Satyamev Jayate on Sunday is going to usher in a new revolution in the Indian television industry. Forget about the template of the show; for once also let’s keep aside the emotional and rational content. Let’s plainly look at the way the show was conducted. At the very outset, it very clearly states that it is not to point fingers at anyone. It is not to defame or humiliate any community or person.. The entire series is about wiping some stereotypes. The common notions that we believe as the ultimate facts and never bother to scratch and probe. Poverty maybe the original sin but it does not necessarily translate into poverty of the heart or ideas.  It actually seeks to reveal the ugly truths that happen regularly inside the plush homes of the upper class addresses.

The soul shattering stories of the women who have undergone the heinous victimization by their in laws appeared on the show. But what wins our hearts and reassures our faith in humanity is that the women did not give up. They stood up for their daughters. These are not very rich, beautiful women. They come from small cities and towns. But they triumph over every impediment and rekindle our sense of fairness and justice. Hard core cynics and tougher than nails journalists have hailed the show as Aamirmev Jayate’. It is not so easy though. Mr. Khan is famous for picking up causes and then vamoosing from the scene overnight. Remember, theNarmadaBachao Andolan. We saw a few pictures with Medha Patkar and then one fine day, it all got over before the public could say ‘ Happy Birthday’.  So, when Aamir picks up the national television and it is his first foray into the idiot box ‘s domain, we tend to raise a brow. But there is a difference. Like almost all bad journalism today, we do not have the follow up on incidents. The stories erupt and that is all that is left. The stories are not followed; there are no 360 degree perspectives on them. Satyamev Jayate has a follow up program on Friday, which will be a link to the main lead. The name of that programme is ‘ Asar’ or ‘ Effect”. The first episode of the series had Mr. Khan promising that he will write to the Chief Minister of Rajasthan to take the cases of two activists falsely accused to the fast court and speed up the justice process.

The show has been shot with a lot of care and great sensitivity. The tales of the extraordinary women are not laced with any unnecessary trimmings. There is no patronizing. Satyajit Bhatkal, the director of the show and is originally a lawyer by profession has been with Aamir Khan much before Lagaan. He has also directed the delightful documentary, ‘ The Making of Lagaan’. Here, the emphasis on research is important. And most significantly, he does not allow Aamir Khan’s persona overwhelm the show. It is not the star’s screen aura that engulfs the show. It is the ordinary people who overwhelm the show. We forget the anchor for who he is but are more interested in the people who face him. These stories are about struggle but they are not about cynics. They also mention about a place inPunjabwhere the District Collector of that town, Mr. Krishna Kumar went very patiently and systematically collecting data about the rampant  female infanticide occurring in that town. He individually approached people and garnered strength to eradicate this stigma from his town.

Here I would like to mention another place called Dharhara, which is 64 kilometers away from (Gopalpur)BhagalpurinBihar. It takes one hour and twenty minutes to reach Dharhar. a where the birth of a daughter in the city is welcomed by planting a sapling.

And the most warm moment was when the gentle Swanand Kirkire picked up the mike and along with Ram Sampath sang ‘O ri chidaiyaa..’, even a stone heart would have felt the stir.

There are too many shows that go in the name of reality shows… they ride high on the abusive quotient. They are supposed to be game shows, they make the contestants do ‘unearthly’ tasks to prove that they are indeed fearless. When they are not doing ridiculous tasks, they connive, manipulate, physically and verbally abuse, oust a team member and try to win the game… all in the name of bravery. There is a famous drink whose slogan goes ‘ Darr ke age jeet hain..’ (Victory lies beyond every fear) . And this slogan more or less sums up this entire generation of youth.

This is an appeal to all those people out there… Victory like Failure has many dimensions. A father may be a rich entrepreneur but his family life remains in tatters. That is the kind of failure we may be looking at. Victory may be a poor man who is economically very low but carries home the left over fruits, a little over ripe from the fruit vendor for a one quarter price but is happy imaging the faces of his children when they will see him.

A practical fact now. Just for the record, the first show on Sunday has had the TRP site crashing. The 6^th of May 2012 is not going to be just another day in this country. The CEO s of various channels are going to sit and wonder how to temper the success of this new nightmare of a show.

The late Jiddu Krishnamurthy once said that the land of truth is pathless. It is the land of white space. We remember the spiritual teacher and would like to add that in the land of white space is the face of a woman named Bharati, who lives in a shack, who appeared on the show with her bonny daughter who she gave happily birth to. I will always remember that smile and envy it. All my fineries, all my things of beauty that I possess will never match up to that rich smile.