once upon a crime

It's intrusive, it's all-pervasive, and it has the makings of a bestseller. It's the latest buzz on TV. Fact is, eight of the top 10 shows on news channels are crime reports. That's the whodunnit part. Here's more...
There's a common modus operandi for these crime reports - a vigilant approach, dark and sinister sets, sometimes with a cellphone in the background mingling with the hushed conspiratorial tones of those who host these shows.
Finally, there's the hush-hush talk. Here, the criminal (accused, not convicted mind you - but that's but a little detail for TV channels) is produced before the camera and the anchor combines the three roles of cop, judge and jury. If the reality component of these shows, given the crusading manner of the TV hosts, doesn't grip you, there's more to come. The crime is dramatised and it's always way beyond terrible, more so because the criminal, more often than not, is an overweight, moustachioed bad guy playing the cliche to the last detail.
Aaj Tak has a programme called Jurm Aaj Tak, which trawls through recent FIRs in faraway places in Meerut and Bulandshahar. The anchor, Shams Tahir Khan, goes into a low-tone mafioso drawl to add to the effect. It doesn't add up though. Sony has a show called Crime Patrol, which is hosted by Shakti Anand.
While the pumped-up host gives the impression of a cop who's about to pounce on a criminal, the show doesn't really live up to expectations in that, sometimes, 'lesser' crimes are blown up to make them interesting. "It is after all a crime show and we do need to spice it up sometimes just as we sanitise the show a little bit sometimes," says Anand.
"One thing is for sure, crime sells big time in middle-class India." Does it bother Anand that some of the cases are still in court and the alleged criminal hasn't actually been convicted? "We have a role to play as the media. Even if a case is highlighted, we take care not to be biased," he maintains.
Star's Red Alert isn't different from other crime shows on TV, what with its share of hushed whispers, wailing sirens and other stuff that goes into making these potboilers on TV. Says the host, Jitendra Dixit: "Red Alert aims at raising civil awareness about crime and those that subvert the laws of society. It is easy to sensationalise and dramatise things while doing this, but the show hasn't been designed on these lines."
The way these TV crusades are shaping up it appears time is not far when Indian TV will do a trial like the celebrated O J Simpson media circus in the US. The awesome reach of TV gives the anchors power to play cop without any checks or curbs on their crusades. The reason why so many channels have so many crime shows and there's one channel in the pipeline that will be exclusively dedicated to crime isn't far to fathom. These shows are targeted at the voyeuristic instinct of the middle-class family man and his wife - it's sort of cheap thrill and means getting acquainted with big crime and its perpetrators. Indeed, blood and gore sells almost as well as soaps in developed markets such as the US and Europe.
Ratings for crime-based reality shows are far greater than talk shows of news channels and the academic discussions on TV. What's more, if reality crime shows are at the top of the ratings game in the West, they're slowly getting there in India.
Says Sulina Menon, CEO, North of Carat: "There is serious interest in these shows, which are throwing up impressive numbers. But production quality has to go up a long way before they can become top drawer attractions."
Shoaib Ilyassi, whose copy of America's Most Wanted became popular, now has a new show on India TV. Says Illyasi: "We have already been instrumental in catching 24 criminals though this new show. The public wants to know about crimes and demands accountability from the police. I believe that we cater to both these aspects."
So, come tonight, and couch potatoes will once again be taken through a whirl of sirens and guns, cops and robbers. Let the hunt begin.