Yesterday, Himesh cried in Coffee With Karan. The day before, Akshay and Anil cried in one of those "voice hunt" programs. I heard Sunny Deol always manages to cry on the stage. Well, everybody seems to cry these days on Indian TV. I am not sure if the Indian TV has suddenly become so emotional as to call for some "Water Works" every few minutes; but I am sure "Water works" really work - everybody talks about it and what's more, people cry to see the stars cry. I didnt see Himesh cry - I cant see him do anything for that matter; but I definitely saw Akshay cry;whew....he cried because Anil is a very good person...Boy!! Here is a novel reason to cry!!
To the credit of these emotional contests and dramatic interviews, I think crying has always been a part of the Indian psyche; these shows just cashed on it. My mom loved those matinee movies where lead actresses fiercely contested for the maximum tears shed in 2 hours. Luckily Jitendra decided to stop acting and the crying baton was passed on to the television
serials where women cried 24*7 for reasons even they couldnt comprehend.
But the "Cry Baby Cry" syndrome that we see today is different in a few respects. Unlike the previously unorganized, yet promising crying industry, tears have successfully been institutionalized. I feel people now know where, when and how to cry!! Its so very easy. "You are out of the contest now" announces the anchor in such a threatening voice as to tell the
contestant.."Dude..time now to cry..and you better meet our standards!!" People are that much more assured and confident when they cry! :-)
Kapil Dev cried in Vir Sanghvi's interview and since then there has been no looking back. More tears have flown on the television than what monsoons could manage the last year in Hyderabad. There is no denying that people may have at times cried because they wanted to, but the norm today it seems is they HAVE TO. "Cry Your Way To Success" is the new mantra" :-)
I seriously believe that in a few years we will have awards for the best tearful role, for the longest crying performance and the most sorrowful serial of the year. We will have a transparent adjudication process though; No nominations - we have quantifiable data - number of liters of tears!
Tears apart, I am just amazed by the drama that unfolds everyday on the TV - there is not much difference between a news program and a movie; a talent hunt and an interview; a debate and antakshari; there is a common denominator to everything - drama. Haneef Mohammed returns back to India and atleast a dozen correspondents ask his wife - how will he hold their
daughter or what food she will cook for him. We see a miniature version of Karan Johar's movie in a news program, a "touching" interview in a contest and a contest in an interview.
Somebody said "50 channels and nothing to watch...I feel "100 channels and the SAME THING to watch!"
