Despite efforts to build bridges through soft diplomacy, the Zee network's culture strategy took a big hit post the Uri attack. Chairman Subhash Chandra is set to pull out guest judges and contestants from across the border on the main channel's music shows and Pakistani shows from its sister channel Zindagi. Unnati Joshi reports
Zee network’s Subhash Chandra knew that the questions would fly thick and fast ever since he had announced the withdrawal of the culture exchange with Pakistan’s television stars and content post the Uri terrorist attack. So at a press conference to set the record straight, he went into explanation mode from the word go, even giving detailed back stories. “This is an unfortunate decision that we had to take. We have been trying to mend the cracks between the countries (India-Pakistan) since 24 years. And not just once but many times. Before starting the Zindagi channel, I promised Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that we would show his country’s content to our wide audience. We did that, the Indian audience loved it and the Pakistani actors entered your living rooms through Zindagi, becoming cult figures and grabbing the attention of talent spotters in the Hindi film industry. But for all the soft diplomacy, these people (Pakistani establishment) have repeatedly done wrong things — Pathankot, then Uri. love cannot be one-sided and I have excellent personal relations with all of them,” he said, announcing the end of Pakistani content on the channel. “Zee will not have Pakistani contestants and judges on reality shows as well,” he confirmed.
“The decision was taken immediately after the Uri attack despite the fact that we already have about 3,000 hours of programming which we bought for around Rs 60 crore. But the money spent is not important, our country’s pride is,” he added.
Calling the Bollywood producers selfish in the presence of Anupam Kher (producer himself), Chandra said, “I have discussed it with Karan Johar as well and have assured him and asked him to not worry. His film has been shot and has a right to a release. If there is any trouble, I will make sure that it is released but have also asked him to not work with these people (Pakistani artists) in future.”
Supposedly Chandra and his team requested Pakistani artistes like Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Ali Zafar, Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Atif Aslam, Veena Malik, Imran Abbas and Meesha Shafi to condemn the terrorist attack on sleeping soldiers. “But nobody did it,” said Chandra. “I still have no hard feelings and though many artistes have left the country, I have called those remaining to a dinner at my place on October 2.”
Supporting Chandra was actor Anupam Kher, who is producing a show titled Khwaabon Ki Zamin Par in the revamped channel. Talking about the ban on Pakistani shows he said, “We live in a world of diplomacy; we have to give the answers which the Press, liberal and pseudo-intellectuals will like but I am not very good with that. As Subhash ji said, I feel it is very important to reciprocate love and affection, else it’s taken as a sign of weakness. I have an example of my own self. When there was an attack in a Peshawar school and hundreds of children were killed in a terrorist attack, I was an Indian actor who wrote an open letter to the terrorists condemning their vicious act. While I still believe that art should not have boundaries, I think it is a moral responsibility of these artistes that they at least condemn such attacks. I am not asking you to condemn your country, maybe that is not possible for you because you live in that country. Politically it may not be the correct move. It is through this channel that all those actors became popular, they have earned money here and they deserve that but it is very important to be sensitive towards sensitivity of Indian people. It is very important to say that I condemn the unfortunate massacre of Indian soldiers. I am against this that they do not do that.”
“There are some people in Pakistan who are good hosts but when it comes to my country and my jawans, I cannot be diplomatic, I have to be biased towards my country,” he exclaimed vehemently.
“Imagine giving parathas and food to a neighbour and one day he molests your sister or fights with your brother. What will you doIJ Will you call him back and offer him foodIJ I think it’s important to apply the same rule to our country,” he further added.
Talking about the Zindagi revamp post the pullout, Sunil Buch, chief business officer, Zee enterprise, said, “We are calling it an evolution. Our insight is that there is a world in our language, then why not in our content. We have decided to be a bridge between India and the world.” Then why ban Pakistani showsIJ “As a responsible broadcaster and as a responsible citizen of the country who has tried a lot to bridge the gap between the countries, we promoted this channel with the tagline Zindagi jodey dilo ko. We were driven by a zeal for unity but everything has a limit. If you are going to kill our sleeping soldiers, we will react to it. Somewhere we have to reflect what is right for the country. All these Pakistani actors have tweeted about Paris attack but not about our country. Why is thatIJ Why is it so difficult to lambast a terrorist attackIJ” questioned Buch.
How are they going to characterise the shows, considering there is mainline Zee and &TVIJ “Well, our filter is very clear. Our themes are bold on Zindagi. We will select shows that push the envelope. We will be working on novel concepts and our shows will all be pre-shot or finite. So our content won’t be strictly TRP-driven,” he told us.
Given the “world in your platter” feel to Zindagi, why then does the channel edit out contextual kissing scenes in Turkish dramas, considering intimacy is now a high point of all mainline channels and even segmented ones todayIJ Not to mention the digital space. The chief business officer said he had no idea about some “illogical” moral policing. “Maybe, I am not aware about it. For us it’s not about sensationalisation. If there is a requirement, we will also show the kissing scenes. Also, there are certain rules and guidelines that we are supposed to follow. We cannot show black magic, we cannot show rape. If the story demands, we will do whatever is to be done but keeping in mind the boundaries of television.”
Joining them on stage were actors, writers and producers of the new shows that will debut on October 3. The channel is now undergoing a revamp by introducing three new Indian productions and one show from Turkey, apart from showcasing world cinema on weekends. Two shows from Turkey, Fatmagul and Feriha, are already on air and will continue post revamp. The channel’s baseline jodey dilon ko has been changed to Yeh lamha hi hai zindagi.
SHAQFAT CONCERT CAllED OFF
With intensified tension between India and Pakistan, a concert of Pakistani classical singer ShafqatAmanat Ali has been called off in Bengaluru for security reasons. According to Radio Mirchi Group Manager Srinivas, the decision to call off the concert of Shafqat Amanat Ali was taken in the aftermath of the Uri attacks.
“The concert was scheduled for September 30 but the decision was taken on September 20 itself. The concert was cancelled much before the saffron parties raised the issue, demanding cancellation of the event. In fact, Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad raised the issue recently, a few days back,” he said.
“Everyone knows what Pakistan is. Every day it is killing many (Indian) soldiers. The world is on the verge of declaring Pakistan as a terrorist state. Such being the case, what is the necessity for inviting a Pakistani singer here,” he said.
Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan is a Pakistani classical singer belonging to the Patialagharana. He was the lead vocalist of the Pakistani rock band Fuzön. Shafqat was introduced to Bollywood by Shankar Mahadevan. He was also featured on MTV Unplugged Season 2.