In the line of fire: The show must go on...

The show must go on” is the mantra to abide by for many hard-pressed professionals working in exigencies and for several industries to strictly toe the line. Thus specific sectors witness people to slog out like a dog’s life before meeting their backbreaking deadlines. Yes they are always on the move and their job takes a toll.

Despite the life-threatening risk involved in his work, an aged traffic sergeant from Bihar regulating heavy transport on a congested Delhi thoroughfare insists that “we have to take the plunge headlong”. He feels that “during Ganesh Chaturthi or say Durga Puja, giant pandals housing the idol and elaborate lighting arrangements always pose a threat. Long immersion processions too become unwieldy to manage on the main road”.

With the red alert signals sending out a strong alarming message across cities to borders in the wake of Turkey, Dhaka and Nice terror blows, a senior policeman reflects: “Even we are somebody’s father, son, husband and brother in the family... Our spines do shiver with these chilling incidents but that’s what our job is all about. As men in the uniform either in police squad or as part of a rapid action force, we can’t reveal our emotions, but put up a tough front to silently carry on with our allotted duties,” he affirms.

Actor Sahil Mehta, popularly known as Yuvraj — the male lead character he portrays in Star Plus’ hit show Suhani Si Ek Ladki — confides that till about a year ago or so, he was totally messed up and the reason was his mom’s death in 2012. “I grew alcoholic and piled up pounds of weight. But as soon as this show happened, my condition improved and then there was no looking back. All was well from there on,” he recounts.

“No doubt, it was the worst phase of my life. And you know what, an idle mind is always a devil’s workshop. So once you’re fully occupied, everything automatically falls in place,” he observes. Humbly admitting that he isn’t a star yet and can easily enjoy his privacy, Mehta emphasises that “yeah, television is quite hectic and it takes time to gradually get used to the regime.”

Actor Aman Verma agrees that seven days of television work does drain out oodles of energy from an actor. So is the routine then more gruelling than films as each day on the set rings in a new challenge “Definitely yes! Small-screen asks for some heavy-duty shots and mounts up the pressure with every aired episode. The number of hours devoted by an actor on the tube is also much more, often extending over months and years. Now weekly serials are visibly replaced by daily soaps. So you may well imagine the amount of labour an actor is supposed to invest in. And why alone the cast The creative team, the production house, all technicians behind the scenes as well as the channel, each comes under a tremendously taxing pressure-test,” he comments.

Over here, a logical question crops up in the mind which is whether this struggle also varies between a man and a woman as the latter has to manage household chores as well as the office. Life coach Sunanda Sharma insists that “modern-day woman is a multi-tasker and has plenty on her plate to deal with, so an extra flexibility should be given to her at workplaces by her colleagues and bosses to straddle with the myriad roles she is entrusted with and enable her to do justice, both personally and professionally.”

Recently when a flyover in Kolkata crumbled on a busy road claiming numerous casualties and injuries, an RJ on her FM radio station was finding it difficult to host her programme as the overall mood was utterly grave and gloomy. But she carried on with a lump in her throat and even corresponded with the reporters posted at the epicentre of the crisis to get updates in between her show.

Famous RJ Malishka Mendonsa of Red FM 93.5 aka “Mumbai Ki Rani” describes a radio jockey’s job as a journey without a pit stop. “I believe a radio person has to kind of eat, sleep, think, talk, walk and breathe radio because content is everywhere and content is everything,” she states. For her, “mornings denote erratic schedules that sap out all enthusiasm. Ideally I would like to take a power nap and saunter into work around noon,” she reasons her preference.

Being in this line for a considerable period she says it’s but “normal to feel low and yet drag yourself to work and speak cheerfully before playing entertaining songs to your listeners. You learn how to tackle the crunch situation and yes, of course, this has happened to me too on several occasions,” she confirms.

“I think seasoned jocks from their experiences know well how to separate their personal life from their professional engagements. Each time you switch on the mic, it’s a part performance. There are times when you are upset, preoccupied, downright worried or in some kind of a panic and you still have to get on with your immediate task at hand. I have realised that I can very often communicate this predicament to my listeners and sometimes surprisingly draw strength from the other side. It becomes a borderless community at the end of the day. There is so much of sweet bonding and even though they are faceless friends to me, in a way I could over a period, discover a solid knot of strength and a vent of great relief in sharing of my life’s stories with them,” she enlightens.