The New Year was ushered in by most Hindi GEC channels airing entertainment, entertainment, entertainment. By 11 pm, most channels had digressed from their late night repeat telecasts, to show one of the many full on entertainers with glitzy acts by stars. Colors took advantage of the Got Talent franchise and closed 2014 with Got Talent Live, a global blast where their best multi-talent across Continents shared stage with India?s best. Shah Rukh Khan was the night?s celebrity anchor joined by Manish Paul. Priyanka Chopra?s aerial entry was thrilling to say the least.
The real stars of the night were the men and women who showcased their extraordinary prowess which made them worth their prize money. Though not competitive, we got an idea that our talent stands shoulder to shoulder with their global counterparts.
Big Star Entertainment Awards on Star Plus signaled the start of the awards night run up. Sony showed Umang, an entertainment night dedicated to the Mumbai Police. At this pre-recorded show, SRK danced the lungi dance with members of the force. So it was a SRK double dhamaka on New Year?s Eve.
Pre-recorded shows aren?t easily understood by the common viewer. An incident in the early 1980s, was a revelation. Doordarshan asked the film folk to record an entertainment show which they could telecast on December 31 to usher in the New Year. The stars obliged. The show was telecast on December 31. On January 1, Shabana Azmi was shooting, when she overheard her make man telling her hair dresser: ?Madam, works so hard. She mustn?t have slept properly, the TV show got over at 12.30 and now she is getting ready for her shooting!?
During a visit to London in 1981, friends had barely dropped me off, I was watching TV with my hosts and BBC showed rioting and arson as it was happening, and right we had been earlier. This live news coverage has taken almost two decades to get to India. Today, technology allows us live coverage. The cell phone revolution with in-built cameras, 3G-4G, What?s App, etc allow us to even capture news as it happens.
This only captures the event as it happens, but what about the emotions, the back story, the lasting imprint, etc. What of it? That?s where shows like Savdhan India, Crime Patrol and their ilk take over. Even though the Jessica Lall case or the Nirbhaya incident isn?t news anymore, but it needs to be in the records for the future. This is where Savdhan India and Crime Patrol come in, though dramatized recreation, they give the whole picture. While shows like Aamir Khan?s Satyamev Jayete provide an added impact with opening out stories which may not be prime time news worthy, but are events behind closed doors or overlooked which need to be telecast.

Colors will start 2015 with Code Red, a crime reality show hosted by Sakshi Tanwar. The show would be a welcome switch for the actor, who has probably run the gamut of melodramatic soaps. Anchoring a reality based show will be a challenge, she has co-hosted Crime Patrol in the past with Anoop Soni. Code Red will highlight crimes against women and children and deal with issues like suicide, bad marriages, cheating husbands, etc. guiding viewers towards solutions.

Historical dramas seem to have caught on with the viewers and channels. Colors will replace Bigg Boss with Chakravarti Ashoka Samrat in February.
Star Plus too is thinking a bit out of the box. Spurred on by Everest, their prime time adventure telenovella, they will launch a series on the hospitality industry, called Hotel starring Gaurav Chopra and Akansha Singh.
Sony Entertainment Television will be reviving two of its original shows ? Aahat, a horror thriller and Bhanwar, a courtroom drama dealing with landmark cases.
We are still in the first week of January 2015, who knows what the next 360 days will bring onto the small screen. We hope definitely a change in content.