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“Television is like a one night stand”

In contradiction to the belief of one night stands being beautiful, I do think that it is not always so. Alongwith the brighter aspect which is enjoyment to the hilt without guilt, one night stands have a certain tragic element attached to it.

Marriages and relationships can boast of permanence to an extent as well as take pride in the fruits borne of them, whereas one night stands are bereaved of both of these.

Similarly television is a medium which is neither constant nor endeavours to bear any fruit. There is no permanency in television. It is like a man who has to hunt for his meat in the jungle everyday. Everyday is a new day, every night, a new night.

Taking change in its stride, comfortably, is one of the most delightful aspects of television. When it comes to experimenting with fresh ideas, there cannot be a better medium than television. It is for this very reason that we can say that freshness and youth is the other name of television

Nothing gets repeated on television and nothing can succeed if repeated. People generally comment on the impression left behind by a certain actor. This impression, or a characteristic trait, is scrutinised and applauded by the audience. But if the same happens on television, it indicates a blunder. The very same impression plays to his disadvantage.

The TV audience goes not by impressions but by variations that an actor manages to portray. Whatever happens on TV happens only once. Hum Log never happened again and neither did Tara. There might have been bigger hits than them but never again a Hum Log or Tara. (An emotional serial or a bold serial might happen again, because here, I am talking about genres and not about a particular programme).

In films, the audience appreciates an artist for a certain manner of performance and demands more and more of it, again and again. To name a few, there is Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and in contemporary times, the endearing Shah Rukh Khan and Govinda. But when we talk of television, it is obvious that it does not entertain any repetitions.

No sooner does something play on TV, that it perishes. Raj Kapoor successfully dared to make ten or more films with a character by the name of Raju but this could never be done on television. A film director can make suspense films again and again, but a director of a TV thriller cannot make a serial on the same lines. Many directors have tried and have flopped.

I reiterate my statement of TV being a greedy black hole which digests a cassette the moment it is fed and is always hungry for more. Many a times, I have found a difference of opinion between me and the programming team of a channel on whether a programme will succeed or not. They tend to think that the audience might not approve of a particular programme. The real reason, however, could be that they are the only ones who do not like it. But that does not mean that the audience will also disapprove of it. After all, the audience loves variations, innovations and freshness.

Change is the order of the day and there are no two ways about it. How can one judge the audience’s likes and dislikes? Is it through experience? But experience is immaterial to TV, where each new day unfolds with new programmes, new makers, new artists and new stories, without even the slightest bit of repetition. "New", should be the guideline for any programming team of any channel.

Some of them do talk about it and insist on it.
This constant need for novelty on television reveals the brighter aspect of the nature of this medium. It is this very need which keeps the medium alive and bursting with life, gifting its audience new artists, story writers, directors and so on. Taking change in its stride, comfortably, is one of the most delightful aspects of this medium. When it comes to experimenting with fresh ideas, there cannot be a better medium than television. It is for this very reason that we can say that freshness and youth is the other name of television. And thanks to this effervescence its audience will continue to grow and not decline with time.

Raman Kumar