Fight Club

Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsIt was Us v/s Them.

In the Red corner was me , 5ft 11inches 75kilograms - the challenger.In the Blue corner was her, 4ft 10inches 90 kilograms the undisputed champion of the world.The bookies saw it as 10:1,against me.She was about my grandma's age so i thought i would show her some respect before the bout.I had no idea what i was about to run into.

Sonia Gandhi had resigned,the BIG English news channels were to collide - again.Both the channels had planned their shows at the same time 8:00pm 'LIVE'.A senior BJP leader was on the menu for both parties,he was to appear on both channels at the same time."Who gets him first?yaar dekho jhagda mat karna" said his PA,but all of us knew what the link meant for both channels.

Let me brief you about how an OB(outdoor broadcast)or a link takes place from a guests house.There are 3 major players(a)The technical unit : the cameraman & OB engineer(b)the guest coordinator / reporter and well,obviously - (c)the GUEST.

Ob's generally take place from a small room,so whenever more than one camera is deployed (i.e 2 channels taking the link) there is hardly any space left in the room.That day when i reached the venue , i came to know that our main competion was also there.They were ready,so were we.Usualy our discussion show begins at 8:30(India 360)but that day we were doing an 8:00pm special.The fight was on.

The rival guest coordinator was sitting on the sofa,where the guest was suppose to sit.She saw me and knew who i was.

"We will take him at 8:00pm and CNN IBN will take him at 8:30" she was on the phone.Not speaking directly to me ,she conveyed a message."Maam....Maam we need him at 8:00" I said,she wasnt listening.Suddenly,out of the blue she shouted "you will get him at 8:30,you understand?" she spoke with authority.Clearly she was a bully trying to scare me.I knew this lady well,she was a veteran with years and years of experience.She however, didnt know me i am as my mom puts it - a punjabi'dheet'.

"We will let the minister decide that" i said ,calmly.She got up and dashed out of the room.The guest was in the adjoing room,she opened the door."Sir,we are all set please come" her tone had changed,it was now as sweet as Lata mangeshkar."Sir,we are also ready - IBN" i shouted,and there was no sweetness in my voice."I think sir is in a meeting,and you are disturbing him,please leave" it was a cheapshot,an attempt to defame me in front of the minister."Sir,we were the first ones to confirm this link,and we do not have another guest so please.", i wasnt going anywhere.The minister got up and moved towards us.

This was the first time i met this particular minister,my rival on the otherhand knew him very well or shall i say the minister knew her well."Who do i do it first with?" he asked her,i knew i was in BIG trouble,she was about to speak."Please sir,I was there when you had that conversation with my boss,and you gave him a commitment",i jumped right into it."Yeah,i did commit to them first,IBN first " he said.Ali had beaten Liston.

But the war was still on."This is unethical, you are ruining our show" a final attempt ,to catch the minister's attention.He was already wired up,and was about to go on air - on IBN in 2 minutes.It was over now ,right? NAH..

She stood in front of our camera , and acted as if she didnt know where she was.Me and my cameraman were stunned,"please move,what is this" i exclaimed,she was taking it too far.She moved , reluctantly.15minutes into the interview the minister told ,the other cameraman to put his mic on him so that it doesnt take time to switch from our channel to their's.Their cameraman didnt put on his mic,instead he took off our's.We were still on air , i was livid but thankfully we got the audio.I told their cameraman that he shouldnt have done that,the lady intervened."He told us to,do that, OK?" her finger firmly placed on my chest,that did it for me.

"DONT TOUCH ME" i said it like i was getting ready for a fist fight,she backed off.Our segment was over,the interview was through.

It feel sick;sick to the core when i remember how i scared an elderly woman that day.Maybe it happened in the heat of the moment,maybe she pushed me too far ,but the fact is I shouldnt have done it.Maybe some other day ill have to do it again,and in all probability i will,but it hurts.

"US v/s THEM" thats how i started this blog,what id really like to see is a "WE"....About the AuthorSushant Mehta Sushant Mehta is Senior Correspondent (Films) at CNN-IBN. He will be writing about stars, their films, gossip and his day-to-day experiences with acto...Read Morefirst published:April 02, 2006, 17:11 ISTlast updated:April 02, 2006, 17:11 IST
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