Punjabi commentary takes IPL by storm
Punjabi commentary is a rage. How did it all start? Punjabi has always been seen as a language that is overshadowed by Hindi. Our brief was to give cricket commentary in Punjabi and use vocabulary that would completely distinguish it from Hindi. The regional flavour has helped us connect with people across all ages and various sections of society.
Is it all scripted and planned?
Most of it is unplanned and unscripted. I would say 95 per cent of it is impromptu because you don’t know what is going to happen during a match. The beauty of sport is that it is unscripted drama. But, of course, you can plan a few things in advance and we do our homework. Punjabi flavour comes in different packets. It can be the desi lingo or can be a reference to Punjabi culture, food, or even cities or towns, which I normally use in my commentary. For instance, I’d say Buttler ne gend pohucha di Batale (Buttler has sent the ball to Batala) or Shubman Gill ne gend aavde pind Jalalabad bhej ditti hai (Shubhman Gill has sent the ball to his village in Jalalabad). What kind of preparation goes into it?
The first step is to think, listen and speak only in
Punjabi. To practice my commentary, I stand in front of a full-length mirror and speak on a random topic for 10-15 minutes every day. Earlier I would do this in Hindi, these days I do it in Punjabi. Ever since I got this assignment, I only speak in Punjabi at home with my wife, children and friends. I listen to Punjabi music, watch Punjabi movies and TV serials for an hour daily. Even when I work out, I listen to only Punjabi songs. And, if I find an interesting one-liner or phrase, I note it down to use later. For example, “Virat Kohli da balla te Gurdas Maan da Challa kamal kar deve.”(virat Kohli’s bat and Gurdas Maan’s ‘Challa’ create wonders). Another one came while listening to a Sidhu Moosewala song, “Agla bowler Kagiso Rabada, munda dil da ni maada” (The next bowler is Kagiso Rabada. The boy has a good heart).
Your Punjabi background is a plus for you.
I was born and raised in Punjab. So Punjabi zabaan te chadi hui hai (Punjabi comes naturally to me) but I have never spoken it on TV. Now that things have changed, I’m only communicating in Punjabi. “Iss waaste sirf dimag de Punjabi hisse nun activate rakhiya hai, Hindi te English walle hisse noo sula ditta ki do mahine tuhada koi kam nahi hai” (That’s why I have kept active only the Punjabi part of the brain. The Hindi and English parts have been put on the sleep mode for two months).
Give us an insight into the show.
It is a team effort. We start planning the show hours or a day in advance. The pre-match show takes place in two parts — the studio show, which has an anchor and a couple of guests, and then, there is a show from the commentary box for the next 20 minutes. We also decide what to put on air — like which questions should be asked, which visuals will be played, etc. I host a show from 7 pm to 7.20 pm from the commentary box, besides three to four studio shows.
Were you surprised by the response?
The response has been amazing. Immediately after the first day of Punjabi broadcast, we started getting positive feedback on social media, even from across the border. While we knew that North Indians, and Punjabis in particular, would welcome Punjabi commentary, little did we know that it would be perceived so beautifully elsewhere too. We received much appreciation even from Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu, and Rajasthan. After our first broadcast, newspaper articles mentioned how commentary in Punjabi and Bhojpuri was making waves. They quoted many of the Punjabi one-liners that we had used on air.