| |
|
Blatant
vulgarity or conservative ?
|
|
 |
|
He
tilts his head while asking those superficially
embarrassing personal questions to celebrities and
gives that I-could-beat-a-toothpaste-ad smile when
they answer coyly. Be it that or cozying up with
them on television, Karan can do it in style. And
he is back on primetime television, to ensure that
his guests are ready to spill the beans for him
and for the TRPs.
Honest or otherwise, the Koffee with Karan show
is successful at fuelling and feeding our interest
in knowing the celebrities up close and personal.
The chat show is chatty at best and although well
scripted, gives the viewer a feeling that the celebrities
are being spontaneous in front of the television
cameras (few of them genuinely are).
But the question is; how much of bean-spilling is
healthy for viewers, Karan and the celebrities?
Apparently not so much! Karan was recently reprimanded
by Rishi Kapoor publicly for having let Sonam and
Deepika poke fun at Ranbir on the show. The girls,
who were earlier Ranbir’s dates, revealed
few dirty little secrets, including Ranbir needing
a pack of condoms, probably as a forewarning to
Ranbir’s next date. |
|
Although
most of these minute details were rendered inaudible in
the giggles of the three of them (Karan, Deepika and Sonam),
Ranbir’s papa Rishi did pick those up and issued
a statement at how much he was disgusted having to hear
his son being spoken ill about.
The issue did not stir up anymore storms after Karan tweeted
saying he had talked to Ranbir about it and the latter
was cool on the whole issue. Fair enough. But in the first
place, how minute the details needed to be revealed on
the show? Where would one draw a line to not intrude into
other’s private space?
Why did not Karan ask such questions to Ranbir when he
earlier appeared on his show? Even if he did, would Ranbir
have been asinine enough to wreck his ex-girlfriends’
modesty? We will never know. But the bullying trend continued
in the subsequent episodes of the show (featuring Farah
and Imtiaz) when the fun was made at RGV’s expense.
While Karan is getting his high profile contacts to spill
the beans, Rakhi is more on the ferocious side. The item
dancer turned reality TV star turned reality TV host is
doling out justice in Poolan Devi style in her Raakhi
Ka Insaaf. She is calling people names, once forcing a
poor soul to end his life after one such name calling
episode of him was telecast on national television, reproaching
many of them and generally hurling abuses at the participants
who are brought to her court seeking Raakhi Ka Insaaf.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry took note and
issued directives to NDTV Imagine for pushing the show
to late night (in the 11.00 p.m. – 5.00 a.m. slot).
She also quickly earned the ire of the National Commission
for Women (NCW). Girija Vyaas, chairperson of NCW came
down heavily on the show and Raakhi for “blatant
vulgarity” and using “foul language”.
Vyaas is also urging the government to speed up the process
of bringing the amended Prohibition of Indecent Representation
of Women and Children Bill, 2008, in parliament to ensure
monitoring of content on the electronic media.
But these are times when the inevitability of movie censorship
is even being questioned. The act of pushing the slot
to 11 would not necessarily make it inaccessible to children.
They are exposed to more such obscenities, thanks to the
internet that is exploding with Raakhis of different dimensions.
It’s still best left at the viewers’ discretion
to keep these shows safely away from the reach of children
if they think it’s not safe for them.Unlike the
national television which has managed to attract almost
all the frontline celebrities like a moth to an electric
bulb, television scene down south is still sober to some
extent. Barring a few talk shows and game shows (Coffee
with Anu, Jackpot and so on) or critique shows like Haasini
Pesum Padam, not many shows have been conceptualized by
channels.
The regional television is still best left for the bored
housewives and the film-focused content. And an occasional
award night. Variety is still not the spice of life here.
In that context, it’s also safe to say that we are
still far from the madding crowd. Sometimes, it’s
good to be upright – at least in the pretext of
being conservative.
Respond to 
Behindwoods is not responsible for the views of columnists.
|
| |
|
|
