If you want to understand how to become better allies to people with disabilities, then join us at Embracing All Abilities: Including People with Disabilities at Work.
Did Nirbhaya's friend sell his story to the highest media bidder? It does seem so, if some reports are to be believed. Unscrupulous media, of course, but insensitive society, too.
Did Nirbhaya’s friend sell his story to the highest media bidder? It does seem so, if some reports are to be believed. Happens all the time -unscrupulous media, of course, but insensitive society, too.
It has been alleged that the friend of the gruesome Delhi gang rape victim Nirbhaya ‘sold’ his story to TV channels for huge sums of money, according to a series of tweets by senior journalist Ajit Anjum.
If true, it could be one of the worst possible examples of commodification by our ‘beloved’ Indian media.
Reading those tweets and reading subsequent articles about this piece of news couldn’t have been more nauseating.
When I first came across this I had hoped that the allegation wasn’t true. But since there has been no comment from this ‘so-called friend’ neither has there been any news of this person filing a defamation case against Ajit Anjum, maybe it is.
स्टिंग और शो के बाद स्टूडियो से बाहर उसे जलील करते हुए मैं यही सब कहता -सुनाता रहा. फिर उसे ये चेतावनी देकर छोड़ा कि अब अगर तुम पैसे लेकर निर्भया की दास्तान बेचोगे तो तुम्हें एक्सपोज़ करेंगे..वो माफी मांगकर गया कि अब ऐसा नहीं करेगा ..उसके बाद कई सालों तक वो दिखा नहीं.. https://t.co/ubT1e0DI4U — Ajit Anjum (@ajitanjum) October 12, 2019
स्टिंग और शो के बाद स्टूडियो से बाहर उसे जलील करते हुए मैं यही सब कहता -सुनाता रहा. फिर उसे ये चेतावनी देकर छोड़ा कि अब अगर तुम पैसे लेकर निर्भया की दास्तान बेचोगे तो तुम्हें एक्सपोज़ करेंगे..वो माफी मांगकर गया कि अब ऐसा नहीं करेगा ..उसके बाद कई सालों तक वो दिखा नहीं.. https://t.co/ubT1e0DI4U
— Ajit Anjum (@ajitanjum) October 12, 2019
"I was baffled at the fact that the boy was making 'deals' with channels for telling her story. I was constantly watching him on TV. I never saw the pain in his eyes," the journalist wrote.https://t.co/lshxMnMRGr — India Today (@IndiaToday) October 12, 2019
"I was baffled at the fact that the boy was making 'deals' with channels for telling her story. I was constantly watching him on TV. I never saw the pain in his eyes," the journalist wrote.https://t.co/lshxMnMRGr
— India Today (@IndiaToday) October 12, 2019
And if it’s proven to be true, those media houses and this person were using someone’s rape to make money.
If it’s true that this person, who saw the Nirbhaya victim getting brutally raped, was inhuman enough to demand money for TV appearances then I don’t know what to say about it. Words fail to express the rage and exasperation that any sane human being would feel after something like this.
I don’t know if it is the first such incident, but I know that it will not be the last because media houses have become experts at selling anything, without bothering about the consequences.
Making money out of someone’s misery is not new. And many in the media business are experts at it. A perfect example of this are movies like Peepli Live. And it’s a true commentary on how such stories are covered. The insensitivity of it all may be baffling but it’s true.
And if you want a good look at how media works, watch Network.
Although it was made in 1976, this movie is a true reflection of how media houses, especially electronic media, work around the world.
Being insensitive, intrusive and pathetic has become our media’s forte. I will run out of pages writing about how our media is so good at commoditizing almost anything under the sun.
The way in which some news channels covered Arushi Talwar’s murder investigation (demonizing the Talwar family even when the courts hadn’t given the final verdict), Sridevi’s death (without a care for the plight of her family and fans), or their reporting on the recent Encephalitis outbreak in Muzaffarpur, Bihar (without giving a flying flamingo about the condition of the patients or doctors working there).
Incidentally, Ajit Anjum was one of the two culprits (the other being Anjana Om Kashyap) who decided to barge in the hospital which was filled with children, most of whom were in an extremely critical condition and bully the medical staff. Did they show the same amount of enthusiasm in questioning the Janata Dal (United) – Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government who was responsible for this mess? Were the overworked and underpaid medical staff easier targets for them?
If you feel that this isn’t enough to pronounce our media guilty then just google the following keywords ‘ Insensitive Reporting Indian Media’ and have a look at the search results. I stopped after reading the first article because it brought back memories of even more instances of the horrifying reporting standards of those who claim to ‘unearth the truth’.
Shashi Tharoor was right in using the following words about a member of the elite brigade of Indian Journalists “Exasperating farrago of distortions, misrepresentations & outright lies being broadcast by an unprincipled showman masquerading as a journalist”.
But this is true not just for that journalist but for many others of his fraternity.
Money can also be made by putting someone in misery.
This article on how Sanya Malhotra was rejected by a dance reality show because she didn’t have a strong backstory is a perfect example of that.
To deny someone’s talent an opportunity to shine because they don’t have a ‘sob story’ that will get you TRPs is the definition of fucked-up. Think of the pain she must have gone through. And she is not alone. I know of another person who went through the same thing at the same reality show. And they are not the only ones to do this. This is the norm across TV programs like these.
It’s a sad reality that it takes a tear-jerking backstory to be able to get ahead in most of the talent hunt shows because they run on public votes. Not to say that there is no talent on display, but the fact that you are using someone’s misery to grab eyeballs is indeed very repulsive.
I have run out of words and patience for such reality shows and although I do not want to judge those who make these shows, I do not want to watch them either.
We can. The argument used by media houses that indulge in blatant commodification of news and entertainment is that people love this. To some extent, they are right because viewership for such cringe-worthy nonsense is very high. So there are two steps we can take.
Boycott such shows: The first thing that we can do is to boycott news or reality shows which engage in such malicious practices. Not just for the sake of the poor souls who end up getting exploited, but for our own sake as well. Everything that is a part of your environment, including what you watch or listen to, influences you in one way or the other. And if you allow news channels and entertainment programs to manipulate our thoughts and beliefs, you will start speaking their language and think the way they want you to.
Call them out openly: The second thing is to call them out openly for what they have done. The reason for that is it will build public pressure on them to mend their ways. Especially when they don’t want to. Since all media houses are worried about viewership, if people succeed in communicating that they are not okay with what is being shown on their channels, they will have to stop it because otherwise their profits and more importantly, their image is affected.
You need to dictate the terms of your relationship with the content creators of popular media. Or else you will become the content of their creation. And trust me you do not want that to happen to yourself.
Image source: YouTube
Writing is my therapy. It helps me make sense of this world. read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
A new Gallup poll reveals that up to 40% of Indian women are angry compared to 27% of men. This is a change from 29% angry women and 28% angry men 10 years ago, in 2012.
Indian women are praised as ‘susheel’, virtuous and to be emulated when they are obedient, ready to serve others and when they put the wishes of others before their own. However, Indian women no longer seem content to be in the constrictive mould that the patriarchy has fashioned for them. A Gallup poll looked at the issue of women’s anger, their worry, stress, sadness and found that women consistently feel these emotions more than men, particularly in India.
Image source
What I loved was how there is so much in the movie of the SRK we have known, and also a totally new star. The gestures, the smile, the wit and the charisma are all too familiar, but you also witness a rawness, an edginess.
When a movie that got the entire nation in a twist – for the right and wrong reasons – hits the theatres, there is bound to be noise. From ‘I am going to watch it – first day first show’ to ‘Boycott the movie and make it a flop’, social media has been a furore of posts.
Let me get one thing straight here – I did not watch Pathaan to make a statement or to simply rebel as people would put it. I went to watch it for the sheer pleasure of witnessing my favourite superstar in all his glory being what he is best at being – his magnificent self. Because when it comes to screen presence, he burns it, melts it and then resurrects it as well like no other. Because when it comes to style and passion, he owns it like a boss. Because SRK is, in a way, my last connecting point to the girl that I once was. Though I have evolved into so many more things over the years, I don’t think I am ready to let go of that girl fully yet.
There is no elephant in the room really here because it’s a fact that Bollywood has a lot of cleaning up to do. Calling out on all the problematic aspects of the industry is important and in doing that, maintaining objectivity is also equally imperative. I went for Pathaan for entertainment and got more than I had hoped for. It is a clever, slick, witty, brilliantly packaged action movie that delivers what it promises to. Logic definitely goes flying out of the window at times and some scenes will make you go ‘kuch bhi’ , but the screenplay clearly reminds you that you knew all along what you were in for. The action sequences are lavish and someone like me who is not exactly a fan of this genre was also mind blown.
Please enter your email address