New Delhi: Kashmir Got Talent, live telecasts of football matches played by the Srinagar-based club Real Kashmir, Kashmir Idol, and the second season of a super-successful local Kaun Banega Crorepati spinoff: The Modi government is looking to launch a slew of TV shows to “engage” the Valley’s alienated youths and give them platforms to showcase their talent, ThePrint has learnt.
According to highly-placed sources in Doordarshan (DD), the state-owned broadcaster is planning to launch the programmes over the next few months amid a planned revamp of DD Kashir, its Kashmir channel.
“We plan to launch multiple such shows for the Kashmir audience, with a focus on youths who are extremely talented. The idea is to constructively engage them through quality entertainment,” a DD official said, adding that the “positive engagement” will go miles in weaning away “alienated” youths from fundamentalism by presenting a “counter-narrative”.
“Such engaging programmes will also help increase the viewership of DD Kashir,” the official said.
DD is working with the Ministry of Home Affairs to plan and conceive the talent shows, which will be judged by domain experts, the sources added.
According to the sources, other programmes for the local audience will include one called Shabhash Kashmir, aimed at highlighting success stories from the Valley, besides Kashmir-specific soaps.
Another official from DD told ThePrint that KBC Kashmir (Kus Bani Koshur Crorepati) has been extremely “well-received”.
The show, on the lines of the highly-successful British programme Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? that has spawned several Indian spinoffs — Kaun Banega Crorepati with actor Amitabh Bachchan for Sony being the most popular — is hosted in Koshur by Kashmiri actor Rayees Mohiuddin.
The brainchild of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the show started on 29 April and will run until 6 July. It has reportedly drawn around 1.2 lakh registrations. It is produced by Studio Next of Sony Pictures.
So far, DD Kashir has enjoyed little popularity among the masses. The channel has been fraught with troubles since local producers rebelled against program-commissioning guidelines issued in 2017 by DD for DD Kashir, which apparently made it extremely difficult for Kashmir-based producers to participate in the production.
It remains to be seen if the channel will encourage local producers to develop content for the new shows in the pipeline.
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For the Northeast and LWE areas too
Top sources in the Prasar Bharati, which oversees DD, said similar initiatives were also under consideration for the Northeast and Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected areas.
“Programmes for Kashmir, Northeast and LWE areas will be developed on priority,” a source said, adding that the exact nature of the programmes was still being finalised.
According to the sources, some of the plans for LWE areas in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh include those based on citizen journalism, besides talent shows. Shows that promote tribal sports like archery, besides football-related programming, are also believed to be on the anvil alongside those focused on employment news.
In the Northeast, the sources said, Doordarshan plans to launch several talent shows, including those for rock bands, with the region throwing up some stellar musical talent in recent years. Other programmes are likely to focus on its distinctive cuisine and diverse wildlife.
‘A welcome move’
Focused programming for areas that often don’t see representation in “mainstream” content is seen as a key outreach strategy.
Former home secretary G.K. Pillai told ThePrint that anything that gives more attention to Kashmir is a welcome move.
“Such shows give local people some recognition,” he said, “But it is only a small step towards Kashmir and resolving the problem of alienation in the state.”
“Viewership of DD is limited. It has to be seen how well the programmes are done to attract people,” he added.
Also, similar initiatives in the past have suffered from implementation delays. For example, DD Arun Prabha, a channel dedicated to showcasing the cultural diversity of the Northeast, particularly Arunachal Pradesh was announced in the first the maiden Budget of the first Modi government but was launched only in February this year by the Prime Minister. The five-year delay was the result of a lack of funds.
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