This is not going to be about the movie Devil’s Advocate which is known for Keanu Reeves’ wooden acting, Charlize Theron’s tasteful scenes and Al Pacino rising above the movie for the umpteenth time.Instead this is going to be about the now famous talk show hosted by Karan Thapar.

The show has been in the news recently for the interviews of central ministers Kamal Nath, Arjun Singh and Chidambaram regarding the issue of reservations for OBCs in educational institutions. I saw these episodes and was intrigued by the show. Although I felt that the host sometimes went a bit over the top with his aggressiveness I liked the show on the whole. I searched the net and found out all I could about the show and the anchor. For the past few days I have been reading the archives of the show and the show is very interesting to say the least.

Karan Thapar has been one of the most popular face on Indian TV since few years. His aggressive style of interviewing is in complete contrast to the style of somebody like Prannoy Roy and Arnab Goswami. He raises some valid issues in each interview. In a recent interview (in which he was the interviewee rather than interviewer) this is what he had to say about interviewing politicians.

"When you're doing current affairs you ask questions that the audience would like to ask. When tackling politicians who are to be made accountable you have to persist to the point when you get an answer. If you don't, find out why the answer is not forthcoming. After all the press in one way of making them accountable!"

In the process of making them accountable he usually manages to irk the guests and the interview drifts off to being heated exchange of words.

He persists and borderline nags of each guest till his questions are answered. His critics even call him obnoxious for that. One of his famous interviews is with Kapil Dev (the one after the match fixing scandal broke and in which Kapil wept). When asked whether he should have stopped the interview when the tears started flowing, this was what he had to say.

“He walked into the interview willing. He could have chosen to leave it any point in time, nor did he say, give me a moment. Was I supposed to pat him, give him a kerchief to wipe his tears and patronisingly say - there there - I think you need a cup of tea? That would have been imposing my values and systems on him."

Thapar usually prefers to bombard the guests with facts, figures and quotes. By doing this he usually catches the guests off guard who usually deny this and then proceeds to ask them whether they think the source ( like PTI, NSSO figures, etc.,) was lying. The guest is caught either claiming ignorance or accepting their mistake. Central minister for minority affairs A.R.Antulay has said in his interview

“May I tell you one thing. I didn't know that you will bring so many persons' quotations. If you have brought these authorities, I could have brought in three times more…. Mr Thapar, if I knew that you are going to bring this much of research and quotations, I would have collected ten-fold more and confronted you with it.”

Thapar’s reply to this was that the minister should have the research on his fingertips and shouldn’t need it. I personally feel that a minister should not resort to using other people’s quotes. As a minister in that area he has a responsibility to be completely aware of every issue coming under the purview of his ministry and should be able to counter any argument based on his knowledge.

The opening interview for the show Devil’s Advocate was with Gen. Pervez Musharraf. The interview was very informative. Although Karan Thapar tried to corner the general on many issues, Musharraf being the experienced politician he is managed to wiggle out of most of them. He did end up calling most of Pakistani press as untrustworthy and sensationalistic. And the half baked suggestions he came up with for Kashmir issue (disarmament, self governance, joint governance, etc., ) were too unrealistic.

There have been many really juicy moments in the show Devil’s Advocate till now. Moments where the guests ended up losing their cool or trapped in Thapar’s word traps. Let me list some of them.

· Thapar: General Musharraf a pleasure speaking to you on Devils Advocate.

President Musharraf: Thank you. The name is very correct

· Karan Thapar: Have you told the President that you believe he made a mistake (in suspending govt of Bihar in January)?

L K Advani: I did not say that. Not in so many words. I focussed on the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.

Karan Thapar: But today you are saying that the President made a mistake?

LK Advani: It was a mistake. He should have returned it or he should have taken time to consider it.

(This is the first time I saw a politician of high stature saying something to this effect about the President.)

· The interview with Pranab Mukherjee is very juicy all along and Mr.Mukherjee was hot under the collar since the very beginning. Here is a compilation of the juicy bits. “Don't convert the discussion into a quiz. It's not a court that you are asking me, cross-examining me and asking me to answer in monosyllables. Let's not degenerate it into a quiz competition…. No, it's your conclusions of the SC judgment…. First of all, you have to know how the Government functions. You have to know this…. Perhaps, you are determined to come to your own conclusion, and to prove that is the only conclusion one could arrive at… Don't try to be over smart, Mr Karan. You are trying to be over smart, Which I am not allowing you to be…. I don't agree with that. That is your conclusion…. I am afraid, Mr Karan, that you are just in the habit of coming to wrong conclusions. Infiltrators do not notify to you or to me that 'look I am going to infiltrate on that date”

· Mani Shankar Aiyar (on being removed from the Petroleum portfolio) : I don't think ministers have any right to definitive answers. We are appointed under the sole prerogative of the Prime Minister. I have always said that ministers are dead man walking

· A R Antulay (in reply to some question which has nothing to do with the reply he gave):… I am a secular person. That is why I thank Soniaji and I thank Manmohanji for having created this ministry (minority affairs ministry).

Karan Thapar: All right. Let's come to the substantive argument. You got the PR exercise over with. You've thanked Soniaji, you've thanked Dr Manmohan Singh…

(LOL)

· Karan Thapar: Centre was wrong in trying to bring an ordinance (to amend the rule defining “Office of Profit” allegedly to protect Sonia Gandhi.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharya: Yes

Karan Thapar: Can I push a little further? In addition to being wrong in trying to do it through an ordinance, were they also wrong in adjourning Parliament sine die without consulting the opposition or the other parties.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharya: Yes. They did it hurriedly just to close Parliament sine die and come out with the ordinance. This isn't fair in a Parliamentary democracy.

· Karan Thapar(regarding adjourning parliament preceding Sonia’s resignation in order to protect her): So, the papers are worng? The Indian Express is wrong?

Priyaranjan Dasmunsi: Absolutely wrong.

Karan Thapar: The Times of India is wrong?

Priyaranjan Dasmunsi: Absolutely wrong.

Karan Thapar: Even your allies are wrong because they …

Priyaranjan Dasmunsi: Allies are not wrong….

(The newspapers are wrong because they are saying something against them. Allies are not wrong because they cant afford to say that although allies have said the exact same thing the papers have said.:)) )

· Karan Thapar:You have had six years of Congress government, you have had three or four years of government under your personal leadership, the reversal is not obvious to anyone.

Vilasrao Deshmukh: One must understand that I am riding a coalition government and a coalition government has its own limitations and its own complications.

Karan Thapar:Is that a problem?

Vilasrao Deshmukh: Yes, this is a problem because so far as finance and disciplines are concerned, we have to take some hard decisions. And when we run a coalition government, it is very difficult to take hard decisions.

Karan Thapar:So, you are saying that the coalition allies that you have will not let you take hard decisions.

Vilasrao Deshmukh: It is very difficult, as I said.

Karan Thapar:What is the problem? Are they stopping you?

Vilasrao Deshmukh: No, they are not stopping me…..

( Deshmukh almost blamed his allies for everything and then realized what he was doing and went on to provide a lame excuse)

· Karan Thapar: You are saying that because in the last 45 years, since Jawahar Lal Nehru spoke in 1961, India hasn't has the all inclusive type of growth which you want, therefore reservations has become a central issue and therefore, what Jawahar Lal Nehru disliked has become necessary today. And that is why you are prepared to go against Jawahar Lal Nehru.

Kamal Nath: We are not going against Jawahar Lal Nehru, what are you talking?

( OMG I am a Congressman dude. How can I ever go against Nehru or anybody from his family J )

· Arjun Singh: I don't know…

Arjun Singh: I am a servant of Parliament…

Arjun Singh: The decision has been taken…

(These are the replies given by Arjun Singh to every question put forward by Thapar about reservations)

· Karan Thapar: And this you are saying is not proof that you have bungled wheat procurement.

Sharad Pawar: I can’t understand what kind of nonsense statement you are making. What is this bungle?

(Should have seen the face of Pawar when he was saying this )

…

Karan Thapar: And you are saying that agricultural suicides are 15 per cent of general suicides. Therefore your ministries believe that this is not excessive.

Sharad Pawar: No, No. It is not that. In a country of a billion people about 1 lakh commit suicide every year. It is a normal thing that we have been seeing for a number of years.

(OMG farmers committing suicides is normal now)

· Karan Thapar(about the reservation issue): This is very interesting. You have already decided that you want 27 per cent reservation for OBCs but you don’t know on what basis you want it. Now you have to go back and discover the basis.

P Chidambaram: I am sure the material is there. We are not discovering the basis.

Karan Thapar: You are concocting it

(It takes guts to speak like that to a minister)

·

· The whole of Rahul Bajaj interview. Right from the start to finish. Read the transcript here .

Let me say here that of all the interviews conducted by Thapar till now, the one with Rahul Bajaj would have been the worst. First of all I don’t think he is somebody who has anything to say to the country at all ( except maybe to buy his bikes ). He was on the offensive right from the start and in his emotional mixture of anger, haste and stupidity he ended up saying stuff like

o Rahul Bajaj:No I have not joined politics. I have joined the Rajya Sabha…

o Rahul Bajaj: Where did you go to school Karan?

Karan Thapar: Is that relevant?

Rahul Bajaj: It is very relevant because your logic is illogical.

Karan Thapar:If it is relevant I will tell you. I went to Doon School, Cambridge, Oxford and I know a lot about politics.

Rahul Bajaj: I went to Cathedral, St. Stephens, and Harvard, slightly better than you in every respect.

o Rahul Bajaj : Don’t look at your questions, you should have them memorised.

Karan Thapar: I am not looking at the questions, I’m looking at a quotation, so I get it right.

Rahul Bajaj: You should have learnt it by heart before interviewing me.

Karan Thapar: I am afraid your words are not so important that I would want to learn them by heart

(ROFLMAO)

o Rahul Bajaj: I am a stooge

o Rahul Bajaj: I will answer in my way not in your way. And the 24 minutes will be hopefully over.

o Rahul Bajaj: It’s only the rich who understand the poor

Bajaj came across as somebody who didn’t care whose support he had, didn’t care how many relationships he broke to become an MP. He looked obstinate and foolish when he said stuff like “I am not a politician”.

I am really looking forward to the day when somebody from AP like Rajasekhar Reddy or Chandrababu Naidu or somebody from Gandhi family will be interviewed. Of all the interviews I came across till now only Musharraf, Chidambaram and surprisingly Amar Singh have come out unscathed. The problem with this is not many people would like to come back to this show. Lets just hope that that will not be the case as these kinds of interviews are essential in keeping the leaders on their toes and as Thapar himself says “After all the press in one way of making the leaders accountable!”

 ____________________________________________________________________

Currently reading: The murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie 

In 1999, a Bhutanese filmmaker called Khyentse Norbu made a movie called “The Cup” (“Phorpu” in Bhutanese). It was a story of two young Tibetan boys who were getting trained in a Buddhist Monastery. They are crazy about the ongoing Football World Cup. They put up a proposal to get a TV and a satellite dish to the monastery to watch the finals which is accepted by the head Lama. After some hilarious problems the boys finally get to watch the game. Here is a conversation between the head Lama (Abbot) and the monastery’s disciplinarian (Geko).

“Abbot: “When is the fight?”

Geko: “What? What fight?”

Abbot: “You said it was two nations fighting for a ball.

Geko: “Oh, oh, that … I think it’s around one in the morning.

Abbot: Picking up his thermos from under the table …

“What a strange time for a fight.”

Looks around for his cup…

“What do they get out of all this?”

He finds his cup and pours hot water into it …

Geko: “They get a cup.”

Abbot: Sipping from his steaming cup he ponders for a moment in deep thought…

“A cup… Mmmm.”

He continues to drink slowly, trying to suppress a smile.”

Made on a shoestring budget, shot in a real monastery and most of the cast made up of real Buddhist monks this film managed to be extremely successful. It won the audience award in Gardanne Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival. It was the only movie ever sent to Oscars by Bhutan.

After seven years it is again time for another Football World Cup. 2006 FIFA World Cup has got rolling and the world will have its eyes on Germany for the next few weeks. This will be my third world cup. I remember watching the 1998 world cup on DD2. I was very curious about it because the newspapers made a huge deal about it. I had never seen a Football match before and I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. For about a month I was immersed in it. I kept speaking about Ronaldo and Zidane to everybody showing off my new found knowledge. I still remember the drama surrounding the final when Ronaldo supposedly had a seizure but the rest of the team refused to play without him.

After the completion of the world cup except for reading occasional news items like Manchester United winning the EPL and David Beckham marrying Posh Spice I was completely detached from the Football world. Four years later the carnival was staged again, this time in South Korea/Japan. This time I was a little better equipped with Football knowledge. I at least knew most of the important players and teams. The timing of the telecasts helped a lot and I managed to catch quite a few matches. I was rooting all for South Korea and Japan and was elated to see them do so well. The Italians and Spaniards just didn’t know what hit them. In the end sanity was restored and Brazil lifted the cup.

After coming to IIIT in 2004 I started following the game. I chose Liverpool to support and I still very passionately do. I started watching the matches which were being telecasted in ESPN and Star Sports. I was ecstatic when Liverpool won the Champion’s league and F.A.Cup a year later. I woke up at 12:30 in the night in my home to watch this year’s Champions league final between Barcelona and Arsenal. I check for latest Football news every couple of hours on the net.

After watching club football for about 2 years, here comes World Cup again. Brazil seems to be runaway favorites and my money is on them to lift the cup but I will be happier if England, Spain or Italy manages to do it. This is because I followed their leagues for two years and would like to see these really football crazy nations get their due. I will be really hoping to see Steven Gerrard win the Golden Ball. According to me he is the best player in the world and is only recently beginning to get his due. Even Pele picked him as the player to watch out for. Will be posting the updates and reviews of the matches as the Cup progresses.

Currently reading: False Impression by Jeffrey Archer.

]]> http://sreekanthp.wordpress.com/2006/06/09/football-and-%e2%80%9cthe-cup%e2%80%9d/feed/ http://sreekanthp.wordpress.com/2006/05/31/test/ http://sreekanthp.wordpress.com/2006/05/31/test/#comments Wed, 31 May 2006 17:19:17 +0000 sreekanthp https://sreekanthp.wordpress.com/2006/05/31/test/

Here I Go. After almost a year of procrastination and finally running out of excuses I kept giving myself for the delay here is my first post. Here for a great blog and lots of hits in the future.

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!