For the love of language

Jasmine Singh

Unlike the old time, when limited Punjabi channels were offering a limited dose of entertainment, the scene on TV has completely altered lately. In fact it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that now there is a problem of plenty. Talk shows, reality shows, new movie releases, serials, hard-core debates, sports, name it, Punjabi channels offer everything on par with Hindi entertainment channels. 

Getting smart 

Sandeep Bansal, managing director Pitaara TV sees it as the best phase of television. “70 per cent of the Punjabi population has a strong preference for channels in their mother tongue.” 

Getting real 

PTC Little Champs, Miss Punjaban, Mr Punjab....PTC has captured the pulse of the youth, however, managing director and president Rabindra Narayan likes to differ on this, “It is not just the youth, we understand and have caught the pulse of audience of all age groups and likewise we have shows for them.” So, the channel apart from a dose of music, films, hard news has shows that promote Punjabi literature as well. 

What people want 

The recent success of Yaar Jigree Kasooti Degree, a Punjabi web series, points to the fact that even though Punjabi channels are offering entertainment they haven’t been able to establish a strong connect. Darshan Pal Singh Grewal of the newly-launched Punjabi channel Balle Balle sees youth in the age group of 15-27 as their target audience. “I am already running Josh TV that caters to music for all age groups, but Balle Balle is only for youth. Here, we have music, star interviews done in a youthful and entertaining manner.” Darshan Pal Grewal acknowledges the growth of net-crazy Punjabi youth, at the same time he feels, TV has stable viewership which won’t change.” While on one hand, most channels are catering to youth, DD Punjabi is one such channel that caters to heritage and tradition.