Vikram Johri: Tagore on TV

An old miser does not give his son money to save his dying wife. She dies and the son, along with the old man's grandson, leaves the house. The old man does not stop them and the ensuing loneliness makes him lose his mind. He spots a young boy on the streets one day and brings him home. His life is happy again. But then he hears reports of the young boy's father searching for him.

A poor girl is married off into a rich family because its scion has taken a liking to her. She hates it, the new house, the responsibilities, the loss of her friends. The scion is tender towards her but she does not budge. "You liked me so I am here but what about my choices," she asks him repeatedly. Over many months, the scion makes several attempts to come close to her. She finally relents.

These are two of the many stories of Rabindranath Tagore that have been adapted by Anurag Basu for Epic, a new channel with a focus on mythology and folklore. As with his films such as Barfi, the production values are high and the acting superb. The setting is naturally rural Bengal but the actors speak colloquial Hindi. While most of us have read Tagore, to see iconic stories such as Kabuliwala come to life is a different pleasure altogether. Moreover, the women in Tagore's stories are not scheming vessels of family politics. There is diversity of representation and each story is nuanced with many shades of grey. Basu has said in an interview that he was so tired of watching women on Indian TV that he jumped at the chance of adapting Tagore.

The lack of quality programming on Indian TV has been a story discussed ad nauseum but little has changed over the years. In spite of changing social mores, few TV shows tackle the "new India" and channels reinforced regressive stereotypes without batting an eyelid. Storylines rotate around themes like forbidden love, but the focus is never on letting it blossom but on the family shenanigans meant to show the errant lovers their place. It's like a khap panchayat, only one helmed by women dressed to the nines.

The entry of new channels, whenever it has happened, is celebrated as a beacon of fresh hope. Huge marketing budgets ensure that new shows are prominently advertised in different media platforms. For a while it seems that change might finally be in the offing, but it soon turns out to be a mirage. When Colors started in 2008, Balika Vadhu, one of its primetime shows, was expected to focus attention on the issue of child marriage. But within a year the storyline had jumped to other, less noble concerns.

New channels, even when they begin on an inspiring note, quickly change tack and jettison any programming that does not sell. But this understanding of what sells and what does not is flawed. There is no one monolithic Indian viewer and there is a genuine hunger for good programming.

Indian viewers who had had to content themselves with saas-bahu soaps for the longest time heaved a collective sigh of relief when Zee started Zindagi, its line-up of serials from Pakistan, last year. These shows were so wonderfully scripted and well done that there was a palpable rise in the popularity of the new channel. It began to be whispered across drawing rooms that while we may have beaten the Pakistanis in films, they were certainly getting the better of us on the small screen.

But Zindagi was still an island in a sea of mediocrity. So, it is with some relief that one speaks about Epic. Tagore's stories have been the most popular show on the channel, which has been on air since November last year. But the non-fiction programming is equally diverse. Raja, Rasoi aur Anya Kahaniyaan takes the viewer to different parts of India and focuses on traditional cuisines. The format is informal, with the anchor going into households and getting people to cook for him. Then there are shows helmed by Javed Akhtar and Naseeruddin Shah on films and cricket, respectively. There is a satirical show on films from the '90s by Javed Jaffrey. There is history programming; there is animation.

It's a well-rounded package and if Epic can maintain the momentum it will be climbing the TRP charts soon. This would be a first because Epic is a largely non-fiction channel. With its success, other companies such as Star and Zee would also be forced to change their programming and include saner stuff.

A little-known facet about Epic is that it is promoted by Mukesh Ambani. Mr Ambani's creeping takeover of the media is generally signalled as bad news. Recent incidents such as the imminent change of guard at Firstpost, a website under the Network18 umbrella run by him, bolster this impression. But if his involvement, at least in the entertainment space, can engender channels such as Epic, he might redeem himself after all.

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