A studio, please

TATTLE

The latest buzz in Doordarshan corridors is that president Abdul Kalam Azad wants a permanent studio set up within Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Though it's not clear whether the request was eventually put down on paper, the president has apparently been unhappy with the way Doordarshan staff upset his office to lay television cables and lights to record his address to the nation on January 26.

It is learnt that over 50 people from Doordarshan were making arrangements for the r ehearsal and the final recording of his speech.

Hassled by the chaos all this created, the president came up with the suggestion that a permanent studio be set up within the premises with live telecast facilities. He suggested that he should be able to go live at the switch of a button.

Meanwhile, the media savvy president is said to have requested that he be shot against a translide of Rashtrapati Bhavan for the Januaury 26 speech. The translide cost Doordarshan close to Rs 80,000.