Telemania

Shailaja Bajpai, Media Columnist

Most kudos/razzberries for a real event:The footage of the Kargil conflict with a special mention to reporter Barkha Dutt of NDTV.

Best news: ‘India Matters’ (Star News) shattered the myth that news is exclusively about politicians. It is about six billion other beings too.

Best Talk Show: Shekhar "Jay Leno" Suman on ‘Movers and Shakers’ (Sony) jays the tongue off everybody except perhaps Paranjoy Guha Thakurta (‘India Talks’, CNBC).

Best Drama: ‘Bhanwar’ (Sony), the docu-drama on real life crimes, reveals the horrifying power of evil.

Best calculated gamble, and the worst: Vajpayee’s bus ride to Lahore, Sonia’s Catch-272. The first helped him win the polls, the second ensured she lost it.

Ashok Banker, Author

Best Talk Show: ‘Star Talk’ with Vir Sanghvi, the man who dares to ask the unaskable with a charming smile.

Best Tragedy: The Cricket World Cup ‘99. Sachin’s bereavement, Azhar’s amazement, Saurav’s sanguinity. We reached the Super Six but our chances of victory went for a six. A six-handkerchief tear-jerker that made an entire nation grieve.

Best Soap: Neena Gupta’s ‘Saans’. Jealous rivals carp and ask her when it’s ending, but viewers write/call/mail her in droves to express a bond with the simple, down-to-earth portrayal of life after divorce in an endearing urban family.

Best Comedy: Elections ‘99. Farce at its finest and you didn’t even need a laugh track to accompany the antics of debating politicians, back-stabbing Brutuses nor turncoat Cassiuses. Hilarious, but at those high production costs, let’s wait a few more years before making a sequel.

Best Action Drama: The Kargil War became the first Indian television war, searing our screens with Bofors guns blazing and the poignancy of individual sacrifice. Featuring the nameless jawan in his first starring role, and Barkha Dutt and the Star News gang in supporting roles.