How to thank BTV

Photo: Collected

It is predictable that in a feel-authoritarian country like ours, the state broadcaster Bangladesh Television would promote the party in power. We call that act propaganda, which happens in every country.

But if we travel back 50 years, it was not all about batabi-lebu farming. Instead, over the decades, especially during the '70s and '80s, BTV gave much thought to airing high-quality programmes that moulded our psyche as our generation grew up in a mono-channel atmosphere.

The first programme that comes to my mind is Notun Kuri.

In the mid-'70s, at the Jhenidah Cadet College campus, there was only one TV set for the college employees and their 100-odd children. On Sunday mornings, about 50 of us used to gather at the international bungalow to watch Notun Kuri. It was a cultural programme in which child talents from across Bangladesh participated.

We simply devoured it and learnt a lot.

Then came Hawaii Five-O, a 1968 drama series we watched in the '70s. Who could forget Jack Lord and the storytelling of the series that ran till 1980?

The Six Million Dollar Man started airing on BTV, I think, after we joined Jhenaidah Cadet College as cadets in 1978. BTV aired this series full throttle in the late-'70s and early-'90s. Like us, boys and girls across Bangladesh galloped it.

Then came Lindsay Wagner as the Bionic Woman. She was stunning, as she is today. Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner together created a cineworld that we still talk about. And you see, BTV taught us about soaps — many of us had memorised many episodes of Dallas and Dynasty.

Now, do not forget the Movie of the Week and Solid Gold that BTV started airing around that time. Solid Gold oriented us with Western music — both rock and classical. BTV showed All Quiet on the Western Front, A Passage to India, The Godfather, and so many unforgettable Hollywood movies, and we never missed one.

Also, think of the Bangla movies our state broadcaster aired; Ora Egaro Jon, Surjo Dighol Bari, and Pather Panchali are still vivid in our minds.

BTV facilitated our watching of masterpiece dramas such as Sangsaptak and classic serials like Bohubrihi, Eishob Din Ratri, and Kothao Keu Nei. It also brought us one-act plays every week. I will also never forget Heeramon, the folk drama series we watched every fortnight.

We were at the university when BTV started airing Bishwa Natok every month. I remember Professor Sayeed Ahmad, our teacher, being the guru behind these plays. These were Bangla versions of world-famous plays by playwrights like Samuel Beckett, Christopher Marlow, William Shakespeare, and many others.

Many of you would want to mention MacGyver, Dark Justice, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Thunder Cats and Tom and Jerry. But I request you to recall how you enjoyed Roots by Alex Halley, the great classics North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, and The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough.

I think we also watched A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute in the late '80s. My friend Iftikhar Ahmed Chowdhury and my daily ritual after the morning classes at the university the following day was to spend at least half an hour chatting about the content we watched last night.

We still talk about these cinemas and dramas even today, in our late 50s. When I forget something or a character we watched, I call up Iftikhar - sometimes, he can remind me, and sometimes, he cannot.

It was BTV that created the opportunity for all this. Today, we can joke about BTV, trolling it with batabi-lebu farming, but think about all the above shows, and you may feel like thanking BTV and the programme planners and producers who had worked for them.

Oh, I forgot to mention one serial — The Little House on the Prairie. Those who have not watched it have watched nothing.

Ekram Kabir is a communications professional and a storyteller. ekabir@gmail.com.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard