DDoldrums
KOCHI: Entering its 40th year, the Doordarshan (DD) Kendra in Thiruvananthapuram speaks a story of going against all odds, strong vision, a dream world weaved, and finally the tide of time. It was on January 1, 1985, that former chief minister K Karunakaran formally launched the functioning of the Kendra. The stoic concrete building complex that houses the Kendra has seen creative minds at work, brainstorming to bring the world to people and even to translate words that remained captive in books into visual, memorable treats.
It is tough to remember Kudappanakunnu, where the Kendra is located and now teeming with the rush of the capital city, as a fringe locality. But the area was a hinterland when K Kunhikrishnan reached there from Chennai with the mandate to set up the first television station in the state.
“It was a herculean task, especially since Kudappanakunnu was remote, with no proper transport links or even water or power facility. We had to start from scratch,” he recalls. Finally, when the venture was launched, DD was ready with a batch of seven producers, five cameramen and a handful of newsreaders who were to be the face of the state’s TV history.
T Chamiyar was one of the seven producers recruited along with Baiju Chandran, John Samuel, C K Thomas, G Sajan, M A Dileep and S Venu. Along with assistant producers such as R Shyamaprasad and A Anwar, they went on to define several facets of visual media in Kerala.
Chamiyar believes his decision to switch from Reserve Bank of India to DD was no less than ‘historic’. “If I had remained with the RBI, would I have got to be part of a team that made such a mark?” he asks.
He reminisces about the initial years when he would run to Ernakulam South station to catch acquaintances on the Venad Express to hand over cassettes bearing regional news to be telecast the next morning.
Kunhikrishnan, who was later appointed the director of the Kendra, says the challenges were galore. “We started work in an abandoned OB Van given to us to refurbish and use. In 1987, a full-fledged studio was set up. The staff was sent to Pune for training at the Film and Television Institute of India, and work began in all its glory at the centre,” he recalls.
The Kendra’s aim was to broadcast programmes that reflected the aesthetic tastes of the masses. This adhered to DD’s policy to educate, develop and entertain.“Those times saw fine minds such as Satyajit Ray, Govind Nihlani, Shyam Benegal, etc. who used the medium to bloom as giants of the visual space. A similar trend was recreated here,” says Baiju Chandran, who retired recently as director of productions.
While nationally, DD aired several of the visual adaptations of Hindi and regional literature such as Sadgati, Bharat Ek Khoj, Tamas, etc., DD Malayalam showcased works of writers such as Madhavikutty (Venalinte Ozhivu), Vaikom Muhammad Basheer (Viswavikhyathamaya Mookku), and Sarah Joseph (Narmadipudava) as visual treatises. Also, landmarks were the programmes on agriculture, education and even documentaries such as Blood-stained Allies of the Yore and Varayadukalude Lokam, which have become archival keepsakes.
The dream run went on till 1995 when the entry of private channels gave DD a challenge that caused a slow yet steady downslide in the public broadcaster’s popularity. Its vibrancy suffered, programmes other than the customary reduced to almost a trickle, and the output of whatever remained lost its professional sheen.
From an organisation that once had around 20-25 producers, there are now just around five or six, and about three cameramen. The Kendra now remains an apology of what it was, awaiting a resurgence either of manpower or technology upgrade.“I get upset as I think of how the Kendra faces its worst challenge,” says Kunhikrishnan.
The policy matters concerning the formation of Prasar Bharati also played its part, say the old-timers. “DD was left stranded somewhere between being a government entity and a corporation,” says Shyamaprasad, who went on to become an ace filmmaker. “The freedom that we had even within limits to explore the visual space was not curbed by vested, political interests.”
A senior DD official calls the downslide a “product of the times”. “The creative minds flocked to DD then as they found it a scopeful medium of expression. Now, there are many ways to do this. Also, the aesthetic tastes of people have changed and what is being given by the private channels is what is the demand,” he says.But the way visual media functions now is a hard pill to swallow for the veterans, who claim the new ‘channel brigade’ does not have the “ethical fulls and stops” that DD had in treating news and programmes.
“What we created was a cultural space. What the private channels cater to is the market,” says Shyamaprasad. “It only shows we need to evolve to be able to be independent even while being a public broadcaster. Also, to say what exists now is that what’s in demand does not reflect a healthy democracy, where there should be space for exclusive infotainment too.”
Is there any glimmer of hope? A top official, who requests anonymity, says changes are in the offing and policy revamps are indeed aiming at a resurgence for the public broadcaster.
“When professionals are recruited, there will be an upgrade of technology and quality,” he assures.
The old-timers, however, find this too hard to swallow. For changes to happen, something rigid has to change, they say. “Attitude.”