Producer Herumb Khot shares his fondest memories of television on the occasion of World Television Day

Every year on 21 st November, World Television Day recognizes the vital role television plays in highlighting various issues faced by people. We asked Herumb khot who is currently producing Dhadkan Zindaggi Ki and Chikoo Ki Mummy Durr Kei, about his memory on his first tv set at home. He says, ”My first memory of a black and white TV set is me doing a very important high precision job.  Being the youngest, I had the most crucial job of keeping on rotating the antenna till the reception was perfect. I can bet that the youngest of all families will feel my pain. And the next memory  is that of being stunned by the color images of ASIAD in 1982 on my neighbour’s TV set along with about 20 more people crammed  in a small living room.” He also adds,”As a child, I watched whatever I was allowed by my parents. We used to wait for CHAYAGEET on Thursdays, Marathi films on Saturdays & Hindi films on  Sundays. Also, I would watch a program called SAPTAHIKI  that would give a summary of the shows in the week. I also used to enjoy shows like Karamchand, Old Fox, Didi’s Comedy Show & Telematch.”

So how much do you watch television programmes on a day-to-day basis? “I watch news  & sports channels. Being a history, travel,  car & bike enthusiast I love watching  NAT GEO & HISTORY CHANNEL. I also watch offbeat channels like  EPIC &  DISCOVERY TURBO.  Technically speaking, my Tv being a smart one I watch mostly OTT shows and a lot of YOUTUBE on it.”  But is there any threat to tv after the booming of OTT content? “Not totally yet. Maybe the TV audience has reduced a fraction but I’m sure in the upcoming years, OTT will appreciably eat into the dedicated TV  audiences. I feel the audience today has a wide choice of varied content. With the kind of offerings on the OTT platforms including BOLLYWOOD &  conventional Tv content. The move of the audience away from TV is imminent. Also, another big shift is the reduction of viewers. I also feel TV is a mass medium. Competition has multiplied so TV as an industry has to give a wide variety of quality content to continue retaining the audience. Changing with the times is important.”