ABSTRACT
India is well suited for the television medium-–or rather, India and television are made for each other. Teeming with a population of over 1 billion, its kaleidoscope of cultural diversity and social, political and economic energies provides a rich repertoire for television serials and 24-hour rolling news. Perhaps no other audio-visual medium can capture a snapshot of the shifting sands of contemporary Indian life the way television does. India, currently being hailed as a future economic giant along with China, likes to see itself as a cultural superpower. Its cultural industries-–Bollywood and television being prime examples-–have reach and appeal beyond its political borders. Within South Asia, other countries perceive Indian cultural content in imperialistic terms (Sonwalkar, 2001) even as the growing numbers of transnational satellite channels beaming into the region “Indianise” their programming to cater to the vast Indian market.
