'Governement media should inform citizens, not glorify leaders': K Kunhikrishnan
I told Mr Karunakaran that it would take at least six months. He told me the entire government was at my disposal and asked me to speed it up. He wanted it to be a gift to Kerala by the Union government on New Year's Day. I was willing to take the risk. I had to organise a lot, meet several Kerala ministers for infrastructure. The engineers worked in a ramshackle studio. We got an OB van from Jalandhar and four low-band, picture producing cameras. The key lay in attracting talent... television faces... announcers, news-readers, comperes, etc, with almost all of them garnering popularity with the viewers.
Have heard that E K Nayanar cried inconsolably in the DD studio while saying the condolence message after Indira Gandhi's assassination…
Oh, yes. Many leaders were called to render condolence messages. The first to be called was Nayanar. He was the Leader of Opposition then. I knew him from my Madras days. While recording his condolence message, Nayanar began to cry inconsolably. We were all stunned, but we kept recording it. Later, he told us about his last meeting with her where he was angry and spoke agitatedly.
When he was about to leave, she stopped him and said: 'Mr Nayanar, please stay on for a minute. I have come to know that you have some health issues, and are under medication. Is there any way I can be of any use to you?' Nayanar was stunned because it was for the very first time that a political leader had asked about his health. When he began crying, there were about 10 people in the studio. All were moved… That was one of the most touching moments of my television career in Kerala.
Other challenges?
Television is known by its onscreen faces. Telegenic faces with broadcast-worthy voices, correct pronunciation, poise, effective delivery styles, etc had to be selected. I initially received around 4,500 applications, but not even 400 came close to fitting the bill.
The inauguration was telecast live from Tagore theatre. We needed a microwave link from Tagore to the TV tower. That came from Madras. Equipment came from Mumbai. Everyone was willing to help. The challenges were something we cannot even imagine. With the advent of mobiles, all of us stay connected now. Back then, there was nothing of the sort.
Your experience of working with television faces of those days…
We didn't have a news editor at first. Delhi told me not to start news telecasts before the news editor and assistant news editors were posted. I asked: 'If there's no news telecast in Kerala, then what's the point in having television?' News culture is ingrained in Malayalis. Back then, we needed teleprinters because PTI and UNI were our only news sources. Delhi used a pool copy of AIR, which had so many bulletins.
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