THE TELESERIALS - WHEN SMALL TURNS BIG

In the Eighties, Indian television went from a dull grey box to the full colours of immersive storytelling. The multichannel revolution was waiting to explode on the other side

- BY SUHANI SINGH

In the India of 1975, the small screen was... pretty small. It had only been a decade since daily telecasts began, four hours of sputtering B&W visuals—in two capsules, morning and evening. 'Sorry for the Interruption' may have been the longest-running programme. There was only Doordarshan, and Doordarshan didn't go very far. Only seven cities, its stations still a stepney to AIR. The maximum possible audience was five million. That graph wasn't exactly stagnant—thanks to Chitrahaar, cricket and class mobility—but the real liftoff was awaited. That came with Asiad '82, when there was a flood of light—and co-lour. Literally. India's first major international sporting competition was preceded by the launch of INSAT-1a (an early demise hastened 1b) and the introduction of colour television. But the technological fits and restarts were only one part, the juice was in the content.