SIGHT & SOUND
Ga-ga over Ganguly
Amita Malik

After all those half-page warnings in large letters in the Press, everyone was apprehensive and confused about what would happen about TV reception from January 1. Actually, most of us are still confused. I am filing this column from Kolkata, so I am not sure what is happening in Delhi, from where I normally file it. But as far as Kolkata goes, two of the households I know are carrying on with the cable operator as if nothing has happened.

Another more conscientious friend made a serious study of the "box on top" options available to him, did his channel and rates of payment calculations, and settled for paying Rs 4,000 to one of the suppliers, got his box and now appears not to have a care in the world. So do those who have not even given it a thought. So at the moment there is happiness and normalcy all round.

Actually, here in Kolkata, Delhi’s woes, mostly the Noida killings, are followed with interest and concern, but all Kolkata’s Bengali channels are focused on the bandh, which is for 12 hours, according to Mamata Banerji, who is coming out of hospital to lead the bandh, and for 24 hours, according to the Congress and others.

The Bengali channels have given up cricket and almost given up Sourav after the last test in South Africa, and the bandh is naturally top news, with local channels able to give a better account than the national channels, although all of them have correspondents here. The second lead is the cruel killing of people of Bihari origin and described as "Hindi-speaking", allegedly by the ULFA in Assam. With Bihar a close neighbour, as is Assam, the lead is appreciated and closely followed.

It was painful the way we lost the third test in South Africa, and I switched off in disgust as two of the best batsmen in the world, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, made five runs in seven overs, or perhaps the other way round. I really didn’t care. But when I returned after some time, they were still at it. Kolkata’s channels and newspapers have lapped up Guru Greg Chappell’s sudden tribute to Ganguly and his return to big advertisements. Yes, Dada is back with a vengeance and is not only hogging a lot of space in Bengali channels, but I have also noticed tributes to him and suggestions by all and sundry that he should be made captain for the World Cup, from all over — Shillong, Ahmedabad, Kochi and Jalandhar.

Meanwhile, no one is missing Navjot Singh Sidhu much on the small screen, not even in Cricket Controversies, where he used to shout the loudest, and he only continues to illuminate the advertisement for luminous inverters.

Watching Bengali TV serials, I find that they mostly suffer from a slight hangover of theatre. Dialogue, in particular, sounds more studied and seldom spontaneous, or appearing to be so. Yet I find in even the worst Hindi serials slight suggestions of what used to be called neo-realism. I think one of the reasons is that the Bombay Hindi cinema is now — in films by younger directors with contemporary themes — becoming much more international in style and technique. There are perhaps not many Bengali film directors who have adopted a more modern style, although Aparna Sen, Rituparna Ghosh, Gautam Ghose and a few others certainly keep up with international trends.

Another reason is that more Mumbai directors and actors are in active touch with TV, and I don’t only mean Amitabh Bachchan and Karan Johar, and now Shah Rukh Khan, who started his career in TV with Fauji and is now doing the grand daddy of TV, and in succession to Big B. I stick to my forecast that he will do very well in Kaun Banega Crorepati.