Bull's Eye

TV has influenced mankind like nothing else! Next to the instinct for human procreation is the gregarious instinct. After sex, comes human bonding. TV panders to this urge. It is the elixir of life.Someone recounted the following story with a very straight face. Can it be true? Recently, a VIP politician was ailing. Eventually, the doctor pronounced him dead. A TV cameraman approached for a last shot of the body. As the camera started to whirr, the corpse suddenly sat up and with a weak grin waved at the camera. After that, measured dosages of TV interviews, prescribed by the doctor, led to his full recovery. Fortunately, the cameraman, who got a heart attack after the corpse sat up, is also recovering.

I doubt if Mumbai could have survived the horrible trauma caused by rains without TV. Endless scenes showed grim-faced people pushing cars through waist-deep water. They would suddenly flash smiles and wave at the camera when they spotted one. TV has awakened the dormant histrionic talent of ordinary people. Frail women assaulted policemen in Gurgaon. Accused politicians gave emotional, tear-jerking rebuttals after the Nanavati report. All thanks to TV.

The profession of acting has come under a cloud. What's so special about Amitabh, Aamir or Shahrukh Khan? Sehwag, Ganguly and Dravid do as well in TV ads. When a young woman asserted that Sehwag had overtaken Sachin, I gently recounted some statistics. "I was not talking about cricket," she said coldly, "I meant acting."

Though an actor struggling to perform lurks within us all, the best acting talent is undoubtedly found in politics. Consider Manmohan Singh saying with steely eyes, "We are going to be reciprocal with America! If we give, we take!" Or, L.K. Advani saying tearfully, "The day the mosque was demolished became the saddest day of my life!" You know you are watching performances by great masters of acting. No Govinda or Hema in politics can ever deliver lines with such mastery. Al Pacino or Tom Hanks possibly, but that's doubtful, too. One often hears national leaders urge their partymen: "Brothers, it is time to act!" Obviously they mean something very different from what you and I think.TV has raised a metaphysical question. If humans act all the time, when do they ever become themselves? No wonder mystics advised: "Know thyself!" Watching TV one has to ask: If we don't even know ourselves, how can we be ourselves?

(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)