Tanvi who? While a nation held its breath in a guessing game of spot-the-blouse on SET-Max cricket lass Mandira Bedi a year months ago, Tanvi Gogia is Doordarshan’s decorous answer.Chances are, though, that you might have missed her debut on DD yesterday. Even as the main broadcasters, TEN Sports, stuck to an all-cricket formula, Tanvi, in a lime-green saree, joined three cricket-spewing men on DD. In keeping with the public service broadcaster’s image, Tanvi got into her role with a little effort and tips from her male colleagues.On Fourth Umpire, Tanvi did smile a lot, giggled ocassionally, and may even have had the odd urge to scream and shout but kept all of it firmly in check.So was she inspired by Ms Bedi? ‘‘Oh, god. I don’t want to be compared. She has her style and I have mine’’, says Tanvi, tongue firmly in cheek. But what she shares with her glamorous TV cousin is the passion for the men in blue.And those men did give her some anxious moments as she rooted for Saurav’s boys. ‘‘The others were neutral and professional in their observation, with Kris Srikkanth even muttering ‘all is over’ but I cannot be like them’’, she says of her co-anchors on the show.‘‘Nobody wants to see a sullen face on TV, everybody likes a smile,” says Tanvi, who will be seen talking cricket with pros like Charu Sharma, and former cricketers Krishnamachari Srikant and L Sivaramakrishnan, if Doordarshan gets to telecast the series in the coming days.Following the advice of a local designer friend, Tanvi has decided to stick to saree and will keep her blouse on with sleeves. ‘‘No noodle-straps for me on TV’’, she says anxious to be taken quite seriously.The men on Fourth Empire, led by Charu who went almost unnoticed whenever noddle-strap Bedi opened her mouth on the last World Cup, have nice things to say of Tanvi. She is, Charu says, a capable television-friendly anchor who slipped into her role in a nice, friendly, non-flashy manner. Srikkanth says she adds glamour to the programme. ‘‘All channels are doing it now and cricket has become an entertainment and I think she spoke quite well.’’Sivaramarishnan adds protectively: ‘‘It’s not easy to go live on television talking cricket. She is a welcome presence on the show.’’Tanvi’s role, Charu says, is to ask questions that millions of viewers interested in the game would be dying to ask. ‘‘As long as you can break the monotony of the game and as long as viewers do not object, it is fine. The presence of women like Tanvi enhance the concept of television being a visual mdium,” says Charu.But for Tanvi who has anchored programmes like Top Drive and breakfast shows cricket is serious business, and she is wary of striking a false note. “I’d rather not talk about left-arm spinners unless I’m sure,” she says.Tomorrow, when the Supreme Court takes a final view on telecast rights, Tanvi will be watching. The verdict would decide her role on Fourth Empire on DD.
