News Broadcasting
DD launching two afternoon soaps
MUMBAI: Soaps featuring squabbling relatives continue to rule the roost among Indian houeswives. So it comes as no surprise that national broadcaster Doordarshan has introduced two daily soaps in the afternoon on the National Channel with a view to hooking Indian women with some free time on their hands.
The first one Shikwah kicks off 18 November and airs Monday to Friday at 1pm. The story follows the struggles of a woman whose husband has died in bringing up and educating her three small daughters. The task involves plenty of personal sacrifice and the challenge before her is to ensure that the girls do not miss a father figure.
The cast includes Rita Bhaduri and Surabhi Tiwari. The plot takes a twist when an incident from her past sets a storm in her life as well as her daughters lives. The daily soap has been produced and directed by Rakesh Chowdhury.
The second soap Kamyabi starts from 25 November and airs Monday to Friday at 12 noon. The story deals with a married couple Siddhant and Anjali. The film explores the conflicting relationship between Siddhant and his father. In fact Siddhant has a healthier relationship with his uncle who took charge of his upbringing.
News Broadcasting
Talking heads: TV9’s chief takes the host’s chair with style — but could do with a laugh
Barun Das has swapped the boardroom for the studio and is pulling off a polished interview show — mostly
MUMBAI: There is something quietly audacious about a media chief who decides that running a television empire is not quite enough and plants himself in front of the camera for a good chinwag with the great and the good. Barun Das, chief executive of TV9 Network, has done precisely that, and for the most part, he carries it off with considerable aplomb.
Duologue with Barun Das, now in its fourth season on JioHotstar, is exactly what it says on the tin: two people, two chairs, no frills. In the earlier seasons, Das has sat across from a rather stellar roster, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Aparna Sen, Viswanathan Anand, Kiran Rao, among many other renowned names. And in the fourth instalment he has had guests of the likes of Aamir Khan, Sourav Ganguly, Bianca Balti (Italian super model and cancer survivor), Lothar Matthäus (German football World Cup-winning captain). Throughout, he has coaxed from them nuggets that their publicists would probably rather keep under wraps. Cricket, relationships, spirituality, acting, health, behind-the-scenes machinations that plague politics, intellect, nepotism, nothing is entirely off the table.
Das’s greatest asset is his manner. Unhurried, well-dressed and disarmingly calm, he has the rare gift of making his guests feel so thoroughly at ease that they occasionally forget they are being filmed for television. The questions arrive softly, like a spinner tossing up a googly rather than a fast bowler hurling bouncers, and more often than not, they draw out a telling answer. He has no cue cards or teleprompter to help him along, which is probably a rarity for a host. Some credit must go to the research team operating quietly in the wings, who evidently do their homework so that Das does not have to fumble for his.
Where Duologue stumbles, however, is in its almost determined refusal to lighten up. Each 45-minute episode carries the solemn weight of a budget speech. A dash of wit, a moment of mischief, the odd belly laugh, none of it makes an appearance. Serious conversation has its place, but even the most earnest of interviewers, think David Frost at his best, knew when to let the air out of the room.
Das has built something worth watching. He simply needs to remind himself, and his guests, that a smile never hurt anyone.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5.
Available on JioHotstar.
