MEDIA MATTERS
A state apart
SEVANTI NINAN
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Television in Kerala, no matter where a channel’s allegiance lies, has a cultural ambience uniquely its own.
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Technicolour aspirations: A show on Amritha TV.
LAST week a date was set yet again for the launch of a Congress-backed TV channel in Kerala. Jai Hind TV was initially targeted for the 2006 assembly elections in the State, but that did not happen. Now an August launch date has been announced for So
nia Gandhi to inaugurate it. Defence Minister A.K. Antony, meanwhile, has already laid the foundation stone of the proposed studio complex at a two-acre plot of land on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram.
The point to note is that Kerala is unique in this respect. TV channels backed by political parties or religious orders are more likely to be launched there than in any other State. In 2000, a CPM-backed TV channel, Kairali, was born, and is today a three-channel network which demonstrates that no matter what its provenance, television in Kerala evolves a bizarre cultural ambience that is uniquely its own.
The fare on offer
Let me illustrate with respect to three ventures whose channels are firmly ensconced in the State’s television landscape. First there is Kairali, which has a variety of promoters and shareholders, CPM legislators and cadres among them. Its chairman is Malayalam actor Mammootty. It likes to describe itself as the TV channel with the largest shareholder base in the world. The main channel Kairali is described by its management as a serious entertainment channel on whose programming they invest considerably. It has a live music request show called Good Morning Gulf, serials, movies, devotional stuff, a cookery show called “Magic Oven”, the works. Also, Kairali might be the media initiative of anti-imperialist comrades, but it has no problem accepting multinational advertising.
Its news channel is called People, and on it you could run into just about anything. Kairali’s managing director and editor, John Brittas, strenuously asserts that all parties get fair and full coverage. The news anchor might occasionally wear a vivid red shirt but may be we should put that down to the Keralite’s love for bright colours. People might feature a full-length political rally speech, an interview with A.R. Rehman or a Southern version of NDTV’s Walk the Talk. On this, bearded intellectuals meander about a grassy stretch discussing radicalism in art, while the ad crawlers on the screen are busy selling real estate all over Kerala. Live in Mir Greens Metropolis in Kochi. Or in the Moonstone luxury apartments in Palarivottam.
Then there is WE, described as Kairali’s “young channel”, which features a daily evening music show called “Dewdrops Live”, and something featuring women titled “Femme Frame”. In case you did not get it, the stage backdrop explains “Frame for Women”. WE is a high decibel channel, yet another programme is called “Shrill Out”, there is something called “Dreamz” and other programmes feature Love Bites and Chit Chat. And of course, there are song and dance routines, in which young Malayali lasses in strapless tops and short frilly skirts gyrate energetically. If this is Marxist fare, Kerala’s Marxists must be a very trendy bunch.
Other end of the spectrum
Equally resistant to stereotyping is Amrita TV which acknowledges inspiration from Amma, or Mata Amritanandamayi Devi. The same channel in the U.S. has rather more to offer of what Amma might represent. The one on cable in Kerala gives you a weekend darshan of Amma rendering bhajans or hugging devotees but currently its major claim to fame is “Super Dancer”, a Kerala version of “Nach Baliye” or “Jhalak Dikhla Ja”. If the promos
are to be believed it is a widely watched reality show. You watch a contestant called Daleena in a shimmering dress do a very energetic whirl and then appeal for your vote. The phone lines are open, in Oman, Kuwait, Saudi and Qatar. The judges, incredibly, sit in a replica of a red automobile with headlamps. The aesthetics of the Southern channels make the Hindi ones look decidedly bland. And of course, you can discuss the contestants on the channel’s web forum. Amrita TV also features regular news updates.
Then there is Jeevan TV whose Catholic provenance surfaces in the early mornings and shortly after noon but disappears thereafter to make way for news, business, food shows, comedy, film — you name it. A sponsored programme, “Ente Veedu” takes you on a round of Kochi’s palace-like wealthy homes and brings you interviews with their owners. At night Jeevan acquires wit in a programme called “Tear Gas”. The conspicuous exception to this rather catholic approach to an inspirational channel is the Catholic one called Shalom TV. There you get a daily mass everyday at 4 p.m. in addition to morning devotionals, and you will not find any frippery here.
The norm however, in the world of Kerala TV, is high jinks in technicolour. So given time, Jai Hind TV may well evolve into something that will render Sonia Gandhi and other Congress stalwarts mildly apoplectic.
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