Chief executive of the Prasar Bharati Corporation, S.S. Gill, has definite plans to revamp Doordarshan.

By Namita Bhandare

Bye-bye Hanuman, farewell horoscopes. Ditto for teleshopping and endless soaps, silly sitcoms and countless film shows. In the brave new world of S.S. Gill you are more likely to encounter life on the street than life in the fast lane, programmes on the Minimum Wages Act than on minimal dressing. And this is exactly how the new chief executive officer of the recently formed Prasar Bharati Corporation wants it.

Gill, who took over as head of the 45,000-employee corporation on November 24, is already constructing a new-look Doordarshan (DD). The former Information and Broadcasting (I&B) secretary doesn't even have an office yet -- he's working out of DD Director-General K.S. Sarma's office -- but the memos are flying fast. A recent circular signed by Sarma has detailed some of Gill's diktats:

• DD-3 to be offered to the sports or education ministries. All DD-3 programmes to be shifted to DD-2.
• DD-2 to cater to the "taste of urban viewers". Entertainment programmes to be shifted to the premier national channel, DD-1.
• All commercial films from Mumbai to be discontinued "in due course".
• The termination clause in agreements with independent producers to be "ruthlessly exercised" for sub-standard programmes.
• All programmes sanctioned by VIP reference to be examined and, possibly, axed.
• No fresh proposals to be entertained until the present glut of programme proposals is exhausted.
• Hours of programming on DD-1 and DD-2 to be reduced during low-viewership hours.
• Local programming on local transmitters to be considered as a source of revenue.
• A freeze on hiring new staff pending a manpower review.

Gill means business. Within hours of taking over, he had summoned News Division staff. His message to them: report news without fear or favour, using the language of the common man. Two days later, media critic Amita Malik was called in for further consultations. Her verdict? Newsreaders need to dress down and correct their pronunciation. A lack of visuals makes for very dull news and it may not be a bad idea at all to send the News Division staff to get some professional training.

That's just the beginning; there's little at DD that doesn't irritate Gill. Like the preponderance of mythological serials like Jai Hanuman and Om Namah Shivay: "This damn thing is dominating television." Daily soaps too -- there are eight -- will be reviewed and possibly replaced by socially relevant programmes. Swami Agnivesh is reported to be making three such programmes: on the Minimum Wages Act, bonded labour and untouchability.

Gill appears unfazed by the fact that many of the programmes on the chopping block -- Hindi feature films and mythologicals -- have high ratings that bring in the revenue. Gill wants only "sensible" programming. "Either we go commercial, show blue films and earn money. Or we fulfil our social obligation as a public-service broadcaster," he says. A noble stance, but with Prasar Bharati anticipating a shortfall of over Rs 800 crore in its first year, Gill is perhaps being a trifle impractical. He contends that government grants will ensure a regular fund flow, yet this argument too seems flawed. After all, government hand-outs have an uncomfortable habit of arriving with strings attached.

More seriously, for how long will the Government continue propping up an autonomous corporation? That isn't a question that has exercised Gill and the newly appointed Prasar Bharati board. Selected by a three-member committee comprising Vice-President Krishan Kant, Press Council Chairman Justice P.B. Sawant and the director of the Centre for Policy Research, V.A. Pai Panandiker, the board has a six-year term and has been criticised for being an old-Fogeys club -- Chairman Nikhil Chakravartty turned 84 in November and will be 90 when he retires. Interestingly, a provision in the original Prasar Bharati Act stipulates that full-time board members step down at 62. In the amendment to the Act, this age limit has been scrapped. But, Chakravartty denies that age will be a hindrance: "All the members are active in their respective fields." They include historian Romila Thapar, 67, space scientist U.R. Rao, 65, Hindi writer Rajendra Yadav, 68, former ambassador to the US and secretary of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation Abid Hussain, 71, and senior journalist B.G. Verghese, 70.

Gill has got off to a flying start. Yet, at Mandi House, where cynicism runs deep, change is likely to be resisted.

Galvanising a unionised staff won't be easy. Nor will removing Gill. He can only be sackedby a presidential order -- on grounds of misbehaviour, after a Supreme Court inquiry. Sparks are sure to fly. Stay tuned.

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