They can’t afford to have a bad hair day, a pimple, a wardrobe malfunction, a stubble or anything that makes them look down and out. They have to look their best always, even if they are in the foulest of moods!
Attire, make-up, hairstyle, accessories - all count along with one’s presentation skills, say the news anchors, rather newscasters, of Malayalam channels. Now that news reading has become more interactive, they are expected to look good, besides being professional and informal at the same time. There are many who often keep a tab on viewers’ comments via their Orkut or Facebook profiles.
Asianet News, which had a stylist, is now thinking about appointing a new hand. Amrita TV too had a stylist. Indiavision had Cuckoo Parameswaran taking care of this initially. “Surya TV is going for a total makeover in its news presentation,” says the channel’s input editor, Anil Nambiar.
Alakananda, who now takes care of styling in Asianet News, says, “A dress code can definitely do away with the clash of interests especially when the anchors themselves are experimenting with their looks and accessories.”
The reality is that the resources, both financial and creative, available with the channel reflect on the dress code of its anchors. A woman newscaster recalls how “we used to wear different dupattas for the same kurti!” There are channels which bear the entire expense of attire, accessories and beauty treatment of its newscasters while others provide only occasional allowance. There are also cases where newscasters are free to wear what they like.
The newscasters with Manorama News had a grooming session under Ambika Pillai when it was launched and now they have a specific dress code. “Manorama News is far ahead of others in news presentation and facilities offered to anchors,” says a news anchor with its rival channel. Only ethnic wear is allowed for woman newscasters and coat/jacket is taboo. “The channel purchases the clothes in bulk, we select the ones we like, get them altered and use them. If we want to wear something from our personal wardrobe, we have to get permission from channel heads,” says Nisha Jeby, a newscaster with the channel.
Smriti Paruthikad, another newscaster with Manorama often appreciated for her dress sense, says, “The saris I wear are from my personal collection. I experiment a lot with my accessories and get tremendous feedback.” Having worked with Kairali and Indiavision, Smriti says, “Before Manorama happened, there were instances when I read news with wet hair!”
Indiavision newscasters have often been made fun of. “Stories were made about the coat/jacket we wear. But the important thing is we have maintained the top position among news channels.” Sreeja, who is with the channel, says she has tried emulating some national anchors. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Nevertheless, I am most comfortable in the coat as it gives me immense confidence.” The suit and tie dress code for male news presenters often throws up funny sartorial results too. “These channels have a stock of standard size coats and the presenters use them in turns. It fits some, but looks odd on others,” says a channel head.
A Sahadevan, news consultant, Indiavision, says, “I started wearing coat only to have my friends who saw me only in trousers and shirts lamented that I cut a sorry figure! But once I changed a few coats to find one that suited me in size and cut, everything was okay.” While Pramod Raman, a senior newscaster with Manorama News, who worked earlier with Asianet and Indiavision, admits that he is uncomfortable without it, John Brittas, managing director and editor, Kairali TV feels that the coat-tie combo is preferred because “our news bulletins are going international.”
A news anchor who has had an incredible makeover is Maya Sreekumar, a very familiar face for Malayali viewers for the last 25 years. She started with DD Malayalam when it was launched, moved to Asianet and is now a senior newscaster with Amrita TV, where she also takes care of the dress code of her counterparts.
“I went for a change with my looks after ensuring that it looked good on me. I made my hair short and started giving extra care to my wardrobe, without compromising on my job. Now people say I look much younger!” Maya says with a chuckle. The woman newscasters of the channel are expected to leave their hair loose and use a small ‘bindi.’
All said and done, looks alone do not make one a good newscaster. “Newsreading is a serious business. The day Saddam Hussein was hanged, we ensured that the attire of our news readers weren’t loud,” says Sahadevan. “An attractive face should be standardised to look simple. The make-up is to help lighting in studios. This is an internationally accepted code. Malayalam newscasting will have to go national and international and so we need a standard dress code that suits news reading.”
m_athira@expressbuzz.com