People I would really like to see in KWA but...

[mounaraagam]

I just couldn't resist myself and decided to make this post. Let's see if it is going to spark off some heated debate.


I caught a few episodes of KWK, and felt left out whenever the guests spoke in Hindi. I believe the show was primarily aimed at the English speaking audience, and therefore, much of the conversations were carried out in English. Forgive my ignorance, for my command of the Hindi language is limited to a few choice words like those declaring my love...

I am not sure about the target audience for KWA. Only the rating executives for STAR can comment on that, but I am leaning towards a predominantly tamil speaking crowd, that consists of many who know little or no English. As I am conversant in both Tamil and English, my brain usually fails to really notice the mixed usage of both languages in many tamil programs on tv. Recently though, I was watching an interview with a tamil speaking actor in a tamil program who was giving answers that were completely in English, that even the Queen would be impressed with. It was not even speckled with any tamil words, which I assume is what the "tamil only" audience would hang on to, in trying to make sense of what he was saying. This got me to think, that many of the audiences would get quite frustrated and puzzled that their favourite actor/actress seems to use so much English instead of the fluent Tamil that they were used to in the movies. Here, I sympathize with the many, who still
are unaware of the world of pre/post production consisting of "rerecoding", "dubbing", "prompting", "voice overs" and other
techniques used in movies, serials and commercials.

This, now brings us to the choice of guests in ANY chat show in Tamil. Should they be limited to those who can at least speak a mix of the 2 languages in a proportion that the "tamil only" audience can understand? Those guests who had some schooling that involved Tamil, or grew up in an environment that had Tamil, in my opinion should have no excuses, and should try their best to speak in Tamil. This of course, may cause them some embarassment, or harm the "image" that they try to portray, when they stutter and stumble around for words. I wonder if the media in Tamil Nadu will ever join forces to try and cajole/force such a requirement for personalities appearing on the mass media for interview and such.

The next category of people, are those that are not from Tamil speaking backgrounds, and are being interviewed because of their fame in Tamil Nadu. This category can be sub divided into those that "try" and those that blatantly refuse to. Namita can be taken as an example of those that try. She adds some tamil words like "irukku", "irukkaa", eg. Director romba nalla irukkaa, patient irukkaa.. etc. This gives the audience a pseudo effect that she is indeed speaking tamil. Forget the verb, tense, grammar etc that the language is treasured for. It at least allows her to score more points than flatly saying that "I don't know tamil". Just in case you are wondering - I am not part of any Namitha fan club. Just using her as an example.

This brings us to the question of, do we still want to see interviews of those who have the attitude of "I cannot speak the language, and will not be putting in any effort to speak it in the near future as I have -- fill in excuse here--"?

Maybe we can start a thread in this discussion titled "people I would really like to see in KWA but will fall into the above category".

Now that I have tired you out with this long post, I shall not go on further...

Ok. I am ready to be burnt at the stake now. Let the flaming begin!

[fayvac]

When I read this post, I pinched myself hard to check if I had wrongly entered a forum of the Tamilnadu State Assembly members :confused:

If I have to shortlist celebrities based on their capability/willingness to adhere to the two-language formula, and that too in a specific proportion (is 75:25 acceptable?), do a live word count on air to ensure adherence to acceptable ratios, provide on-air translators, snatch the conversation from them when they tend to stray into english or other languages.....and rename the show
Anuvudan Kapi, replace the cup with a kuvalai ....

Come on Mounaragam, The essence of pleasure is SPONTANEITY... and KWA I am sure is geared towards pleasure over a cuppa. If somebody has problems understanding a celebrity and what he or she is saying, let them take the trouble to do some learning on their side as well. Methinks you are being too partisan in your views.

And dearie, I wouldn't burn you at any stake; will possibly airlift a few CDs to Tamilnadu, providing the most effective, quick and most enjoyable way to learn new languages.
:D

[Aquarian]

Hi Mounaraagam,

When ppl are sickeningly sanctimonious, ranting and raving about Namitha's dress, you mentioned her for a different reason.
That shows that there are more things to notice,appreciate and learn from ppl than complaining about trifling things. good job!

Now for the topic. I guess the target audience is mainly the tamil speaking world. There is no doubt because the host is talking in tamil. Mostly only the actresses we import from Mumbai and other places tend to speak in english. They would have acted in only a couple of tamil movies(Shriya, for example) and so less exposed to the language to pick it up and speak in an interview. ( An actor like Kamal, even if he is going to act in Bhojpuri, will make sure that he learns the language to some extent before acting in it. We cannot expect the same passion from all...after all, we have only one Kamal. alrite, am a kamal fan! :) ). But i guess we have a reason to complain if Simran or Jyothika can't talk in tamil even after acting in so many movies.

But i agree that the guests should also be told to speak as much in tamil as possible if they can. (I am with you at the stakes, dude. Let's burn together! :) )

I think most of the guests do speak in tamil only. May be there are 1 or 2 exceptions like the one you mentioned. (btw, who's that? )

Hi fayvac,

I find it strange that you ask the viewer to learn a language because he cannot understand what the celebrity says. I tune to the TV for entertainment not for education.(Note i am tuning in to Vijay TV not any UGC program :)). In a tamil channel, If you have to connect with the people, you have to speak their language. You cannot expect everyone to understand english. After all, we are the ones who made them celebrities. If they cannot relate to us(Tamil ppl), then for whom are they talking about? Do you think it would be at the cost of losing their spontaneity? Do you think Namitha lost her spontaneity or whatever by trying to speak in tamil? I think not.

Btw, thanks for posting that Ithaca poem. I never thought I would come across something like that in this forum! :)

Regards,
Sudharsanan

[fayvac]

Hi Aquarian

May be I see everything as a learning process...learning does not mean the conventional "book-oriented" stuff; it means picking up skills on the fly, to enjoy life and people.

For the tamil, By the tamil, Of the tamil sentiments apart.I have NOTHING against celebrities learning the language and speaking it- that's a super bonanza. But do not avoid bringing celebrities purely on the basis of their inability to learn and speak the language. I am sure We the People, who have conferred on them a celebrity status, can relate to them through the language of the body and the mind. May be they will be "less of a celebrity" after the show (isn't that a nice thought?:p )

Glad you enjoyed Ithaca.Even if all else is lost, the sheer strength of this poem can move a person forward in life.

Cheers and nice knowing you.