It is time for Diwali specials

Sony has special plans for this Diwali. No plan can get more special than Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. The promos are good enough to burst firecrackers about. Picture ki to baat hi nahin. Sony is on a viewer-friendly binge, what with a harvest of new soaps on air, all in the pre-Crorepati slots of course.



On Sony’s Dil Hai Hi Manta Nahin there was a shaadi on the cards. One of those cards reached the hands of an NRI whose daughter (Shruti Ulfat) promptly burst into hiccuping tears. It seems she wanted to marry the bridegroom Amit (Vishal Singh) all along. But the NRI needn’t lose heart. Amit’s bride-to-be dies in an accident on the day of the wedding. But not before her papa (Yatin Karyekar) folded his hands in front of the groom’s mother (Maya Alagh) pleading with her to forgive his daughter if she errs on any count. “It’s not her fault,” protested the tense father tearfully. “I’ve pampered and spoilt her.” Now with the wannabe bride gone there is a melancholic aura enveloping the soap.



This is quite rare in our soaps where sadness is strictly a no-no. Sony’s Milan the next evening countermands the melancholy on Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin with a spot of Punjabi bravado. The story of a joint Punjabi family is so full of the lassi of human kindness, we cold grow fat simply imbibing the curd-have-beens. There’s Ranvir (Rohit Roy) the damaad of the family who takes off for Pune without informing his wife who sulks and sulks about the sarso ka saag that she had made with her “own two hands.” Saali pleads her brother-in-law’s case. But wife is adamant. “He has to come back tonight and have my sarson ka saag.” At this rate this sarso ka saag version of Sooraj Barjatya’s cinema will induce instant diabetes in all of us.



Shaheen the same night is another attempt after Heena to recreate the Muslim Social in a portable format. The plot is clearly filched from Zee’s super-successful Koshish: Ek Asha. Shaheen is unhappy with her con marriage to a middle-aged man with grownup children. She huffs back home only to find her father in the ICU. I wish the director would transfer some of that intensive care to his narration which suffers from terminal sloppiness, not to mention deja vu. Cannibalization on the channels has reached a feverish point. While Koshish: Ek Asha resembled Kora Kagaz in all outward detail, Shaheen resembles the former.



In the meanwhile, the original soap among the three has gathered momentum. Pooja’s long-absconding husband Mahesh (Amit Behl) is back home. But hey, Pooja wants to marry Ravi. And Mahesh wants to settle down with Shalini. I know how the quadrangle is going to be resolved. But let’s give the disgruntled characters the benefit of the pout.



We had a classic instance of the pout calling the cattle black when funster Tiku Talsania raved and ranted against his self-seeking family who forgot his birthday on Sony’s sitcom Mere Angnein Mein. I don’t know if you’ve noticed. But on every family-oriented serial, the kids forget their parent’s birthday at least once. In fact the maha-successful Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi started with everyone in the joint family except grandpa Dinesh Thakur forgetting grandma Sudha Shivpuri’s birthday. Now the serial has gone and changed grandpa’s identity. He’s now played by Sudhir Dalvi instead of Dinesh Thakur. One shudders to think how viewers would react if some of the more popular characters like the Junagarh Walli Bahu decide to opt out of Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.



Last week, Karan Thapar invited choreographer-dancer Shiamak Davar on BBC’s Face To Face. As usual, off went the fangs, on came the kid gloves as soon as a showbiz personality showed up for a speakeasy session. In fact at the end of it all, Shiamak thanked Thapar for being so good to him. I guess he expected to be grilled instead of chilled. Shiamak had a chance to sing not once but twice. The first time he sang on his own to let us know how he used to entertain his friends during childhood. “Not this song, this is a new one,” Shiamak added candidly. Sincere subterfuge? The second time Karan Thapar urged his guest to sing. I almost expected the pair to break into an impromptu duet before the chat was over. But there was no time. Shiamak had so much to say about his experiences with his friends in this world and the other world. He spoke rapidly and excitedly, trying to cram in a lifetime of unexpected experiences in 30 minutes.



While the nation prepared for Diwali and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Haadsa on SAB TV came forward with an ill-timed episode about a musician (Pravin Dabas) who ends up burnt up and blinded after bursting Diwali crackers for some kids. The story was told from the wife’s point of view and explained how the accident changed her life. Though depressing, Haadsa always puts its point forward with plenty of feeling and sensitivity.



Zee News’ special Inside Story on corruption in Indian sports described how genuinely deserving sportspersons were being pushed out by bhai-bhatijawadi. Several pertinent points were raised that evening on why the Indian team returned so dejectedly from the Olympics. The Inside Story wanted to know why cricketers were pampered so much when an Anand Vishwanathan returned after a chess triumph to an unresponsive nation. Good question. But it’s being asked a little too late in the day. And Malleswari going on record against her seniors regarding the non-selection of her colleague Kunjorani Devi is like bolting the stable-door after the horses have fled.



Sony’s Max channel has started something called Mini Movies where they shorten a films’ length to one-third the original for the viewing comfort of audiences in a hurry. One shudders to think how David Lean or Sanjay Leela Bhansali would react to such savage editing. Satellite television has made everything far less complicated than it ought to be.

Subhash K Jha