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Latha Venkatraman

Though there is no rocket science involved in covering elections, "it is a great experience. But mistakes do happen and sometimes you want to kick yourself for not asking the right question," says Rajdeep Sardesai of NDTV.

Just as sops such as Kyunki... has propelled Smriti Irani to fame and Kaahin Kissii Roz has boosted Sudha Chandran's popularity, NDTV's reputation has lifted some of its anchors to near celebrity status. "NDTV has created anchor-driven programming," says Rajdeep Sardesai, who along with Barkha Dutt, are among the most talked about news anchors on Indian news channels.

Sardesai believes that to be a good anchor one needs to be a journalist first. "You need to have the energy and enthusiasm to sustain yourself through live news shows," he says. He should know, having been in the field of television journalism for over 11 years.

Anchoring news shows is no child's play. In the current scenario, anchors are as much part of the reporting team of the news channel. "We have to be well updated on news. One should read several newspapers to catch up on various issues," says Mandira Sawnhey of Star News. "When not anchoring, we are tracking a story or involved in editing," she says.

Although there is no need for specialised knowledge, covering elections does require a larger understanding of the political and economic realities. "But there is no rocket science involved," says Sardesai, who has covered four general elections for NDTV.

"It is a great experience covering elections. To see the game unfolding is quite thrilling and that keeps you going," he says. But mistakes do happen. "There are times when you want to kick yourself for not asking the right question or missing out a point," he says.

The pressure on news channels to keep the ratings up does impact quality. "News channels in India are evolving; it is not enough to be a pretty face, you need to be a good communicator and a journalist at heart," says Sardesai.

Anchors are getting their recognition. Sardesai and Barkha, along with Deepak Chaurasiya of Doordarshan and Prabhu Chawla of Aaj Tak have been nominated for the Apsara Film Producers' Guild of India Award under the category of Best News Anchor. "Sometimes in the oddest of places people recognise me and tell me they like my show," says Anuradha Sen Gupta of CNBC.

India's Child Genius

A still from the show, World's Britannia India's Child Genius.

After seeking out crorepatis, Star TV is now commencing a search for India's Child Genius. Based on the American show Challenge of the Child Genius Star, World's Britannia India's Child Genius is being hosted by quizmaster Siddhartha Basu. "It was quite an experience dealing with an interesting age group. They are such bright sparks," says Basu who has completed the shooting of the zonal preliminaries.

The show for students in the age group of 10-12 years goes beyond general knowledge to verbal and non-verbal reasoning, math, science, history, natural world, geography, mythology, literature, English language and spellings.

"The eligibility criteria were quite tough. We received 16,000 entries. We had a tough job trying to pick up 5,000 students from these — 1,250 each from the four zones," says Basu. "We got entries from the most amazing places in India — Agartala, Mehsana, Dhulia, and places we had never heard of," he says.

He agrees that coping with disappointed parents and children was not easy. "We continuously talked to the children telling them that losing is part of the game," says Basu.

As in Kaun Banega Crorepati, there is prize money worth Rs 50 lakh over 27 episodes. For Star World this is seen as an ideal programming for the Indian English audience tuning into the channel. "It is aspirational, result-oriented and there is agony and ecstasy," says Deepak Segal, Senior Vice-President — Content and Communication, Star India. The fact that Indians take education very seriously and competitively augurs well for a show like this, he adds.

But there is a simmer of discontent about such shows among viewers. "Why have a show where there is so much money?" asks a viewer. "Children are already living in an extremely competitive and stressful environment. Shows like this one is going to drive parents to push their children up the wall," she says.

Response can be sent to life@thehindu.co.in

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