Costa-Gavras’ Mad City (Dustin Hoffman, John Travolta, Alan Alda) opens with a close up shot of a TV cameraman loading film in his camera. It looks like someone’s loading a gun. Costa-Gavras, who doesn’t make films that don’t make strong statements, probably wanted the viewer to entertain the illusion. Mad City is his take on American TV journalism gone too far. Hoffman plays a TV reporter who manipulates a hostage situation for a national “live and exclusive”. Travolta plays an out-of-job, somewhat out-of-his-mind, security guard who creates the hostage situation.

If you were to make a film on Indian TV journalism and, in the best Bollywood tradition, decided to copy chunks from a Hollywood film, be sure to make one change. The opening shot of the TV cameraman loading film should look like someone’s filling up a jerry can with diesel. I know that illusion is tough to create. But if you don’t do it, it would be terribly unfair to Indian TV journalism. The police have only talked about “unnamed” TV journalists “abetting” a case of suicide by helpfully providing diesel. The live and exclusive - or dead and exclusive, perhaps - was courtesy a Patna contractor protesting non-payment of dues by the government.

I watched Mad City a few Sundays back. That day the rescue of Haryana’s little Prince was the national live and exclusive. TV news had created a searing national drama out of a local accident. Haryana’s CM was talking about flying in German (or was it Dutch) specialists and TV anchors were reporting it as if it were perfectly normal for Western rescue crews to hotfoot it to India every time someone fell in a hole. I remember thinking there’s a big gap between being silly and exploitative and that Indian TV news hasn’t bridged that gap.

... contd.