I was in school when cable TV kickstarted our fascination with music channels, with Channel V and MTV showcasing videos by international bands and music groups. We loved what the popstars wore, loved replicating those denim jackets stuck with badges, sulked when our favourite artiste didn't make it to the top of the Billboard charts, gave hi-fives each time Asha Bhonsle sang "Bow Down Mister" with an international band, and roared when Michael Jackson did his Bharatnatyam jig in his chartbuster "Black or White".
My earliest memories of watching music channels actually helped me constitute my own dreams: to be a singing star with my own music video and a chance to feature as an "MTV Artiste of the Month".
Things didn't work out for me but it was still heartening to watch how these channels in India were creating some of the biggest names in our own music industry. Gradually, music began to mean not just the work of international artistes imported into India.
Thankfully, a plethora of Indian artistes began taking the plunge, perhaps also encouraged by the exposure offered by MTV and Channel V. In their shadow, some other channels like B4U started gaining popularity too. And by the time we entered college, VJ-ing (like Luke Kenny, Sophiya Haque and Laila Rouss did) seemed to be a viable career option.
What's more, names like Euphoria and Silk Route (whom one had heard in school) graduated with their own independent albums, complete with smashing music videos.
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Though the process of creating albums was excruciating even then, Anand Surapur (founder PhatPhish records, who worked with Channel V when it first launched in India) mentions that music channels were more than willing to package the artistes well. The chanels, artistes and music companies were in perfect harmony and that was a reason why one saw some of the best videos emerging in the Indipop category.
So if you think Kunal Kohli's latest film with an underwater song sequence is new, in the late '90s, Indian band Silk Route's popular song "Dooba Dooba" had already been shot completely underwater.
A lot has changed since those times. Music channels don't exhibit many non-film songs and music-based promotional stuff like the Raghu Dixit project comes once in a while. Rabbi Shergil happened because Surapur had the vision and even that was a long time ago.
In my view, film producers started seeing the potential of promoting their film music at a relatively reasonable price on these channels while artistes found it more and more difficult to find a slot in that limited space for their music.
What's paying off well for these channels is a spate of reality shows that they've begun to showcase. The trend started three-four years ago when Miditech and MTV tied up for Roadies, a show which would combine daring tasks with the spirit of adventure.
Picking up gradually, it finally reached frenzied proportions this year with Roadies 5.0. Quick to realise the potential of such shows, MTV's now given us Splitsvilla, a show with 20 girls vying for the attention of two, young, chest-shaven boys.
It's got the right masala: catfights, emotional upheavals, flirtatious moves, stuff that's bound to shock and grab eyeballs.
At times I wonder how the participants' parents react when their children pack their bags for shows which are definitely bold and daring by Indian standards. The next TV column will carry their versions. Watch this space.
