Reality bites...

TELIVISION.PESSIMISM.ENTERTAINMENT.EYES WIDE SHUT.

The letter ‘k’.Spawned magic on television.Surged the TRPs.Raked in big bucks for many aspiring producers.Others too followed in the footsteps of star plus,in a bid to turn around their wheels of fortune.In no time,Ekta kapoor became the queen of the teletube.The letter ‘k’.Her lucky mascot.It made her famous.Succesful.Adorable.

And this,indeed,revolutionalised the telivision industry…but at what cost???

The K Soaps spunned the web of negativity around on television ,which in turn manifested into our lives in a subtle, and yet, an inevitable manner.They’ve donned the telescreen for quite sometime now.And after years of continuos subjection to grotesque images of the badly scripted K serials,we,the viewers, don’t fancy the idea of breaking our reconcilation with the highly gloomy and acrid notion of life these seem to project.Infact, so well acquainted have we become with the ‘fake reality’ these delineate that we perk up with every new offering that comes up on the block.

It is quite evident that our definition of entertainment has undergone tremendous alterations over the years, however, elusive it might be.We tend to associate entertainment with anything which provides us with sinister, disdainful,mocking and often scornful impressions about life in general.This could be attributed to the countless reality shows that have been reigning the small screen for a while now.Take for instance Mtv’s Hero Honda Roadies.The show boasts about being succesful in its attempt to ‘identify’ with the youth.In the show, it is required of the participants to prove their mettle at performing some supposedly daring tasks.The one who proves to be the strongest of them all wins.Err..no…not really.The one who is able to play enough mind games, in a spiteful fashion,to knock out other contestants from the show is the most probable winner.He is the winner in the eyes of the younger lot, never mind if he is as poor in his GK as being oblivion to the fact who the president of India is. Bitching.Bickering.Cribbing.The show is incomplete without all of these.They are the show’s USPs.This is what it takes to be a roadie.

I wonder.Is this what the youth of this country really identifies with???

YES.

Nothing can change the fact that the show is a hit.It clicked with the audience right fom its inception and has been running succecfully for over five years now.And what more, other channels have too made sure that they come up with something wherein enough ‘bitching around’ seeps into the show’s concept.

This is what a succesful show is partly or wholly about-negatively potrayed drama,real or fake,whichever way it may seem. But as long as it is able to grab the attention of our eyeballs,who’s complaining?Who cares about such shows going on air if they are able to raise the TRPs,never mind the invisible levels of negativity they pierce into our lives?Who cares if they make idols out of cheeky folks who apparently don’t have a purpose in life save constant acrimony?

I don’t.No.I don’t.

Because you know what…I’m just one of you…

THE VIEWER.

A 'Remote' possibility.....

Ever wondered what unthinkable changes could a mere piece of plastic, tucked carelessly under your pillows, bring about in your lives???What wonders or blunders could an nth scientific creation, which you inadvertently drop, and yet don't feel sorry about, nestle into your lives???Haven't you ever acknowledged how essential a commodity has it become in your households as, your fridge, your washing machine, your air conditioner, or even your television, for that matter, to which it has been blissfully married, for over years now....???
Yes, undoubtedly and unmistakably,I'm talking of this incomparable and unsubstituted bantam device, the 'remote control', which you search for under desperate circumstances and get mad at your inability to trace it when some moron is crooning endlessly on television to your disguise, or some news anchor is bombarding you with breaking news which apparently takes a perpetual stand! 'Incomparable' and 'unsubstituted', I call it, unless you don't agree with the idea of moving up your asses from your beds or sofas and caring to walk a 4-5 feet distance towards your television sets to tune into the channel of your choice.
You curse it.You beat it.Often you hammer it to the extent that the cells come flying off at times.You even thrash it at times when it fails to be in unanimity with you that 'aastha' channel is not the one one should ache for...and your television leaves you with utterly disturbing and irritating, often intolerable images of the many babajis and gurujis who never quite flinch from flocking to your 21 inches screen.But, it doesn't get affected by your disgruntled looks.Even while you slaughter it to imprint the invariable and unseen scratches on its wonderfully robust body(yes, robust...even after weeks of continuous onslaught,it never quite loses its 'sturdiness'!),it doesn't fail to stick to its idea of pragmatism by prompting the television not to ward off the palest imagery of a news channel....and how you wish dad wasn't around...
At times, you flip through the channels in faint hope that your remote control would continue to be obedient and would not cease to operate, to deliver something you would never wish to exercise your eyeballs for during any time of your life.But 'hopes' never turn into reality....at least not in this case!It shatters all your wishes, and slyly, in front of your mom, decides not to function the moment your television cries out the glorifying images saaree-clad saas-bahus. Again, you helplessly look on, in seething silence, for this time the intended destination was Star Movies....and not Star Plus! Even worse, how at times, you wish you weren't having dinner with your family when your television, out of the blues, starts delivering some family- unfriendly visuals. The remote, again, puts you under some of the oddest circumstances and continues to sneer and jeer at your sheer discomfort!It even shows you how courageously it can succumb to the injuries it has suffered after subjection to constant butchery for over weeks, as it rubbishes your idea of a favorite channel. It doesn't cater to your whims and fancies, and for reasons well-known only to itself, doesn't quite obey its master! It continues to bear the brunt of your anger with remarkable strength.
This dinky device has indeed made us a nation fully loaded with idle prats and couch potatoes, happily munching away pop corns and chips, never mind the amount of calories ignorantly taken in. How, surprisingly, it turns a nonchalant codger into an impulsive and an aggressive bloke who fights over things as absurd as the desire to get a glimpse of a favorite channel. And, you again can't deny its role in nurturing sibling rivalry, when each of the two fights over its possession and within seconds, the verbal spat takes the form of a violent tussle.
Imagine, how wonderfully you can touch upon the highest levels of active behavior simply by not laying your hands on the remote control!This would mean willingly walking up to your television sets every time you decide to change a channel.This simple and yet not so 'simple' exercise could chuck that flab out of your belly. But for that to happen, you'll have to chuck the remote first. Greater is the amount of pleasure you might achieve when your boss suddenly decides to hike your salary seeing your bustling energy, as you engage in increasing forms of active behavior!
Now, before you contemplate treating me the same way as you sometimes treat your dearest remote, for imparting you with the eccentricities of it and equally eccentric pieces of advice mentioned in the paragraph above, I bring this chapter to a close. Helplessly, I search for my remote control....

DUB