Watch Mickey and Vetaal!
SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY
|
Kids' TV in India is over a decade old but local content is still scarce. There is more to the tale though.
|
There is only one "Galli Galli Sim Sim" and it is a long way till we have locally strong content on our kids' channels. Nafisa Ali Chairperson, CFS
BENCHMARK Niret Alva says "Galli Galli Sim Sim" will be a yardstick for Indian production houses.
A date with the "Dragon" from Ottawa; a ride on "1/2 Ticket Express" with Ethelbert and his Indian friend, Dilip; a peek at "Mickey Mouse Playhouse", Shin Chan's plotting, Doraemon and his Japanese mate Novida's intrigues, a trip to "Galli Galli Sim Sim" to meet the fun crowd, and so much more.
Certainly, any given day now comes packed with a wide selection of shows on kids' channels. Much as we complain about television creating couch potatoes of our young ones and an aggressive Gen Next, a cursory glance at the programme listing of these channels looks as if all attempts are being made to turn our little ones into `global Indians'. Just by watching the tube! Dubbed American, British, Japanese, Canadian shows, sprinkled lately with a few Indian ones, they seem to have sneaked in to entertain our little ones at home. In a language they are familiar with. So Oswalds, Robs, Chamkis, Koches, Shin Chans, Vickys, Mickeys and others speak one language - Hindi. The background though remains as trans-national as their names. Never mind if some dubbed words in Hindi are beyond you.
`A pity'
Comments Nafisa Ali, Chairperson, Children's Film Society, "It is a pity that our kids are mostly fed with dubbed versions of international shows which usually have sensibilities not suitable to ours."
Most channels would like to disagree with her, citing the reason that their content, though imported, is child-friendly, but the point is, what is acceptable in one society is perhaps not quite so in another. It is a question of cultural relativity. India contains many societal sensibilities with different parameters.
Says Monisha Singh, Vice President (Television), UTV, "Even if we import a show, we edit out things that we feel will hurt Indian sensibilities. In `Shin Chan' too, we have edited out a lot of things." It looks though, as if there is still some scope for editing: Very few kids of Shin Chan's age sleep in their own rooms in India and so could think up a plan to keep the mother engaged lest she goes back to her bedroom to have "fun" with the father. Or, relating to a photograph of the princess of Japan like Novida.
The same goes for many shows across the channels. There's no denying, though, that some imported shows do have things to teach our tiny tots, like Oswald's generosity, Fifi's helpfulness and Noddy's resolve among others. Playing safe, Tata Sky already offers a mechanism to Indian parents to block out a show they think could be harmful to their kids.
Too little
A re-look at the listings, and it starkly points to this - whether locally produced shows will adhere to the sentiments is still not an issue, as only a handful of local productions are available compared to the gamut of international shows. While Indian family entertainment channels have long gone local, kids' content, despite many niche channels now, is still very much international. Be they animation or live action shows, our productions can be counted on the fingertips.
Monisha gives a reason. "Our local production houses are still confined to the idea of making one-odd show for the kids' band of a channel." So series like "Malgudi Days", "Shararat", "Shaka Laka Boom Boom", "Son Pari" and "Shaktiman", etc. have not yet translated into a mass kids' content production industry.
However, Niret Alva of Miditech production house points out, "The foundation has already been laid." Alva has just produced the pre-school series "Galli Galli Sim Sim". Along with Pogo and Cartoon Network, it is also aired on Doordarshan. And this year, Miditech will produce "Pogo Amazing Kids Award" too, with four Indian hosts. "This time, the show will be different from the earlier versions," he promises.
No history
Though a single window, Doordarshan had surely laid the foundation for tele-series, which have become an established industry today. But that is not the case with kids' tele-content. Though Cartoon Network entered India well over 10 years ago, it generally banked on its international content dubbed in Hindi. Ten years is a long time for an industry to fledge, but even today we hear local production house heads like Alva saying, "`Galli Galli Sim Sim' and `Pogo Amazing Kids Awards' will be reference points for Indian production houses."
But Nachiket Pandvaidya, Executive Director, Programming and Production, Walt Disney, offers hope that it is a matter of time before things change. "When Disney came to India in 2004, our priority was to localise the language. Then we focussed on short programming, which followed acquisition of Indian content such as `Hatim', `Karishma Ka Karishma' and `Hanuman'. Now the focus is on producing our own local shows. Every frame will have an Indian face." So this October, Disney launched its first such major series, "Vicky Aur Vetaal", a Cinevista production.
Turner too is fast turning Indian. "Captain Vyum" and "Saamne Wali Khirki" are some of its local shows. Though it was the first to air Indian animation movies, its international content still rules. "We have learnt that ultimately global content mixed with the Indian appeals to viewers. What the audience finally want is relevant, high quality content," says Monica Tata, Vice President, Advertising Sales and Networks, Turner India.
Though UTV floated Hungama as the first home-grown kids' channel, it mostly banked on international shows. The Chief Operating Officer, Ronald D'melo reasons, "Indian channels don't have that big a budget for local productions. And syndicated content has not picked up in India yet. We can't make one product just for one channel."
Profit motive
So profit obviously is at the root. Even though UTV is busy making a host of shows like home DVDs for American children, and an Arabic kids series, etc., no Indian child will see it on air here.
While big players are talking about going global by and by, Nafisa feels the process is too measured. "There is only one `Galli Galli..' and it is a long way till we get to see locally strong content on our kids' channels." Pentamedia launched Splash in 2001 with only home-grown content but couldn't sustain it. But looking at our quality animation work for overseas clients, and the mushrooming of local production houses, industry watchers say it is a matter of time before Indian kids content floods not just the local market but is exported a lot too. Monisha says UTV is already doing it. "Gol Gol Gullam" has already been dubbed for kids in Indonesia and The Philippines, and the serial "Hero" might soon be on the flight too.
Sporadic perhaps, but the two-way race seems to have just begun!
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
