by Subhash K Jha

Shashi Ranjan, convenor Indian Television Awards, answers all the charges levelled at this year's awards.

Some excerpts from the interview:

Q: Lots of disgruntled people after the awards this year.
A: That's entirely because of the large number of people who came and received awards. It's bound to create a sense of dissatisfaction among a section. What I can't understand is why trivial matters like who sat where at the function! Can't we look at the awards in the larger context?

A section of the media ponders unnecessarily on trivial matters. How does it matter if Amna Sharif and Rajiv Khandelwal didn't attend our function. There were a thousand other tv personalities.

Q: A lot of actors were disappointed by the results?
A: We've a foolproof and transparent system of picking winners. Someone or the other has to get miffed. If you don't win you feel you were unfairly treated.

You can't please everyone. I've taken on powerful channels and production houses in the past who have threatened to boycott our functions.

I had decided that if the Indian Television Awards (ITA) have to survive they'll survive honestly. We had a distinguished jury this time which included Shrabani Deodhar, Ravi Ojha, Jyoti Venkatesh, Sourabh Narang, Vinay Apte, Shubha Khote,etc ..The jury was headed by Raveena Tandon.

These comprise an impeccable cross-section. We don't nominate any serial or actor. We ask the production houses to send in their entries. It's their prerogative whom they choose. The results are announced only on the evening of the function. You can talk to any jury member ...we don't interfere at all.

Q: But the rancour this time is manifold.
A: That's because the television industry is getting larger. The stakes are higher. Obviously there will be more resentment.

Q: But Balajee serials and actors did corner a sizeable number of awards.
A: Yes. But they're ever-popular. What Ekta Kapoor is doing while making thirty serials at the same time, is incredible. At the same time other production houses are also doing worthy work.

And we want them to honoured. The jury awards are given to the less popular but deserving. This time we gave the jury award to Siddhanth.

Last year we gave it to Haqeeqat. Last year an absolute newcomer Geeta Nair from the South got the jury award for best actress. But we can't avoid the popular serials in the awards.

I'm an industry person. I don't want to get into the pitfalls of the popular awards functions. When on the day of the function the invitees phone to ask me if they should come I know what they mean.

Q: What?
A: Obviously...that we know who the winners are. But we don't. We can't. We've the full support of our sponsors Hero Honda.We want to maintain transparency and integrity. If we don't we'll be finished in two years.

Q: There're so many TV awards now!
A: If they aren't there just to look glamorous on television then I welcome them. The competition is mindboggling. We had 2,500 nominations from 150 production houses on 35 channels. It shows ITA has became THE award for television.

Q: Do you think television is catching up with cinema?
A: In terms of glamour and reach ITA is as big as any popular film awards. We never encourage groupism.

Q: Are the live performances expensive?
A: They never come cheap. We've the best tv stars attending and performing for us. For the next year, twenty popular tv stars are already clamouring to perform for us.