NEW DELHI, January 9: Former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar is going to give the nation a little direction on how to go about things, starting January 16. Disha Samvad -- Chandra Shekhar Ka Desh Ke Saath, like any other celebrity-anchor show, will talk to people who matter on the issues that matter.Even while Chandra Shekhar is in his constituency Balia, hot on the campaign trail, his show is part of the hoopla for the newly launched Zee India TV, an attempt by the Zee Network to have a full-fledged news and current affairs channel.
The network is making the most of the fact that a ``leader whose personality is still considered credible'' is doing a show for them. The Chandra Sehkhar show was one of the high points of a launch for the channel in Delhi today.
Previews of the show with Chandra Shekhar were beamed from a giant screen.``It was a mutual decision. We wanted him to do it and he wanted to do it. He is going to discuss important issues which may have been turning points in the
political, social and economic history of the country,'' says P.C. Lahiri, Zee Telefilm spokesman.
Predictably, Chandrashekhar will be doing a lot of the talking to start with. According to the programme format, an opening monologue by Chandra Shekhar will gradually convert itself into a conversation with an eminent person.
With six episodes in the can, some of the people going to be featured on the show include Laloo Yadav, Sitaram Yechuri, V.P. Singh, Sharad Pawar and Paswan, among others.
Having such heavyweight politicians on the show during election time doesn't seem to perturb the channel too much. Though they claim to be taking the precaution of not telecasting anything that might get the Election Commission excited.
``I don't think we are going against any Election Commission directive. We have kept their directives in mind and are not going to telecast anything violating them. Moreover, the show is not only about politics. It is about social, economic and cultural issues also,'' Lahiri
adds.
The programme note says that the issues chosen for the show are the issues that are uppermost on the nation's mind at present. The upcoming elections maybe?
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
