Is Aamir Khan India’s answer to Oprah Winfrey? Is Satyamev Jayate the Indian incarnation of the Oprah show?
Ever since the show was first broadcast, people seemed convinced of the striking similarities with the highest rated US talk show’s early days. After having copied most US reality show formats, our TV producers must have set their eyes on the Oprah talk show. They would have struggled to find a face that could give India its own Oprah moment. After having already exhausted all the big names, TV producers would have had a tough time zeroing on a name that could match Oprah’s gravity. And since Aamir was yet to make his small screen debut, it only seemed pragmatic to convince the superstar to have a similar show of his own. After all, he is the “intellectual” of mainstream Hindi cinema, a champion of social issues.
Having made guest appearances in many social movements, Aamir too would have wanted to start his brand of social consciousness that aimed to explore sensationalistic issues and make handsome profits. His films too, are a testimony to this growing infatuation with social issues. So, what could have been better than a TV show that helped him vent out his anger on what he thought was wrong with and within the country.
However, the genesis of Satyamev could also be attributed to India’s own Tahrir Square — Anna Hazare’s movement against corruption. It was here that Aamir would have first smelled blood. It was here that he would have stumbled upon the idea of stirring the conscience of the masses through a TV show that highlighted critical issues, presented gory case studies and requested people’s participation. Team Anna too had followed the same principle and was able to mobilise crowds.
Mesmerised by Anna’s popularity, questions of how this simple man from an obscure village turned into a messiah overnight must have played on his mind. He knew that hundreds of 24×7 news cameras panning and zooming on Anna did play a crucial role in making him a 21st century Gandhi. This could be the very reason why Aamir embarked on this ambitious project that has given credibility to his brand of social activism.
Is Aamir Khan India’s answer to Oprah Winfrey? Is Satyamev Jayate the Indian incarnation of the Oprah show?
Ever since the show was first broadcast, people seemed convinced of the striking similarities with the highest rated US talk show’s early days. After having copied most US reality show formats, our TV producers must have set their eyes on the Oprah talk show. They would have struggled to find a face that could give India its own Oprah moment. After having already exhausted all the big names, TV producers would have had a tough time zeroing on a name that could match Oprah’s gravity. And since Aamir was yet to make his small screen debut, it only seemed pragmatic to convince the superstar to have a similar show of his own. After all, he is the “intellectual” of mainstream Hindi cinema, a champion of social issues.
Having made guest appearances in many social movements, Aamir too would have wanted to start his brand of social consciousness that aimed to explore sensationalistic issues and make handsome profits. His films too, are a testimony to this growing infatuation with social issues. So, what could have been better than a TV show that helped him vent out his anger on what he thought was wrong with and within the country.
However, the genesis of Satyamev could also be attributed to India’s own Tahrir Square — Anna Hazare’s movement against corruption. It was here that Aamir would have first smelled blood. It was here that he would have stumbled upon the idea of stirring the conscience of the masses through a TV show that highlighted critical issues, presented gory case studies and requested people’s participation. Team Anna too had followed the same principle and was able to mobilise crowds.
Mesmerised by Anna’s popularity, questions of how this simple man from an obscure village turned into a messiah overnight must have played on his mind. He knew that hundreds of 24×7 news cameras panning and zooming on Anna did play a crucial role in making him a 21st century Gandhi. This could be the very reason why Aamir embarked on this ambitious project that has given credibility to his brand of social activism.
“Satyamev isn’t an Oprah moment of Indian television; it is rather a hybrid and a more dramatic version of the Anna movement.”
Let’s rewind to August 2011 when fight against corruption was at its crescendo and Anna had decided to fast till his version of the anti-graft bill was made into law. It was on one of those days that Aamir visited Ramlila Maidan to support the veteran activist. He was welcomed with a loud cheer and soon after he took the mike, Aamir said, “This is the first episode of the struggle. The climax would be when we get the strong Lokpal Bill.” He spoke further and the crowds listened, applauded, whistled and even chanted his name. Amused at the crowd’s response, he spoke at length about the Jan Lok Pal bill and pleaded Anna to give up his fast. Ironically, his body language and speech bear uncanny similarities to the way he goes about it in Satyamev.
Also, his stint at the Anna fest came to end with a song that he along with others crooned from the stage. The song saw active participation from the crowds, including people present on stage, especially Kiran Bedi who went hysterical with her flag act. Impressed with the response, the superstar must have decided to use the same format in his show — the last two episodes of Satyamev have had a song played at the end and all other episodes would follow a similar pattern. A compilation of these songs would hit the market after the season is over – another marketing gimmick. No one knows it better than Aamir to rake in moolah from sensitive issues.
Another uncanny similarity that Satyamev shares with the Anna movement is the frequency of letters that are dispatched off to concerned authorities. While Anna kept threatening everyone in the government with his letters, Aamir is repeating it, subtly, with his show. In the last two episodes he has written letters to concerned authorities and has even met politicians to address the pertinent social issues. Concerned authorities have already started to act on his demands as they fear that just like Anna he could go public on their inaction.
This is the deed of a genius. He is selling social issues to us, claiming to have his heart in the right place. A remarkable decision to rope in Doordarshan also helped him extend his reach to audiences in farfetched places that Anna and his stooges never even imagined. Telecasting it on Sunday mornings too is a masterstroke as it is bound to get him more eyeballs not only from urban India, but also from rural areas. Remember the Mahabharata and Ramayana days.
I always thought that no one knew how to sell films better than Aamir, his marketing strategies were a league above his contemporaries. To make a hit out of Peepli Live that would have certainly bombed at the box office is a testimony of his understanding of the market. With Satyamev, he has done what he does best, marketed his product well enough to create a niche that could turn him into a filmi social activist with vested monetary interests. Looking at the way he promotes his films, Satyamev could have never been a mere philanthropic exercise.
Let’s rewind to August 2011 when fight against corruption was at its crescendo and Anna had decided to fast till his version of the anti-graft bill was made into law. It was on one of those days that Aamir visited Ramlila Maidan to support the veteran activist. He was welcomed with a loud cheer and soon after he took the mike, Aamir said, “This is the first episode of the struggle. The climax would be when we get the strong Lokpal Bill.” He spoke further and the crowds listened, applauded, whistled and even chanted his name. Amused at the crowd’s response, he spoke at length about the Jan Lok Pal bill and pleaded Anna to give up his fast. Ironically, his body language and speech bear uncanny similarities to the way he goes about it in Satyamev.
Also, his stint at the Anna fest came to end with a song that he along with others crooned from the stage. The song saw active participation from the crowds, including people present on stage, especially Kiran Bedi who went hysterical with her flag act. Impressed with the response, the superstar must have decided to use the same format in his show — the last two episodes of Satyamev have had a song played at the end and all other episodes would follow a similar pattern. A compilation of these songs would hit the market after the season is over – another marketing gimmick. No one knows it better than Aamir to rake in moolah from sensitive issues.
Another uncanny similarity that Satyamev shares with the Anna movement is the frequency of letters that are dispatched off to concerned authorities. While Anna kept threatening everyone in the government with his letters, Aamir is repeating it, subtly, with his show. In the last two episodes he has written letters to concerned authorities and has even met politicians to address the pertinent social issues. Concerned authorities have already started to act on his demands as they fear that just like Anna he could go public on their inaction.
This is the deed of a genius. He is selling social issues to us, claiming to have his heart in the right place. A remarkable decision to rope in Doordarshan also helped him extend his reach to audiences in farfetched places that Anna and his stooges never even imagined. Telecasting it on Sunday mornings too is a masterstroke as it is bound to get him more eyeballs not only from urban India, but also from rural areas. Remember the Mahabharata and Ramayana days.
I always thought that no one knew how to sell films better than Aamir, his marketing strategies were a league above his contemporaries. To make a hit out of Peepli Live that would have certainly bombed at the box office is a testimony of his understanding of the market. With Satyamev, he has done what he does best, marketed his product well enough to create a niche that could turn him into a filmi social activist with vested monetary interests. Looking at the way he promotes his films, Satyamev could have never been a mere philanthropic exercise.
Satyamev isn’t an Oprah moment of Indian television; it is rather a hybrid and a more dramatic version of the Anna movement.
