Gen X Doles Out Diwali Dhamaka In Bollywood

It was indeed a special Diwali this year as Bollywood witnessed three releases – all by new age directors with a fresh perspective.

Big budget Blue, India’s first under water adventure movie, has many names to boast of. Kylie Minogue, the Australian pop star who is internationally famous, and our desi Oscar winners A R Rahman and Resul Pookkutty are just some of them. The man who made these stalwarts come together and also made a multi super star ensemble cast possible is Anthony Dsouza, taking his first shot at Bollywood. However, he is no novice and has a host of ad films under his belt.

Anthony must be making a toast now as Blue has emerged the clear winner in the Diwali race. It apparently grossed around Rs. 19 crore over its first weekend in India and made good business in the international market as well.

Not far behind is Prem R Soni who hit a jackpot by bagging Sohail Khan Productions to make Main Aurr Mrs. Khanna (MAMK). The movie that stars Salman Khan, Sohail Khan and Kareena Kapoor has a plot that deals with issues of love, career and marriage. However, the bad news is that the movie has been slammed by critics and has got a shoddy response from audience as well. The film did much better in the key international markets though; probably because of a never ending obsession that NRIs nurture for the institution of marriage.

The third Diwali release, All The Best, is also by a young director who already has two super hits to his credit – Golmaal and Golmaal Returns. Rohit Shetty made the film for his friend and producer Ajay Devgn and managed to earn him big money too. The producer may want to think it is because he dropped an ‘a’ from his name; but trade pundits say it is all thanks to Rohit’s mastery over comedy that made this no-brain laugh riot such a huge success.

No matter what verdict the cash registers will pronounce for these films in the coming weeks, it is heartening to see production houses pin not just their hopes, but big money too, on new talent. Even earlier releases like Kambakkht Ishqq (Sabbir Khan), Wake Up Sid (Ayan Mukherjee) and upcoming ones like Kurbaan (Rensil D’Silva) Pankh (Sudipto Chattopadhyay) point towards a healthy trend where freshness is preferred over experience.

It looks like Gen X is all set to rule Bollywood and how!

Equal Opportunity - Myth Or Reality?

Change should be initiated at home and mothers should ensure that their children grow up with a gender sensitive value system, opined the panellists at a discussion organised by the Times of India (ToI) at Taj Deccan, Banjara Hills on October 15.

The event was a part of the Vox Populi series that the newspaper organised in the city in the month of October, in collaboration with Manjeera Homes. ‘Equal Opportunity – Myth or Reality’ was the overarching theme. Has the legendary glass ceiling really been broken, or are the age old perceptions and traditional mindsets still in place when it comes to the Indian woman were some of the questions that the event tried to address.

Dr. Lavanya Kannaiyan (Paediatric Surgeon), Leena Sil (Senior Consultant, PWC), Chandrima Roy (Chief PRO, South Central Railway), Usha Reddy (Principal, Meridian School), Dr. Alladi Suvarna (Neurologist), Suchitra Ella (Bharat Biotech), Kanchan K Malik (University of Hyderabad) and Anjana Sinha (Inspector General of Police) participated in the panel discussion. It was moderated by the Resident Editor of ToI, Kingshuk Nag.

The discussion was carried out under several sub topics like ‘The superwoman expectation,’ ‘Progressive is loose,’ ‘Single woman still not accepted,’ ‘The new-age stridhan,’ ‘Sexual harassment,’ and ‘The sidelined homemaker.’ While the panellists did not have a consensus on personally experiencing sexual harassment or parents-in-law demanding their salaries, everyone agreed that such things happen in lower classes of the society. They also asserted that evolution was not an overnight process.

A group of youngsters present in the audience gave fresh male perspectives that were much needed to balance the opinions of an all-female panel. They pointed at the direction in which the younger generation is heading by citing examples from their lives – some prompting their homemaker moms to start working and some being proud of their girlfriends who earn more than them.

Mr. Nag, with his witty demeanour, made the event quite a lighthearted one despite the sombre theme of the discussion. Roli Srivastava, a senior reporter at ToI, took the lead in organising the event.

Maya Ravan Enthralls Hyderabad

The glorious mystique of Ramayana unfolded on the dais of Ravindra Bharathi as Shobana and her Kalarpana team performed Maya Ravan on Friday, September 18. The dance musical, choreographed and directed by the veteran actress, made an earnest attempt to skim through the entire scope of Ramayana highlighting the heroism of Ravana, while maintaining a bohemian jouissance and filminess.

Shobana, of course, was the centre of attraction. Although a lack of vigour was visible in her body language, her elegant frame and graceful movements made up for it. Archana Ganesan, who played the part of Sita, earned brownie points with the audience too.

An array of gifted voices lent believability to the mythical narrative. Naseeruddin Shah as Ravan was pure delight. The subtlety with which he rendered Ravana’s passion was out of the world. The atrocious Asura who threatens Janaka to give his daughter’s hand, the coy and love-struck demon who tries desperately to allure Sita, the penanced Rakshasa who confides helplessly in Mandodari – all the moods were safe in his experienced vocal cords. Other celebrity voices that Shobana put to use include Tabu as Mandodari, Rohini as Sita, Mohan Lal as Hanuman, Suhasini as Soorpanakha, Milind Soman as Rama, and Jackie Shroff as Dasaratha.

Maya Ravan boasts of a delectable compilation of music scores for its sound track. Put together by Ganesh Kumaresh, it forms the backbone of this epic dance drama. Tunes with an Arabian hint, Kurunthurai couplets, and soundtracks from the MGR era were all used efficiently to aid the narrative. Narumugaiye from Iruvar, one of A R Rahman’s all-time-bests, used as the signature love track for Rama and Sita, Chentharmizhi from Perumazhakkalam used during the Vanvaas sequence and Chinnamma Chilakamma from Meenaxi employed when Ravana naughtily disturbs Sita in Ashokavan were some of the delightful choices the crew made.

Maya Ravan acknowledges that it is inspired by the Ramayana Series by Ashok Banker. However, one genuine complaint that can be raised is that it did not do justice to its protagonist. Ramayana has enough variations that Shobana could have used to conceptually develop Ravana more. However, she chose to stick to the safe path and did not explore the possibilities that were available to demystify him further.

There were also cries that rose from the puritans that this performance should be bracketed out from ‘art.’ The criticism mainly rose from the fact that the performance was very ‘filmy.’ However, considering that Shobana had never made a claim that it was a pure Bharatanatyam performance, this is not a sound argument.

At one point in the dance drama, Ravana tells Sita, “Dharma can be interpreted differently by different people.” Art, too, can be defined and interpreted in various ways. Puritans may not agree, but Maya Ravan was art in one of the most entertaining avatars ever!

The opulent costumes added a great deal to the visual splendour of the production. Shobana herself had seven costume changes; others also indulged quite a number of times. It was remarkable how the colours of costumes were made to match the mood of particular scenes.

Tweets That Toppled Tharoor

Even before completing a year as Minister of State (Foreign Affairs), Shashi Tharoor was in a soup as a threat of forced resignation hovered around his head. Fortunately for him, this time, the Congress High Command (HC) gave a blind eye to his reference to they-who-shall-not-be-named as holy cows. If such a thing would happen again to give an opportunity to the HC to take more profound action, only Tharoor can tell us. It is most likely that he would not want that. Everyone learns their lessons, don’t they?

But why would someone like Tharoor make such a mistake? Is it because of lack of ‘Indian experience?’ Was it a mistake in the first place? The austerity measures were pronounced as part of party policy by none other than Madam Highness Sonia Gandhi. Yet, Tharoor had the guts to proclaim on the micro blogging site Twitter that he found the whole thing silly and made it clear that he vacated his five star accommodation only to please ‘higher powers.’

Whether Tharoor deals with his party bosses with respect or not is none of our business. He is also entitled to freedom of speech and expression like any other normal Indian citizen. But the problem here is that he is not just a normal Indian citizen. He is a man holding a position of national importance. With power, comes responsibility.

While playing with a public domain like the Internet, he should have remembered that his words will not go unnoticed as they would for another normal netizen. Being accessible and visible to common man is one thing; criticising your own affiliations and painting conflicting pictures is another.

It is a simple case of violation of decorum. An employee could very well be sacked if he goes to press openly criticising his company. Just because Tharoor’s comment was made in an online medium, which is not yet taken seriously in India, does not make it any less grave.

This is not to establish that Indians as a population should lose their capability to have a hearty laugh at intended pun. Tharoor’s case would come under this realm if he continues to show the courage to crack such jokes because he is convinced. However, if he chooses to mend his ways from now on, it will become clear that lack of thought is probably what made the earlier gaffe happen.

Time will tell, and we shall wait!

Telugu Cinema Takes A Miss At National Awards

The absence of Telugu films on the winners’ list was conspicuous as the 55^th National Film Awards for the year 2007 were announced on September 7, 2009 by the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The Golden Lotus Award for the Best Film was picked up by Tamil film Kanchivaram directed by Malayali director Priyadarshan.

Prakash Raj won the Best Actor award for his remarkable performance as a hard core communist in the same movie. Umashree bagged the Best Actress laurel for her fine portrayal of Gulabi in the Girish Kasaravalli directed Kannada movie Gulabi Talkies. This film was also adjudged the best feature film in Kannada.

Padma Vibhushan Adoor Gopalakrishnan, the world famous director from Kerala, won his fifth Golden Lotus for the Malayalam movie Naalu Pennungal in the Best Director category.

While the other three South Indian languages walked away with all the top honours, Tollywood failed to bag even one in any category. In fact, except the award for the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment won by Geethanjali (Mani Ratnam, 1990) and Sankarabharanam (K Vishwanath, 1980), no other Golden Lotus for the Best Direction, the Best Film or the Best Children’s Film has ever come to Andhra Pradesh.

This year, Chak De! India by Shimit Amin won the Golden Lotus in the popular category, and Taare Zameen Par (TZP) directed by Aamir Khan won the award for the Best Film on Family Welfare.

The mellifluous track ‘Maa’ from TZP bagged two music awards – the Best Male Playback Singer (Shankar Mahadevan) and the Best Lyricist (Prasoon Joshi). Ouseppachan was chosen the Best Music Director for his composition of five songs based on the same Carnatik raga – Shubha Panthuvarali – in the Malayalam film Ore Kadal. Shreya Ghoshal, who drifted away from her melody queen image through the vibrant rendering of ‘Yeh Ishq Haaye’ in the movie Jab We Met, bagged the Best Female Playback Singer award.

“It was an exciting experience judging the feature films this year,” said Sai Paranjpye, chairperson of the jury for feature films, at a press conference held at New Delhi on September 7. “There were a lot of new films by new directors. In fact, there was a bit of a problem adjudging the best new director,” he added. The laurel eventually went to Shivajee Chandrabhushan for his directorial debut Frozen.

Darshan Jariwala, who played Mahatma Gandhi in Gandhi My Father directed by Feroz Abbas Khan, bagged the Best Supporting Actor award. Shefali Shah became his female counterpart for her power packed performance in the Arindam Chaudhuri movie The Last Lear. These movies also won the awards for the Best Screenplay and the Best English Feature Film respectively.

A heartwarming performance

Although Kanchivaram is set against the backdrop of a growing communist philosophy in the 1940s, the basic thread of the movie is a very personal experience of the protagonist Venkadam played by Prakash Raj. The struggles that he goes through to materialize his word that his daughter will be married in a pattupudavai is the crux of this movie. Prakash Raj convincingly portrayed the tragedy of a weaver who creates numerous expensive sarees for the affluent, but cannot afford one for his own daughter. His helplessness at various moments through the film - when he loses his wife and becomes a single father, when he has to forgo his ideals and steal from work and when he finally loses his daughter for whom he struggled all his life - will definitely move anyone humane. No wonder this gifted actor breathed life into this character without even taking remuneration!

Giving life to Gulabi

A veteran actress with close to three decades of experience in theatre and cinema, playing Gulabi must have been cakewalk for Umashree. It is this ease and effortlessness reflected on screen that eventually won her a coveted Silver Lotus for the Best Actress. Throughout the tight narration by the four time Golden Lotus winner Girish Kasaravalli, Gulabi, an innocent Muslim fisherwoman who is addicted to cinema, fails to understand how she is different from the Hindu fisherwomen friends of hers. It is this perplexity that makes her vulnerable, yet extremely lovable. Gulabi Talkies is entirely Umashree’s movie as the title suggests and she has justified it with a soul stirring performance. She has thus become the third actress to bag the Best Actress trophy for a Kannada film after Nandini Bhaktavatsala (Kaadu, 1974) and Tara (Hasina, 2005).

A Mega Idea For Nano Art

If good things really do come in small packages, nano art is the best example to elucidate that fact. Nano Art – an exhibition of paintings organized by Daira Center for Arts and Culture in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad showcases art pieces that are one foot long and wide.

As the name suggests, this concept was inspired by the visionary Ratan Tata’s idea of the Nano car. It came from the thought that art should me made a necessary luxury for average Indians, just like the car. Ms. Atika Amjad, the owner of Daira and the one who conceptualized this exhibition says, “There is a rising class of urban Indians with disposable incomes. They want to spend money on art mainly to do up their homes. Then why not give them original art and guard them from the cheap thrash of framed printed paintings?” Nano art is an answer to this question priced at just Rs. 1000 per piece.

Another laudable aspect of this exhibition is that all the 23 featured artists are students, and it proves to be an ideal platform for them. The only demand was that the paintings should be of the specific dimensions. The theme of paintings was open to the artist’s choice paving way to let them express their creativity the way they wanted to. Some of the artists are Dhruv Sonar, Gangadhar M, Uday Shankar and Ritu Bhattacharya. Most of them are university trained; however, the variety showcased has to be seen to be believed. While some artists have used a riot colours, some have resorted to indian ink in creating their black and white imageries.

There are abstract paintings for people who love interpreting art and there are on-the face pictures that tell you exactly what the artist wanted to say. The retro art showcased by Balagopal and Dashavatar by Phani are different strokes altogether.

The exhibition was thrown open to public on July 4^th and will go on for a month. However, Ms. Atika emphasized that this would be an ongoing effort, and more artists would be added in the future.

The effort taken to make art accessible and affordable to common man is indeed commendable, and that is what makes this exhibition different. How many times have you window-shopped for beautiful art pieces? This time around, just pick up one.

A Story Of Star Tantrums

It was front page news on the Times of India that Shah Rukh Khan, the superstar of Hindi film industry, was frisked and detained at an American air port en route to Chicago.

It is ironic that he has been shooting in USA for a few months now for the movie called My Name Is Khan which says the story of an autistic man suspected to be a terrorist because of his Khan surname.

While I am totally against America's anti-Muslim attitude and the blind assumption that all Muslims are potential terrorists, I also hold the opinion that it is nobody's else's business to control how a country goes about ensuring its security. USA is known for its obsession with security measures post the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It would be naive on anybody's part, let alone Muslims, to think that getting into that country is going to be easy. The country has a history of torturing its own Muslim citizens for being suspects; then how significant are the citizens of other countries?

Another point is that Shah Rukh Khan is as important as any other Indian citizen only. If hundreds of other Indian Muslims are facing the same security scrutiny, then what is the big deal with him? He may be a star in India; so what? Ensuring justice should be a just practice in itself - hence equal for all citizens including Shah Rukh Khan. This is something that the Indian Embassy in USA and our media should understand.

If you personally have a problem with a country and its dealings, the best thing to do is taking a personal call on it. Stop travelling to that country. If you do want to go there and enjoy being there, abide by their rules and regulations without complaining. It is as simple as that!

Moti Struggles Even After Silver Jubilee

At UoH, there is no dearth of committees that students have at their disposal. However, some others, who toil it out on campus so that students have a comfortable life, are often at a loss.

One case in point is Mr. Motilal Chaudhary, who runs the cycle shop in UoH from 1984 – much before many of the students who study here were born. He and his wife came here bag and baggage from Uttar Pradesh and later raised their four children here.

Currently, Moti does not have a place to lock up the work-impending cycles when he leaves for his home at Gopanpally. With cycle thefts rampant on campus, Moti, who leads a hand to mouth sustenance, bears the brunt as students ask for a new cycle instead of the lost ones.

“The room behind our shop is locked up and full of useless remnants of construction works that go on. We requested the Estate Department multiple times to let us pay a rent and use it; but in vain,” he laments.

One fine morning this September, he got another shocking surprise. He found that all the cycles parked outside his shop were thrown into the bushes behind. He is clueless to this day about who would have done something so ruthless. “If it happens again, I will report it. I pay a rent for this place; even I need security,” he says.

But what would happen if he reports the incident? Speaking to UoH Dispatch, Deputy Registrar (GAD) Mr. Raseel Ahluwalia said that the Campus Amenities Committee (CAC) looks into the requirement and approval of vendors on campus. This body, currently chaired by Prof. G Uma Maheshwara Rao (Centre for Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies), has representation from faculty, students and the administration. However, there is no separate redressal mechanism for the vendors as such. “They can always come to the CAC if there is any problem,” he asserted.

Sheela Devi, Motilal’ss wife and ‘Bread Bajji Aunty’ for students, says it is not as simple as it sounds – “I have given many applications and attended meetings too with the CAC. Apart from hollow promises, nothing is delivered.” She analyses that the administration knows that they will continue even without the facilities. Since they are concerned about the students, they have not resorted to extreme measures like abruptly closing down the shop until now.

On top of not facilitating their business, the administration sometimes creates problems as well. In spite of paying electricity bills promptly, Sheela’s connection in the canteen near F Hostel was cut off citing a reason that ‘there is no requirement.’ Her customers have to now drink their tea in darkness after dusk. “There is clear partiality for some vendors while some like us are pushed around. The dhobi stationed near us pays no rent – yet she gets a room, electricity and water. We are ready to pay and still are not granted even the basic facilities,” she says.

“We have no direct say in how the CAC functions. It is an autonomous body. It is completely up to them as to which vendor should be on campus and what facilities they should get,” Estate Section Officer Mr. S Vijayakumar commented.

However, he also said that if students feel strongly that a particular vendor needs to be given more facilities or permission to diversify the business, they can file a request with the Estate Department in the Admin block. This adds value to the vendor’s case.

Sheela and Moti also concludes saying that a little bit of initiative from the Students Union can help them a lot. Of course, they know such complaining does not help much. They have to work against all odds to send kids to school and feed them.

Let us do the least we can for the family that keeps our lives running with functional bicycles and tasty bread bajjis – stand and speak for them!

Individual Rights, Cultural Terrorism And Media Ethics - The Mangalore Question

India with its ‘post-colonial’ tag and the baggage that comes along with it has never had it easy. As a country, we have had to fight the moral dilemma of choosing between an indigenous culture that embodies multiple facets and a remnant western culture still being infused through what is called ‘cultural imperialism.’ We never got rid of the obsession with anything remotely connected with the West; not once during the sixty two years of independence. At the same time, we cannot let go what we boast about as Indian culture. It is a funny case of confusion and identity crisis.

This dichotomy often manifests in many forms in our day-to-day life which we hardly notice. But when some events are re-presented as larger than life through our mainstream media, they generate discussion and debate.

The whole of India watched in horror when news channels across the country (English and regional) aired the scenes of violence from a pub in Mangalore. Young men and women who came to chill out were being beaten up by the activists of an outfit called Sri Rama Sena for contaminating the Indian culture by drinking and smoking. The incident attracted supreme media attention and the focus was women’s rights to socialise freely. Women’s organisations across the country took up the issue and condemned it on the same grounds. One lady formed ‘a consortium of liberal, pub-going women’ on the Internet inviting women to join her cause to send ‘pink chaddies’ to the Sri Rama Sena head Pramod Muthalik on Valentines’ Day and protest against the Mangalore incident.

The politics of power

It is impossible to miss where this drama was staged – in Karnataka, a BJP ruled state. The BJP, ever torn between its love for Hindu culture and its desire for a modern image, was embarrassed. With the BJP in power in Karnataka, Muthalik knew the publicity value of his show. Had he enacted his theatre elsewhere, like the Shiv Sena which raided pubs years ago in Mumbai and Pune under the ‘secular’ Congress rule, it would have been far less noisy.

With just one mad act, Muthalik turned many, including a minister at the Centre, into full-scale lunatics. It would be irrelevant to ask if Renuka Chowdhury would have supported a ‘pub bharo andolan’ to take on Muthalik, had this happened in a Congress ruled state. The Union Minister for Women and Child Development, who has never ever uttered a word on the continuing rapes and paedophile crimes in UPA -ruled states, has got agitated and warned the Karnataka government.

The rights of individuals

The most important outcry post-Mangalore is against ‘moral policing.’ Young men and women do not want anybody to dictate to them what they should do and what they should not. Forget young men and women, no adult with a thinking mind would want ultimatums on what he/she should do for the weekend. This right to freedom of thought and expression is a constitutional right. Some people say that society is more important than an individual. Well, easier said than done because society comprises of individuals. No society constituting repressed individuals has ever had ‘order’ that these people envisage.

However, it is necessary that we look at the other side of the coin as well. There is an observation that connects individual right claim and the present economic crisis. It says that the current Indian discourse on individual and human rights apes the West, and many in the West now seem to realise that continuously undermining the moral and social order has led to the present economic crisis.

In the United States, the contract-based model undermined families and led to low or no household savings, high personal debt, credit card based living, outsourcing of household functions, and the like. The erosion in relation-based lifestyle soon imposed a huge social security burden on the state because the family mechanism that supported the unemployed, infirm and the aged became dysfunctional forcing the state to step in to aid them.

Apparently, all individual- centric economies are deep in debt; but family-oriented nations like Japan, China, India and generally Asian nations, account for over three-fourths of global savings. This idea that unbridled human rights and unrestrained personal freedom have led to social and cultural degeneration, and that it is possibly the cause of the present economic crisis is extremely interesting.

Terrorism in the name of culture

Most hooligans, who justify the violation of human right of freedom of choice, do so, on the basis of culture. It is depressing that these ruffians operate in the name of Rama and Shiva causing disrepute to genuine Hindu organisations and more importantly, Hinduism.

Here are some arguments that appeared in reports related to the incident:

‘To drink alcohol or indulge in carnal pleasure is not sin, but its abstinence bring great rewards says our Dharmasastras. [Manu Smriti 5.56]’

‘Renunciation is the national ideal of India, ratified Swami Vivekananda.’

The custodians of the so-called Indian culture have taken it upon themselves to uphold these thoughts and indulge in violence to avoid cultural erosion. Whether Indian culture tells one to kill lives and break bones is doubtful. It is also strange how other factors that go into this ‘erosion’ are not ever considered. India, as an economy, liberalised itself in the last decade of the twentieth century opening floodgates of opportunities for the West and their culture to pour in. McDonaldisation, Cocacolanisation or whatever ‘isations’ followed. All of these were acceptable because there was huge money involved. Many cultural custodians benefited from them. When there is no shame in accepting an English education system and multinational corporations, why ridicule the individual choices which form just a subset of many governmental choices and have been deemed legitimate by the existing legal system?

Also, in the Indian tradition, women have been overwhelmingly burdened with the duty of being the embodiment of culture that needs to be preserved. It is extremely anachronistic in this age of equal opportunities.

The question of media ethics

The argument about media’s irresponsibility in dealing with this issue stems mainly from the fact that this was a staged act. Media personnel were at the venue, much before the unfortunate incident happened. It was almost a ‘Lights, camera, action’ episode. It is disturbing that not one of them chose to inform the Police about this grave law and order situation. Had they done that, the chaos that occurred could have been averted, of course at the cost of ‘a colourful scoop of violence against youth.’

Another aspect worth noticing is that the attack that happened against a group of young women and men swiftly transformed into one against women only in the subsequent media reports. Everybody took up the cause of women’s rights raising questions about their individual right to freedom. It is dubious how the men in the picture faded away. Was it done because talking about violence against women is fashionable; or because that is what the violent outfit targeted anyway – just that men came in the way?

If the latter option is the answer, we have a serious problem at hand. Even while condemning what happened, media is abetting such insane organisations’ cause of propagating the argument that the baggage of morality has to be borne only by women. The men of our country have been visiting bars regularly all through the history of our country. That never has been a problem. However, when women started going to places of socialisation openly, probably in the last two decades, there is hue and cry over it. Some say that ‘women have the additionally responsibility endowed by nature to usher in new life into this world. Drinking and smoking are unhealthy habits for women as they would not be able to perform this task ably without a healthy body.’ It sounds as if healthy men are not required for reproduction. The institutionalisation of such biased ideologies will lead to permanent damages from which recuperation might not be possible. Media should be the last agency to let that happen, let alone be a part in the heinous process.

Next is the classic debate of the urban versus the rural; the elite versus the marginalised. Why is it that the urban elites get a lion’s share in airtime as well as newsprint? The Mangalore incident was of importance, and had to be reported. Nobody disagrees with that. But the amount of coverage it got was beyond proportion of its news value. What is news value anyway? Whose value for news are we talking about? There are thousands of women who fight a battle everyday for a dignified living. Who will tell their stories? Who has the time to report and to read these subaltern stories? These are pertinent questions that are lingering around media ethics, unanswered.

Discussions and debates go on. But the reality remains. The Mangalore incident can happen again in our country; probably in another location, to different people. But it can happen. Our mainstream media will still act like hawks hovering for a piece of meat. Let us try and remember that a lesson not learnt in time, is a lesson lost forever. Before it is too late, we should realise our strengths and weaknesses as a culture and reach a consensus on what is the right path for us. Otherwise, the identity of a confused caricature will get jinxed and get stuck to us.

Women’s Right To Freedom Of Expression - The Khushboo Question

Right to freedom of expression is a constitutional right guaranteed to every citizen of India. However, it is doubtful if this is understood in its full capacity by all sections of our society. Also, if gender plays a role when it comes to the luxury of exercising this right is worth looking into. Tamil superstar Khushboo underwent quite some trouble in 2005 when she decided to exercise her right to freedom of expression on a very sensitive topic – premarital sex. A deeper dive into this chapter will possibly unravel many double standards of the Indian civil society and media.

In October 2005, the respected news magazine India Today published a survey in which a lot of college students confessed to having premarital sex. For its Tamil language edition, India Today asked Khushboo about her reaction to the survey. Khushboo, who lived together with her future husband for two years before marrying him, opined that “pre-marital sex is okay provided safety measures are followed to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.” She also said that “no educated man would expect his wife to be a virgin at the time of wedding.”

One would think that the comments were innocuous enough, particularly when juxtaposed against the survey which would have shattered the comfortable myths Indians grow up with. One would further think that the advice about safe sex is relevant in the context that India has one of the fastest- growing HIV patient populations in the world, with Tamil Nadu leading the way. In fact, the first AIDS patient in India was identified in Tamil Nadu.

The initial reactions to Khushboo’s remarks did not give a clue about what was to follow. Sun TV carried a report on her remarks and the news of a small demonstration against her for having maligned Tamil women. The demonstration apparently also demanded an unconditional apology to all Tamil women.

But soon, the protests snowballed into something wholly different. Her remarks unleashed a veritable storm, with the Dalit Panthers of India (DPI) and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) orchestrating a campaign against her, which comprised filing false cases in courts throughout Tamil Nadu, burning her effigies, and a demand that she should leave the state and return to Maharashtra. Some of them went on to allege that Khushboo made the remarks on pre-marital sex to justify her own life's experiences and that she had no right to talk of the chastity of Tamil women. Moral policing moulded itself in various forms and came out as statements like ‘it is not correct to advocate free sex,’ ‘marriages are based purely on trust,’ ‘it is important to protect the institution of marriage,’ and the like. Media – both national and local- was crammed with Khushboo and her remarks.

It is interesting that the cases filed against Khushboo were all under criminal law. In the US, a private citizen can only file a civil case against an individual. He could prefer a criminal complaint against another person, but the district attorney’s office will have to decide if there is a prima facie case and launch criminal proceedings. Here, every Tom, Dick and Harry was filing criminal complaints. A total of twenty eight complaints were filed in various district courts nearly simultaneously. Judges, who have no hesitation in postponing even murder cases against politically-connected persons, responded with unusual alacrity, issuing summons. At least in a few instances, these summons conflicted with each other, requiring Khushboo’s appearance hundreds of miles away on the same day.

Khushboo tearfully apologized on Television for having hurt the sentiments of her people. Though the demand for apology was met with this, the lawsuits proceeded.

The politics involved in the whole issue cannot be missed. The actress had earlier demanded an apology from a film director Thankar Bachchan, for his remark that “actresses who act for money are like prostitutes.” Many conventional political parties (friends of the director as well) could not tolerate the audacity of a woman to make such ‘noise.’ Groups which waited for a chance to even out scores used this situation heavily.

A few enlightened citizens like Suhasini (film actor) came to Khushboo’s rescue raising the legitimate issue of freedom of expression. Not so surprisingly, she also faced vehement criticism for ‘bringing shame to Tamil people.’ Fortunately, there were some others also who argued that they will defend Khushboo’s right to speak her mind even though they did not agree with her opinion. The leader of the Dalit Panthers found himself isolated when he appeared on NDTV and claimed that the protesters did not act at his or his party’s instigation.

However, protests virtually held Khushboo hostage for a month at her home in Chennai. The groups that politicized the issue went on organizing protests and throwing footwear and eggs even when she tried to appear before the Magistrate. To add to the confusion, at least four criminal complaints were filed against India Today for publishing the sex survey and the starlet’s remarks.

Here, we see a clear case of intimidation and trying to deny freedom of speech which is guaranteed by our constitution. It is worth noting that political groups protest only when women threaten what they imagine to be sexual decorum. If it were a man who had said this, the media would have had a field day covering major sections of the society and asking every other person his opinion about Indian women and their rights over their bodies! A woman making a comment on a subject is far more than a taboo.

A pertinent question here is what the masses (especially women) would do if they have to give a vent to their views. In light of Khushboo’s experience, the safest option would probably be to crib about it in the safety of one’s living room, have a happy dinner, and sleep!

Indian civil society should understand that women of this century are more matured and sure about themselves, their sexuality than their counterparts from 1990s. It is high time that the Indian man stood up and tried to accept the fact that women and sexuality have come of age and pre-marital sex might be a reality, more than they think of it as a westernized concept.

As a nation, we should stop being cowards. We should condemn our famous mentality to hide away from things that we feel are against the ‘traditional picture.’ Why the double standards? Many television serials show men having a wife and multiple mistresses. Why don't protestors target such themes? There is never protest against such themes because the one indulging in free sex is a man. Nobody agitates against the filthy language, the sexual innuendos and double meaning in the lyrics used in movies. Khushboo was the chosen one, undoubtedly because she was a soft target.

Politicians and the beholders of the destiny of the nation think that 33% reservation for women in the Parliament is enough to make the fairer sex feel safe. But don’t they forget that the constitution has given the power of free speech to all the citizens of the nation. This right should endow men and women alike the courage to say that, “hey, I don’t think I agree to being nudged when I am walking on the roads” or talk freely about their views on pre-marital sex, religion, contraceptives and much more. The day has to come when freedom of speech is not just a clause in the constitution.

It is regrettable that media all over India chose to sensationalise the Khushboo issue rather than point out the politically motivated tactics of the self-styled champions of Tamil culture. Some media took it out of context and irresponsibly ran stories that were provocative and untrue. The very first report that instigated the whole issue came up on Sun TV expressing ‘shock’ over Khushboo’s remarks. It was a well strategised blow to undermine her popularity through a gameshow ‘Jackpot’ that airs on Jaya TV, archrival of Sun TV. Such cheap and irresponsible actions by some sections of the media who defend their actions as ‘lost in translation!’ cannot be forgiven. There should be a minimum level of ethics in media etiquette.

If a debate is not generated to discuss such issues, we stand a high risk of disintegrating our democracy in the coming years. A country where fifty percent of the population does not have a voice in the mainstream media or public domain as a whole, cannot hope to achieve anything substantial.

The Khushboo story came to a close only when The Supreme Court suspended trial in as many as 23 criminal cases against her. A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice M.K. Sharma stayed the trial and issued notices against pro-Tamil outfits for outraging public morality against her.

It is depressing that one has to move the High Court or the Supreme Court to obtain justice. One can be subjected to harassment through criminal complaints that can only be fought through expenditure of considerable amounts of money and time. What we need immediately is a reform of the criminal law so that free speech – for men and women - is not subject to prosecution even by the state let alone by individuals.

Coupled with that, we also need to inculcate a strong sense of responsibility and accountability in our media to ensure that they facilitate democratic processes and not impede them. Ethics should not be limited to speeches; let us put some into practice as well.