a closer look at the various wars fought in the contemporary times, majority was fought because of gross breakdown of communication between two countries. Though, the intention at the core of conflict predictably & primarily have been the never-satiable desire for wider global control but the igniting force was in almost all instances the breakdown of mutual talks. And if only, and I truly believe in my theory, that if the warring protagonists had decided to sit together and talk majority of the wars would not have taken place.

Now, if you are curiously waiting the unraveling of this much celebrated by now international interlocutor, then here I go, but I want you to simultaneously ponder over this issue.

As we know, international interlocution is an enormously challenging responsibility and the person involved has to be awfully tactful in negotiations. And because the discussions engage humans on both sides, the human angle(s) cannot be overlooked. This international interlocutor is concentrated upon finding a “way out” of the conflicting situation, and there comes the role of his Taoistic capabilities – to look for alternatives. Because while dealing with humans, you cannot afford rigid positions as nothing is black-or-white in life, including in international interlocution. Here comes the belief in Taoism handy as it is based on creating balance amidst imbalance, the latter stemming from the sense of disproportion. And you cannot also rest upon “one-sided” solution for all problems. The attitude of “my way or high way” ruins the process in the beginning itself.

The other aspect is sustenance of the solution reached upon. Because crumbling of peace is almost inevitable in most of the cases - soon after.

Humans, as we know for being one our self, is a complex being. Though all humans share the same DNA sequence but the genes are wired differently in every person. The human behavior and approach are shaped more by the environment and less by the genetic makeup. We see certain characteristics specific to people from a particular region or religion and all is determined by the surrounding ambience. As individuals we may be our own person but when it comes to ‘communities/countries’ we behave in a certain predictable pattern guided by the common belief and value systems – DNA of their country (!). There are cultural factors intertwined. Therefore, same lens cannot be used to diagnose the problem and thus arrive at the solution. The person acting as the international interlocutor has to have in-depth knowledge of the people involved and the historical-cultural background of the countries engaged in the conflict.

And, of course, the international interlocutor cannot have prejudices and biases and predetermined notional approach to the task. The talks have to be conducted in a balanced environment with equal weightage being accorded to both the communicating partners, irrespective of the status of the individual countries on the geopolitical index, keeping the cultural sensibilities of both the sides in view.

The case in point is Iran. So far the world diplomacy has failed to bring this strategically important country to the table. In fact the scenario has become worse and now it has come to the stage of a full blown conflict between both, Iran and the ‘rest of the world’ being positioned exactly opposite to each other. The ‘rest of the world’ – the West led by the US – has pushed Iran to the corner by sanctioning harsh economic and social embargoes and expectedly Iran has reacted by blocking oil supplies to 8 Eurozone countries. Iran has further gone ahead and stationed its missile warheads ready just in case …

Who is to be blamed in this unnecessarily provoked conflict situation? (All conflicts are unnecessary – if you analyze it critically.)

Iran is no saint nation. It has its own sets of problems – not for the ‘rest-of-the-world’ but ironically perpetrated upon its own people, the various manifestations of religious fundamentalists that life of an average Iranian is not something to be vied for. But Iran controls the second largest reserves of liquid gold – Oil! Oil, the life-line of today’s world and which is much more valuable than gold! Ask America and it will be readily willing to swap all its gold reserves for all of the world’s Oil – Saudi Arabia and Iran to start with! The kernel of the ongoing Iran conflict lies here – in the Oil!

Because Iran controls second largest reserves of Oil, therefore, the world – the US mainly – wants to control Iran! And this is no hypothesis. Otherwise, why will the world – the US – have duplicity in its diplomacy while dealing with various nations, many of them rouge and much more fundamentalists than Iran; nuclear arsenals is just one of the excuse to gain so-called legitimate access to Iran’s vast Oil reserves!

On Nuclear issue too, how can the US and other “nuclear” nations preach nuclear abstinence to Iran when they themselves are armed to teeth with nuclear warheads, with a combined capacity to destroy the complete world at least 15 times over? (Well, one can die only once, sadly!) What legitimacy does all these nuclear nations have which gives them the moral-or-immoral authority to curb an independent nation’s nuclear ambitions when it is repeatedly proclaiming its peaceful intents? Even if the fact that Iran fought with Iraq for almost a decade but that does not make it a global threat! And by the way, we all know that both these neighboring countries were pitched against each other to neutralize each other and create a conflict zone in the Middle East to suit global arms dealers’ desires. Both Iran and Iraq got used and abused by the West, including the US. The intention was only one: to gain forever access to their huge Oil reserves in order to satiate their ever growing energy demands. Saudi Arabia, the world knew, was never going to be easy to target, anyway, and that is the reason it has never been eyed so far in spite of being the largest Oil producer.

The argument that Iran is a terror sponsoring state is also hollow. The world knows the creators of Taliban and Al-Qaeda; stretching the reasoning a bit far, dictators like Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak and others, including financially supporting terror crucibles like Pakistan, are the playthings/grounds of the ‘rest-of-the world’ and not Iran. Thus, painting a purposefully bad picture of Iran and using the same against it in the global arena to garner support and buy legitimacy so as to corner it – for Oil, what else?! - is going to be highly detrimental for the world order.

The solution is to engage Iran in dialogue but with an honest intent and not with a prejudiced baggage. The international interlocutors involved have to have a clear picture of Iran as a nation in mind. They have to remember its ancient history and its evolution through the various historic and contemporary periods and its position in today’s world. Iran is the oldest civilized country of the world and it has a rich Persian heritage of which the Iranians are extremely proud of! Okay, it has gone wayward in modern times due to its now adopted fundamentalistic approach in politics and governance but still it does not get categorized as a rogue nation. Iran is an aggressive nation but its current posturing is more because of its international isolation post its West-fuelled decade long Iraq war – which also gave opportunity for the Islamic extremism to flourish further. Its decision to develop nuclear capabilities indigenously also stemmed from these set of problems.

And if the world wants to engage Iran honestly, then the international interlocutors have to have 360-degree knowledge of its history and culture and religion and its people and its heritage and legacy. This is pre-requisite to a successful interlocution between the ‘rest-of-the-world’ and Iran.

To talk absolutely naive, if Barack Obama picks up his Blackberry and calls up President Ahmadinejad, will not the latter agree to an across the table conversation? (Provided the White House warmongering hawks let the President take this initiative!) The venue may not be Washington or Tehran, but the UN Secretary General’s office can just be the best place to talk! Mr. Ban Ki Moon, are you listening?

…………………………………….

P.S: Iran-Iraq: conjoined neighbors?

The Iran-Iraq connection is divine in spite of the divide. Look at the history of both the neighboring nations and you would understand. The emergence of both the countries is ancient, both being the cradle of civilization. And both have shared similar fate in their evolution, as conjoined entities. Looking at the currently active events in the world of global politics and power, it would not be a prophecy to proclaim that it is the turn of Iran to get battered by the U.S. like its troubled neighbor Iraq…

Arnab Goswami: a Monk among Mughals in Media?

Arnab Goswami is a monk. That’s the feeling I get whenever I watch him present the Newshour on Timesnow. And I am sure my sentiment is shared by millions.

When the Times of India – expectedly – launched Timesnow with Arnab Goswami as its Editor-in-Chief and Vice President, honestly, I did not expect it to become the No.1 English news channel within a short span of two (three) years. Also, I did not expect Arnab Goswami to be regarded – and awarded - as the best news anchor so soon, beating the well established ones in the business! And my doubts were well founded, at least that is what I thought in those times.

Those were the times - in 2006, in India - when the English media in television was insurmountably dominated by big players like NDTV and the newly launched CNN-IBN. Prannoy Roy, Barkha Dutt and Rajdeep Sardesai were the undisputed favourites. Though Arnab Goswami enjoyed his “own” position at NDTV, still, for me to think that one day I would become his great admirer – like millions - was unthinkable, in those times.

But that changed soon after.

Going back to the launch of Timesnow days, what was surprising to me was the quiet manner in which it was done. There was no “usual” TOI-style fanfare; no Page-3 kind parties; no advertisement even in TOI! Even thereafter, TOI did not take any particular pains to popularize its channel. Moreover, to my further surprise, the format of the news channel was quite serious in comparison to the “populist-like” approach adopted by TOI – especially for its Delhi Times. Frankly, I simply couldn’t understand the “strategy” behind this “hush-hush” kind of affair. Imagine, the No.1 national daily was introducing its news channel and there was no “news”! It was quite perplexing to me.

But not anymore.

Because, today – perhaps - I understand the “reason” behind the “positioning” of Timesnow, and the Newshour in particular. And, the “reason” is none other than its Editor-in-Chief and Vice President Arnab Goswami.

Here, I am attempting to de-construct - understand - Arnab Goswami.
(You will understand only if you have watched him host the Newshour.)

You do not often come across a news channel chief not having airs around him; you do not often watch a news channel chief not acting powerful and an influencer; you do not often see a news channel chief not exploiting his privileged position; you do not often witness a news channel chief be reticent and shy of networking; you do not regularly hear about the editor-in-chief of TOI’s news channel not willing to be a part of the circus that is so fashionable in today’s times in electronics format: instituting Media awards – say, Timesnow Year Awards! (I wonder if he attends the annual mad bash of Bombay Times!) … . Well, I can go on and on.

In three years of its existence, the most forceful factor that has emerged strongly as the prime cause for Timesnow success is Arnab Goswami. He is not only an anchor par excellence but a remarkably able – and modest - debate moderator as well! His deliberations are genuine and sincere besides being insightful and interesting. He exudes warmth and ease around him though he is straightforward to the point of having it as his trademark style. Hearing him present news and debate them in depth makes one feel a part of Newshour discussions – as if he is sitting with viewers – every viewer - in living room, and discussing as a friend. What is admirable about Arnab is his assertiveness devoid of any apparent aggression, displaying his intense character. He respects his guests – and audience alike – and the same get reflected to him. And, I truly believe that he is going to remain like this forever: deeply rooted.

Now, tell me, what would you call a person as privileged in position as Arnab Goswami but comfortably unaffected – and detached - by his advantaged status, not falling for fame or famous or a Ferrari?

A monk! What else?!

And that is the reason I call Arnab Goswami a Monk - among Mughals in Media!