The swirling sepia montage still evokes nostalgia. Even today, an era of TRP wars and smart phones, it brings back a rush of monochrome memories. It used to be a time of aluminium antennas, ‘sorry for interruption boards’ and unrestrained communal viewing. T K Santhosh Kumar’s ‘Malayala Television Charitram’ starts at that particular time frame, the day Doordarshan started broadcasting in Malayalam to be precise.
The 606 page book published by Kerala Press Academy systematically maps the history of Malayalam television from 1985 to 2013. In a sense it chronicles Kerala’s journey towards obsessive channel swapping lost in a flurry of choices.
Divided into six segments, the book rewinds back into the DD days when ‘Ramayan’ and ‘Mahabharat’ created quite a stir at Malayali households.
Within a short span after starting transmission the audience were treated to a bevy of local programmes that included short films and serials. You will also come across a spate of less known facts and some notable productions that reached our homes in the late 80s. Later, the book zooms into the early 90s when Asianet started transmission and introduced Kerala’s first prominent and popular daily soap ‘Sthree’ starring Vinayaprasd in the lead.
T K Santhosh’s book is not just a manual of Malayalam TV programmes in chronological order. It also tries to analyse the reason behind new sensibilities and unravel the inner politics and marketing pressure in media firms. By 2000 a handful of channels were vying for the attention of viewers, often redefining media ethics with their activities. The author explains how Surya TV came out with their first sensational broadcast airing a detailed footage of the murder at Padmatheertha pond. It also touches upon a couple of Kerala’s biggest scandals involving political bigwigs.
The book dissects the history of almost all news and entertainment channels in Malayalam before moving on to the third part ‘Kazchakkapuram’. Here it looks into a slew of reality shows that took Kerala mini screen by storm.
The author says many shows that entered the scene with ever-rising TRPs are now at a struggling stage. He records their progress through multiple editions and everything from the first social reality show ‘Green Kerala Express’ to NAK, the mother of all infotainment programmes, find their place in the segment. While stating facts the author doesn’t stay away from critically approaching certain subjects. He points out a couple of comedy and family shows that keep stooping to new depths with each episode. The book is priced ` 480.