Arpudamana shot! Tamil commentary hits a six

Prasad.RS@timesgroup.com

“Avan panthai pidikkavillai, panthe daan avanai pidittade,” thundered Badava Gopi in the hit

Tamil

flick ‘Chennai 600028’. Translated into English, it means “the player didn’t catch the ball, the reverse happened”. The 2007 movie offered a ringside view of Tamil

commentary

in local competitions, but regional commentary in the state had its genesis in the late 1970s. A Test match those days would be held during Pongal and All-India Radio (AIR) pioneered the concept of Tamil audio commentary for these games. One could hear V Ramamurthy, an IAS officer, providing listeners with the latest action from the ground.

Soon, the AIR Tamil commentary team was joined by former Test cricketer C Rangachari, Abdul Jabbar, K S S Mani, P Sivaramakrishnan and P Ganesan among others. These commentators aired their views not only on international fixtures in the city but also at Ranji Trophy games featuring TN and during the Buchi Babu tournament. This was one of the first attempts made to take the sport to Tamils.

Over the years, Tamil commentary has been embraced by other sporting disciplines such as kabaddi and football during local and corporate tournaments. Nanee Sathyanarayan, a senior commentator feels commentary in local tournaments has an earthy flavour to it. "There is an element of

humour

associated with Tamil commentary at local competitions. In such events, no professionals are involved in the commentary unlike a television channel setup where the people roped in are experienced players and commentators," Nanee says. In the local games, the commentators are mostly people who have a command over Tamil and a sense of humour.

Whilst local tournaments revel in their own brand of commentary, television channels — over the past decade-and-a-half — have joined the bandwagon of Tamil commentary. Tournament-specific Tamil commentary has been provided by channels such as ESPN, Sun TV, Neo Sports and Zee in the past.

Dr Sumanth C Raman, an anchor with extensive commentary experience in both English and Tamil, believes there is immense potential in this medium. But, he has a word of caution when it comes to using humour in Tamil commentary. "While a healthy dose of humour may be needed, the commentary needs to be as professional as English commentary is," he says. Nanee says television channels have got smarter over time with regards to the content that gets aired. "If you listen to Tamil commentary on Star Sports 1 Tamil , it clearly has a healthy humour. As commentators, it is our duty to engage with our viewers. We don’t want to crack jokes just for the sake of it, but we also don’t intend to make things too serious," he adds.

A striking difference in today’s Tamil commentary vis-à-vis the yesteryears have been in the choice of words. "We use words that a true blue Tamilian uses at home or with friends. I feel it’s the best way to connect with our audience," says former Indian batsman Hemang Badani, who is one of the Tamil commentators on the recently launched Start Sports 1 Tamil.

As in the case of English commentators, the men behind the microphones have their favourite lines in Tamil too. “Arpudamana shot (great shot) is something I usually use,” says Badani. His fellow commentator RJ Balaji prefers to go with a phrase that the late Tony Greig made his own. “Growing up, I always enjoyed listening to his (Tony Greig) commentary. And his line — ‘Oh, it’s all happening here’ is something I enjoy saying often,” Balaji says.

Balaji and Srikkanth share a great rapport and that comes through when they air their views. “Srikkanth gave me a lot of freedom to express myself, and our commentary together is a reflection of that,” says Balaji.

With Balaji in the house, there can be no dearth of quirky moments. “Once in the commentary box, I mistook Badani for Hrishikesh Kanitkar and asked him about the boundary he had scored to win the match against Pakistan many years ago. I kept saying it on many occasions until Badani finally corrected me,” says Balaji.

For broadcasters like Star TV India, launching channels like Star Sports 1 Tamil is an attempt to bring fans closer to the sports. “Tamil Nadu is a unique market with high affinity to language content and very distinctive viewing habits. Star Sports 1 Tamil is an extension of our belief to give people more relevant regional sports content and celebrate ‘Tamizh’ culture,” the channel said in a statement.