When it comes to television viewing, anything that appeals to the baser instincts seems grab maximum attention.
When actor Neha Dhupia said “Only sex and SRK sell,” she forgot to add ‘sin’ in to the package. Whether it’s the news channels or TV shows, the preoccupation with the sinister is blatant. People seem mesmerised by the gruesomeness of the Noida killings, can’t get enough of Saddam Hussain’s execution clips and are addicted to the daily crime reports aired on television.
The time’s apparently up for feel-good shows like ‘Nukkad’ (which spotlighted the underdogs of society) or ‘Buniyad’ (which had wholesome family entertainment). Today it’s the wily vamp who’s driving up the TRP. Actor Achint Kaur, who plays a vamp on TV, reasons, “For most people life is at a standstill. So friction and conflict brings in thrill.”
Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi, who made serials like ‘Chankaya’ and the much acclaimed film ‘Pinjar’, considers this ‘negative is positive’ phase a passing one:
“Righteousness throws a challenge and makes you look inside which evil does not! That’s why wickedness has easy appeal.”
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap whose film ‘Paanch’ (based on the Joshi Abhyankar murder) is till stalled and ‘Black Friday’ (set around the 1993 Mumbai blasts) which has just been given the green signal, says the race for eyeballs is feeding the trend. “With so much competition, TV channels have stopped appealing to the intellect. They’ve begun appealing to the baser instincts like sex and violence for TRPs. The forbidden is always interesting. In fact, today the forbidden has become the mainstream.”
‘Badman’ Gulshan Grover insists society is being influenced by the popular tabloid journalism in the UK which ‘capitalises on bizarre and shocking pictures’. “A sermon will not grab attention, a street fight will. Non conformists always invite attention. The media, fighting for viewers, deploys this street psychology,” says Gulshan.
Karan Razdan, who made both the socially relevant show ‘Rajni’ and the lesbian caper ‘Girlfriend’, agrees. “TV is trying to appeal to our devilish sides. Even news channels have special shows on haunted houses, corpses and ghosts!”
“TV is a medium of immediacy and therefore what doesn’t instantly attract wins no TRPs,” points out actor Rahul Bose. Incidentally, Rahul’s directorial ‘Everybody Says I’m Fine’ was all about compassion. “Violence makes for better copy than peace. The challenge for us today is to make peace and love ‘cool’.”
k_farhana@dnaindia.net
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