A NEIGHBOUR’S REMARK CHANGED THE COURSE OF MY CAREER… I WANTED A JOB FROM WHICH I WOULD NEVER RETIRE: Dr CHANDRA

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra’s journey from the regional television space to the national stage with Bharat 24 was driven by a long-standing ambition to regain a national platform, a defining moment in Srinagar, and the belief that a meaningful career should combine recognition with being reasonably busy. In this candid conversation, Dr Chandra recalls how the idea of Bharat 24 emerged, the two desires he identified on a Srinagar-Delhi flight, & how both were eventually fulfilled. He also acknowledges the conceptual and professional contributions of Virender Choudhary, Pawan Arora, K Bapineedu Choudhary & Anita Hada. Dr Chandra further recounts the striking circumstances behind his decision to take VRS from the IAS in 2008 & enter television, beginning with ETV & eventually leading to the launch of 18 channels. Excerpts…

• Today’s JC Show headline is, “From Resolve to Realisation: How the Dream of Launching National Channel Bharat 24 Finally Became a Reality.” Would you like to explain this idea?
  Dr Jagdeesh Chandra: “Resolve to realisation” means setting a goal, committing to it, achieving it and proving it can be done. Four years ago, Bharat 24 was our goal, endeavour and target, and today we are celebrating its fourth anniversary. After working in regional television and running Zee Hindustan, we joined First India in Jaipur. We were strong in the regional space, but lacked a national platform. Whenever I visited Delhi, I felt our relevance was limited to Rajasthan. Sitting at the Taj coffee shop, I thought we should revive the Zee Hindustan tradition and launch a national channel. We explained the blueprint to Umar and spoke to Manoj, who launched Bharat 24. Though the initial estimate was Rs 2, it eventually cost Rs 4 (the amount doubled) and continues to require investment. Nevertheless, the experiment has succeeded, with Bharat 24 reaching nearly 95 per cent of break-even within its first four years.
• An interesting story associated with you is that the idea for Bharat 24 first came to you in Srinagar. What was that moment?
  At the Lalit Hotel overlooking Dal Lake, I was drinking watermelon juice around 7 pm when the setting sun suddenly disappeared. It made me realise how quickly life was passing and wonder whether any desire remained unfulfilled. The next morning, on the Srinagar-Delhi flight, I identified two desires— one small and one big. The small one was to have mangoes at home; we planted four trees, which now yield 250-300 mangoes. The bigger desire was to have a national channel of my own. I decided to pursue it, and the result is Bharat 24. Both desires have now been fulfilled. Today, I am a person with no major desires left, and perhaps therefore entitled to attain liberation.
• Apart from these two motivating factors, whose contributions at the conceptual level helped you realise your dream of creating this national channel during its initial phase?
  Virender Choudhary, Director, First India, has been a friend, philosopher and guide—an outstanding, knowledgeable person with a far-sighted vision. I discussed the idea with him. Pawan Arora has been our principal advisor from the beginning. He is like a brother and an extraordinary person. During his IAS career, he was counted among the country’s top five officers. His result orientation and delivery are exceptional. In television, he introduced numerous innovations at First India, transforming its office, systems, and infrastructure. We have consulted him continuously because he is progressive and moves ideas forward. He also played an important conceptual and ideological role and deserves our vote of thanks. Anita Hada, News Director, Bharat 24, is another important name. She is intelligent, brilliant and an all-in-one person. Give her any responsibility, and she will deliver. She has been associated with us for 15-20 years.
• How do you view K Bapineedu’s role in making this dream a reality?
  K Bapineedu Choudhary was another friend, philosopher and guide from our ETV days. He had been associated with Ramoji Rao for perhaps 30-40 years and never changed companies, even after Ramoji Rao passed away. During our 10-year journey at ETV, he was an inspiration and provided tremendous cooperation and guidance. Ramoji Rao was a hardliner on editorial matters, while we were somewhat moderate, & Bapineedu, in a way, served as a bridge between us. He made an important contribution to ETV’s journey and its growth. On this occasion of Bharat 24’s success, he is being remembered and saluted.
• Let us turn to your 18-year-long television career. You were a successful IAS officer, but after 30 years of service, you suddenly decided to take VRS from the prestigious Indian Administrative Service on September 1, 2008, and enter the media industry. Why did you take that decision?
  It was essentially written in my horoscope. The turning point came when a recently retired IAS officer told me that a neighbour who had once greeted him no longer did so. The neighbour bluntly said he did not feel like greeting a retired person and would not greet me either when I retired. I was 58 and Transport Commissioner. His words shook me. That evening, around 8.30-9 pm, I went to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s residence and said I wanted a career from which I would never retire. She initially dismissed the idea, but her Principal Secretary Sunil Arora, who later became Chief Election Commissioner, eventually helped persuade her, and my VRS was approved. I then decided I needed “reasonable recognition with being reasonably busy”. Since recognition in India came either through government or media, I chose media. When I learnt ETV Rajasthan was being launched, I went to Hyderabad and sought the chairman’s approval. He doubted an IAS officer could run a channel but tested me through the HR head, business head and editor. After a two-hour interview, I was selected. Asked about salary, I offered Rs 1, saying, “It is a sin to draw salary from a loss-making undertaking.” Impressed, he said, “Now my company is in safe hands.” I came to Jaipur, and two channels eventually became 18. I never looked back.
• You have been in the media industry for the past 18 years. Looking back today, how do you feel about the decision you took? Was it the right one?
  Absolutely right. I am most satisfied, one could say. There is no regret. I believe I have achieved all the parameters of success in the media, and God has given us everything. Looking back at my decision, I have absolutely no regrets. Not even for a single day after leaving the IAS did I ever feel, while I was with ETV, that I had left the IAS. I never missed it. That means the assignment I had taken up was more important to me than the IAS. It was better and more relevant for me. I was happier doing it. So, absolutely, I am happy, and I have had no regrets.
• When you left your village for the city to pursue college education, how did Jaipur seem to you? And did you not miss your village and parents after coming to Jaipur?
  Of course, I missed them very much. It is a part of life. We were eight brothers and sisters, and in those days, unlike today, parents did not accompany children to school and return to pick them up. My mother came to see me off when I boarded the bus that ran from Raisinghnagar to Ganganagar. I was sitting by the window and began to cry as I was leaving the village. I cried uncontrollably, and my mother started crying too. She told me, “Listen, you have to leave home to become a great man. Don’t cry.” So I came away and never looked back. I did miss my childhood and those memories, but time is a healer. Gradually, everything fell into place, and by God’s grace, I am sitting here today.
• In 2013, after Narendra Modi was declared the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate at the party’s national executive meeting in Goa, he gave his first interview to ETV. How do you assess his understanding of the media and this achievement?
  Narendra Modi was extraordinary and had an exceptional understanding of media. Even as Gujarat Chief Minister, he was a journalist, planner, advertiser and designer rolled into one— highly skilled in media management and generation. He understood the importance of regional media. At the time, 221 interview requests were pending from NDTV, Indian Express, BBC, Times and others, yet he chose ETV for his first interview.
  One night at 11 pm, he called and said, “I will give it to you. I will give it to ETV.” I immediately flew to Ahmedabad, where the interview lasted about 75 minutes. When all 18 ETV channels aired it, crores of people heard Modi simultaneously. He later gave me two more interviews, saying his first had been given to ETV and his last would also be given to us. His respect for ETV owner Ramoji Rao, known for independent journalism, was another factor.
• Bharat 24’s tagline is “Vision of New India”. What does it signify?
  It means contributing to the creation of a New India. Coincidentally, Narendra Modi’s slogan is also about building a New India, and we regard him as one of its architects. There is no doubt about that, as we have seen over the past 12 years. Taking that vision forward, we felt that our channel also has a national and moral responsibility to play its role in nation-building through the media. That is why we adopted the tagline “Vision of New India”. In today’s context, you can also view it in terms of the vision of a “Developed India 2047”. That, essentially, is what the tagline represents.
• Bharat 24’s much-discussed show “Modi: The Untold Story” features recollections by Narendra Modi’s former colleagues and political associates. What was the thinking behind launching the show, and how has the audience responded?
  The response has been extraordinary and tremendous. I once came across some unusual and exclusive accounts of Narendra Modi’s earlier years, including incidents from his time as Gujarat Chief Minister— for instance, how he would visit someone’s home, enter their kitchen or interact with schoolchildren. We felt such distinctive stories deserved to be brought to audiences, and we have now been running the show for four years on First India and Bharat 24. It airs in four two-minute segments each day, making eight minutes in total. Such coverage sets us apart from other channels. People sometimes ask whether it is an “extension counter”, but this is not TRP-driven coverage; it is popularity-driven coverage. After all, he is the Prime Minister. How many channels run accounts of his experiences from his Gujarat days? We do, and we do so gladly. That is what makes the show exclusive.