Travelling the telly land

Will it be the next big thing in years to come? Reema Gehi asks four veteran film makers what television will be like in 2020.

Reema Gehi asks four veteran film directors what TV will be like in 2020.

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Basu Chatterjee (Associated with popular serials Rajani and Byomkesh Bakshi)
It's difficult to predict what Indian television might look like 13 years from now because nothing is clear even today.

The scenario is bizarre - forget daily soaps, even the news channels are losing track.. half the news they cover has no relevance at all. Take the recent Bipasha Basu-Ronaldo kiss for example. Who's interested except those who are addicted to silly gossip?

But I have a hunch that viewers will inevitably get bored of all these saas-bahu sagas. At least, we will be spared of them in 2020.

Sudhir Mishra (Naya Nukkad)
These days television is thriving on reality shows and family soap operas. I believe that reflects the sociological mind-set. The plots are predictable, yet it is interesting that they have a wide viewership.

I feel that by 2020, there will be more niche channels. In fact,the trend has already begun. You have channels based on history, geography, religion, sports, news et al.. I think this would rise even further.

Kundan Shah (Associated with serial Nukkad)
Today, TV is stale, it's been like this for the last four years. But in some ways it does reflect the society that we live in. Thirteen years later, more innovative products might be introduced.

Hopefully we will shift far away from the saas-bahu genre. In all probability, new channels will be devoted entirely to documentaries. This whole television phenomenon is like a wild flowing river, unless we don't flow, we will drown.

Anurag Basu (Associated with serial Love Story) The face of Indian television in 2020 will be very offbeat. Who knows? We may even witness some thing like Kaun Banega Kharab Pati and we will have audiences sitting at home and voting for or against a bad husband.

There will be more live interactive shows. Technology will surpass the content on television. The concept of paid channels will prevail all over.