The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Reality is ‘in’ 0ut 0f the box

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 31, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Reality is ‘in’ 0ut 0f the box

Road less travelled: Travelogues on the tube are handled efficiently.

Blame it on inability to innovate, scarcity of fresh ideas or plain apathy, Telugu television has shackled itself into the mundane. There is very little that comes across refreshing in terms of concept or treatment and most of it is just borrowing success formulae from one another or from national networks. If you have seen one, you have seen all. Only the minor details differ and perhaps the faces.

Whether it is general entertainment channels or those positioning themselves as news and current affairs channels, each seem to be busy peering into the others production rooms and copy the same for themselves.

Very little time appears to be spent by those given the decision making task on working towards newer concepts and ideas or at least give a new impetus to content handling.

Reality shows are in, shows for women are sure winners, movies and programmes based on them offer cushioning and celebrity presence secures a show, is what is parroted routinely and that leaves producers with fresher ideas on tenterhooks.

The channels just make you look within the fixed parameters, laments a producer with a host of products to his credit. Innovation, it is argued, is rather an accident for the channels.

Little is attempted to break the rigid confines and usher in a whiff of freshness on Telugu channels.

Very few producers could manage to move away from the routine tear-jerkers, shows that come with inane games and contests and comedy that is churned out with certain insensitivity. Like ‘Vihari’, the travelogue which is set to complete 150 episodes on Maa TV by taking viewers out to different destinations and is handled quite efficiently.

On ETV, the recently-started initiative with dupes deserves to be termed as an idea well executed. Zee Telugu, which added a sci-fi to its listings, too can try to persist with similar new ideas.

Can there be a real break from the routine? Incidentally, most of the channels have in recent times acquired younger managers and a lot depends on their ability to look beyond what is sold to them as a sure success formula.

T. LALITH SINGH

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