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Dear Karan Johar, Did You Really Have To Ruin A Film Like ‘Sairat’?

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I’ve always been an ardent admirer of Karan Johar. I was only 2 years old when “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” appeared on the big screen. That alluring smile of Shah Rukh, Rani Mukherjee’s ultra-modern portrayal of Tina, and oh! Kajol as the vivacious girl-next-door Anjali in faded jeans and funky t-shirts—all of these seemed to be a fairy tale to me. The peppy numbers of his movies would thrill me, carry me to a universe of colors, dancing fairies, and abiding joy. I’ve always adored him for the sake of nostalgia, But when I grew up and began to understand the complexities of life, society and its patriarchal rules, only then was I able to see the unabated misogyny that lurked behind the beguiling and seemingly “happy ending” of his film.

I was equally astonished at how aesthetically Johar exploited NRI emotions in “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham”, endorsed the “char din ladki in” attitude in our all-time favorite “Kal Ho Na Ho”, and glorified extra marital affairs in “Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna” with the impregnable aid of hypersensitive emotions. Should I even talk about “Student of The Year?” The story revolves around a school where students come in Gucci jackets and most amazingly (duh!) their intelligence is measured through their dancing skill at prom night. Wow! Mr. Johar, you have such an unquestionable insight of the Indian Education System.

All these years, he has hurled so many unrealistic, stereotypical, misogynistic movies at us. Yet we ran to the theatres to steal the essence of the life we could never have. He made money out of our misery. He is rich because we are miserable and hopeless dreamers. But what gives him the right to ruin a regional classic like “Sairat” and turn it into a nonsensical idiotic Bollywood remake? Money perhaps?

“Sairat” (Director: Nagraj Manjule) is a Marathi film set in a rural backdrop. The film explores the emotional journey of two young college students, Archana and Prashant. The story has nothing new to offer. It’s a conventional story of financial and racial inequality between two lovers. But the way it has been presented is something that the big Bollywood directors should learn from regional movie makers. Here the characters do not elope on bullet bike or wear designer ghagra choli while playing holi. The lucidity of the film and the handling of numerous emotions compel the audience to swing between the fear and the love they feel for Archana (Archie) and Prashant (Parshya) when they wage a war against the powers-that-be. The story reflects zeal as much as it reflects poignancy and romance but in a more pragmatic way. Sadly these independent works are deprived of the limelight, because of the monetary void in their industries which results in a lack of promotion and weak marketing.

Karan Johar is welcome to direct/produce ludicrous movies like “Shandaar”. But ruining a brilliant original like “Sairat” with a pair of star kids and their plastic acting (very evident from the trailer itself) is injustice to cinema. Adding glamour to a simple story has been the easiest formula of producing a super-hit in Bollywood. But designer lehengas, posh locations, and unnatural acting (read: overacting  are inevitably going to suffocate the simplicity and innocence of such a beautiful, beautiful movie.

Being a cinema lover, I am heartbroken. Shattered.

The post Dear Karan Johar, Did You Really Have To Ruin A Film Like ‘Sairat’? appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.


Why Are Indian Movies All About Six-Pack Abs And Vengeance?

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Why is Bollywood becoming garbage?

This is perhaps the most simultaneously overrated and underrated question we ask ourselves or friends or anyone while discussing Hindi movies. Actually, we want to ask such questions of Karan Johar, Rohit Shetty, and many top celebrities who have the magic formula to make 100 crore movie with the snap of their fingers. Of course, I can proudly say, that as a writer I believe I can come up with a better script than such billion-rupee-club movie makers. But, coming back to the point of discussion: Bollywood movies.

The Golden Era… And Now

From Dadasaheb Phalke’s “Raja Harishchandra” in 1913 to Ardeshir Irani’s commercial success “Alam Ara” (the first sound film and also the first Bollywood movie with immense success) the Hindi film industry has come a long way. During the Golden era (from 1940 to 1960) Bollywood produced some of the finest movies in its history. For example, “Aurat”, which was the first Indian movie nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, losing by only a single vote. It is hard to believe that the same industry is now producing the nonsense it does.

If you think the Hindi film industry started deteriorating only a few years ago, it’s not true. Though we are fortunate to watch some good movies ahead of their respective times like “Black Friday”, “Gupt”, “Kaante”, “Khaki” and a few others but they are like the lotus in the mud. The entire industry has only one script. It’s the same revenge story, where parents are killed, sisters are raped, or some there’s some twist like brothers separated due to an antagonist conspiracy. The revenge drama continues in many films, sometimes with horrible dance steps until the entry of Hrithik Roshan!

I can think of only one movie, “Anniyan” that follows the script but does justice to it. It should be noted that this is a Tamil Movie, dubbed for Hindi audiences as “Aparichit”. Even though it is a mediocre movie from one angle I still find it far better than Bollywood’s ‘anti-corruption’ themed films.

The Era Of The Six-Pack Action Man

The pre-2000s era was about biceps and chest, but the post-2000s is all about the six-pack, which became a trend just after the blockbuster “Ghajini”.

As the industry is growing, the quality is decreasing slowly, and now we reach a stage, where we can predict the movie is a waste of money even before watching it. Still, people are going to watch it! For whom? The protagonist? He has a chiseled figure with six-pack abs for sure and belongs to a family that has a close relationship or influence over Bollywood personalities, and does some stunts even Lord Hanuman would be amazed to see. Then there is a female actress who always dreams about the lead hero who doesn’t care about her in the least. Take any Salman Khan movie. If you ask me, the actor seems to forget about acting after “Tere Naam” and “London Dreams” and refuses to come out from his comfort zone even after the disastrous result of “Tubelight” and “Race 3”. I know about the massive box office collection of “Race 3”, but that is no indicator of success. Even his fans are unhappy! Probably, we Indians are the only ones in the entire world who prefer the hero over the content of the movie. All for the sake of our favorite celebrity who is no less than a God to us. And so, we go, we watch and we swear to make it a blockbuster. Cue producers and actors’ chest thumping.

Titanic? We Have Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

Maybe after watching “Titanic”, Karan Johar decided to make a unique love story, and then we got a masterpiece like “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”. As if “Raja Hindustani” and “Ishq” were not enough for us, we had one more reason to hate the industry. How beautifully Johar made a movie where an eight-year-old girl understands her father’s affection for his college time best friend. Something about this makes me uncomfortable. I’m no fan of love stories, but Titanic I still like. Couldn’t Bollywood make something like this?

(Ranbir Kapoor plays the character of Sanjay Dutt in the biopic. Photo source: Google)

Currently, it feels like Bollywood’s filmmakers are out of ideas and they have two options. First, copying some quality content from regional or foreign films. And second, biopics. The immense success of “Sanju” could inspire movies based on people who don’t have any contribution towards the society. Though every life has a story, I think biopics are meant for those people who have made the nation proud, yet somehow they have been forgotten and ignored. That’s why we have movies based on Sanjay Dutt, Arun Gawli, Haji Mastan, Abdul Latif and the list goes on.

One thing to remember though is that the makers of these movies are not the sole culprits. We audiences are responsible too because we prefer masala entertainment instead of quality content.

The post Why Are Indian Movies All About Six-Pack Abs And Vengeance? appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Actor Mohanlal’s Recent Press Conference Reflects Male Privilege At Its Best

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I have always been an admirer of actor Mohanlal. I grew up watching his films and most of my favourite Malayalam movies have him in the lead role. Being such a big fan, I am disappointed to hear his thoughts in a press conference a couple of days ago in response to the AMMA-WCC-Dileep issue.

Actor Dileep, who was arrested for orchestrating the abduction and molestation of a Malayalam actress, was accepted back to AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) after being released. Actor Mohanlal, who is the currently the elected president of AMMA broke his silence days after the incident. He started his press conference with the usual “I was out of station didn’t know what was happening” and then he resorted to “Ask me anything, I will answer“. Just as I expected, most of his arguments which only reflected AMMA’s agenda to take Dileep back. WCC (Women in Cinema Collective), Kannada industry and various other sections have been calling AMMA out for this decision. Above all, Mohanlal’s arguments only enhanced male privilege, something he has the pleasure of experiencing due to his gender and caste.

Mohanlal Denies The Existence Of Male Dominance In Malayalam Cinema

First of all, when asked about male dominance within the Malayalam industry, he went on to deny its existence“There is no male domination in Malayalam industry, I have never noticed it. As a man at the top, it is easy for the actor to not notice it. He earned the place he has with his talent but what the gentleman doesn’t realize is that it has been far easier for him as opposed to actresses who are forced to give up their career post marriage or denied mainstream roles. Even at the age of 58, he still gets the same kind of roles and stars next to actresses who are young enough to be his daughter. And as a woman, bringing this issue up might attract the wrath of “fanboys“.

That’s the privilege men get to experience in a patriarchal society. This is rather disappointing because, over the past few days, more and more women from the industry have been coming out to speak about the harassment they’ve faced. Recently, a TV actress said that she had been unfairly dropped from the lead role in a popular TV serial because she rejected the advances of the show’s director. Then, over 100 female actors and technicians spoke out against male domination in Malayalam cinema. Actress Bhavana, in an interview last year, candidly spoke, “Actresses are given limited roles. I have been part of superhit films yet I have never benefited from it career-wise or financially. Actresses could be replaced easily unlike actors who are at the centre of the story and revenue generation.”

Most films are written keeping the men in focus, women rarely get space. When actress Rima Kallingal spoke about it in a TED talk, she used a “fish fry” metaphor to talk about the mainstream audience’s selective outrage and trolling.

The denial of women’s voice in the industry has been reconfirmed by an audio clip of Ganesh Kumar, VP of AMMA and communist MLA, where he said that “These actresses are not even active currently. Who cares?” He further added that they are always trouble makers. Mohanlal simply laughed off that detail in this press conference.

Actor Remya Nambeesan reiterated in an interview that one of the reasons why she is not active and not getting enough projects is that she asked for a salary hike. “Women can’t survive unless they resort and adjust to patriarchal standards,” she said. If you look at the number of Malayalam films, they are occupied by men, women are just love interests or a source of motivation. Apart from Parvathy and Manju Warrier, women barely get their space. So when a powerful person like Mohanlal simply denies the existence of male dominance, then it adds fuel to patriarchal norms, just like how Mammootty’s silence affected the cyber trolling faced by both Parvathy and Asha Rajan last year.

About Dileep’s Reinstatement

Actor Mohanlal added that when the decision regarding Dileep was taken, none of the members opposed. He also (indirectly) blamed the absence of WCC. Personally, I agree that WCC members should have been there and they should have fought for a better place on AMMA. Actress Remya Nambeesan who resigned from AMMA conceded to the fact as well. “Maybe it was wrong of us to be absent in those meetings. We should have been there we should have raised our voice.

Mohanlal went on to say that AMMA is a great organisation which has been doing a lot of charity work for struggling actors and did a lot to help poor people. He claimed that there is no other organisation like AMMA.

However, his remarks make me ask one question. If AMMA is such a great organisation with stupendous reputation, did they have to be reminded by WCC or other women regarding the ill effects of bringing back someone who is accused of a heinous crime? Isn’t that expected from a reputed organisation? Maybe AMMA’s by-laws claim that removing someone hastily is wrong but as per the Sexual Harassment of Women At Workplace Act, 2013the actress should be given priority.

Dileep was not arrested until there was irrefutable proof. Several members of the industry even claimed that Dileep had a grudge against the actress. Keeping in mind these allegations and the fact that he is yet to be cleared of charges legally, it is highly irresponsible for AMMA to decide in his favour. I also felt that in the conference, Mohanlal tried to shift the blame on the actress survivor and her lack of participation, especially when he claimed that she never gave him a written complaint about Dileep blocking her film offers like she alleged. “If the others have plans to come back, I would like to remind them that they cannot go and come just like that. There will be a general body meeting where they have express the reasons.

Lack Of Women’s Involvement In The General Body

What I felt was that Mohanlal deliberately tried to vilify the women involved, making them look like they didn’t follow the rules or co-operate with AMMA. It is a typical move to wash his hands off all charges as opposed to hold oneself accountable. Also, in the end, in a massive WTF moment, when he was asked who he supports, Mohanlal replied, “I am with the actress survivor but I also pray for Dileep,” showing that he batting for both sides.

The post Actor Mohanlal’s Recent Press Conference Reflects Male Privilege At Its Best appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

The Ever So Candid Munnabhai Comes Across As An Insecure Celebrity Desperate For Approval

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Sanjay Dutt (Sanju), son of former Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports and two-time Member of Parliament Sunil Dutt and celebrated yesteryear actor Nargis Dutt, was sentenced to six years of rigorous imprisonment on 31 July 2007 by TADA court for illegal possession of weapons.

Fact Sheet:

  • In 1993, Sanjay Dutt confessed that while shooting for his film “Yalgar”, he met Dawood Ibrahim in Dubai through actor-producer Feroz Khan. He was also introduced to Iqbal Mirchi, Sharad Shetty and Chota Rajan during the same trip.
  • Sanjay Dutt was to spend 1,825 days in jail. He was granted remission of 60 days for good conduct by the authorities. He earned 156 leaves while in jail. He spent the balance i.e. 164 days or 5.5 months spread over 6 paroles and furloughs.
  • Dutt was granted furlough for reasons ranging from his daughter’s surgery to celebrating the New Year with his family. Furloughs are granted to prisoners to attend to emergency situations.
  • While out, Dutt also found time to attend a special screening of the movie “PK”. Consider this against the disturbing fact that 67% prisoners (2 out of 3) in India are undertrials, many of whom are in prison because they simply cannot afford bail.

Cut to the movie “Sanju” and one is confounded. To call it Sanjay Dutt’s biopic is an overstretch. It is just a heady concoction of selected incidents to salvage his image and pave way for further opportunities in public and professional life. Economical in truth, the biopic fails to go beyond being a frantic attempt by the actor to re-brand himself and make him worthy of commercial endorsements and masala flicks.

Bollywood Brat

At the beginning of the movie, Sanju is shooting for his maiden Bollywood venture “Rocky”, which is being directed by his father, Sunil Dutt. Being a beneficiary of nepotism, the college drop-out has little idea about the entry barriers that exist in Bollywood. Obviously, he does not value this opportunity. With little to worry about, the young lad unabashedly indulges himself in debauchery until he is introduced to yet another addictive vice – drugs. Like any other drug addict, he blames the situation for his addiction. Heedless to the worries of his ageing father or his declining career, Sanju continues to drown himself in smoke and booze.

The only noteworthy milestone in Sanju’s life is his resolve to quit drugs, that too after he has escaped from the rehabilitation centre. However, the devil-may-care attitude of the actor does not leave him.

His reckless attitude towards his professional commitments continues till much later. There is a scene in the movie where middle-aged Sanju receives a professional call on his landline. To sneak out of the situation, he pretends to be stuck in a traffic jam. When his bluff is called out, there is no sign of shame or guilt. He is shamelessly unaccountable and the audience is expected to love him for his laxity.

In another scene, Sanju’s distraught father tries to convince him to lie to the police and absolve himself of the controversy. Yes, he refuses to compromise his father’s respect for his own release. Too little too late for the very next moment, both father and son are seen confronting the media and playing the victim of stardom. This is straight out of a controversial superstar’s playbook. With due respect to senior Dutt, the cushioned upbringing of his son also played a part in the creation of the prodigal Sanju

Throughout the movie, Sanju refuses to behave like a responsible citizen. His sense of entitlement is telling of the sons and daughters of celebrity parents, who don’t have to worry about their bread and butter. Irrespective of their talent, these torchbearers of nepotism continue to enjoy power, fame and public adulation.

Blame All But Sanju

Sanju’s only consistent trait throughout the movie is his penchant for finding a person or situation to blame for his follies.

  • He blames his poor acting on the pressures of being the protégé of Sunil Dutt and Nargis for his nervousness on camera, ungracious of the professional opportunities he enjoyed as their son. Did the ace director, Rajkumar Hirani forget to tell the audience about Dutt’s frequent paroles or the kind of privileges he enjoyed as Sunil Dutt’s son?
  • He blames his first encounter with drugs on a public fallout with his father; his second on his mother’s illness. Not once does he accept it was his inability to cope with stress that led him to drugs. He succumbed under pressure due to his lack of mental fortitude and unlimited access to wealth.
  • He blames Hindu groups and lack of security from the police for his possession of AK 56 rifles. He then blames the question mark used at the end of speculative reports for his tarnished public image. My question to Sanjay Dutt is – will he have a problem with a speculative headline like “Sanju hits 500 crore club?” If not, he has no right to be peeved by a headline such as “Is Sanju finished?” Yes, this ‘?’ is what makes the public curious about celebrities and it is this inquisitiveness that keeps celebrities relevant. Sanju made poor choices as an individual in a crisis. Period.

Where was the penance?

Throughout the 160-minute run, I couldn’t spot one scene where the protagonist repents for his deeds. He occasionally chides himself for violating his father, before he encroaches on another forbidden territory. Sanju has no guilt or remorse for his transgressions. Only a privileged son can afford to throw tantrums and be tutored on work ethics by his father at the age of forty.

While Sanju does acknowledge that his father deserved a better son, his intentions to be a better self are conspicuous by their absence. Did his doting father know that his son had smuggled drugs, putting the family’s security at stake in a foreign land? Where were the confessions?

Even while in jail, he leaks the radio station details to his biographer and the audience is expected to be both gullible and hare-brained. Where is Sanju’s moral compass? Where does the buck stop? What his on-screen wife terms as harmless flirting, is tantamount to making a pass in common parlance. But then, Sanju is not common – he is that well-intended human being who was taken for a ride by everyone. In his quest to tell his side of the story, the ever so courageous and candid Munnabhai has come across as an insecure celebrity desperate for public approval.

If Sanjay Dutt really believed in his father’s third ‘ustaad’ i.e. “Kuch toh log kahenge… (People will always have something to gossip about)”, he wouldn’t have sold his story so selectively. One is forced to believe that Sanjay Dutt’s conscience is guilty, which forced him to hide so much and tell so little.

The post The Ever So Candid Munnabhai Comes Across As An Insecure Celebrity Desperate For Approval appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

The Genius Of Rajkumar Hirani Lies In His Ability To Use Humour To Question Society

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Fondly known as Raju by everyone in Bollywood, Rajkumar Hirani is the current toast of the Hindi film industry. Within eight days of its release, his latest film “Sanju” has crossed over 200 crores at the box office. This video explains his filmmaking style.

Every single actor and actress, from Arjun Kapoor to Parineeti Chopra, Abhishek Bachchan to Ranveer Singh and more – want to be directed by this phenomenal man. Hirani is not just an established and acclaimed director, producer and screenwriter but he also edits most of his own films.

There is a lot more to be known about this visionary who continues to stand out in his fraternity. These include:

  • He was born in Nagpur to a Sindhi family, and his father owned a typing institute in the city.
  • His family was originally Sindhi refugees from Pakistan.
  • He dabbled in theatre in school and college – and wrote plays as well.
  • He studied in St Francis De’Sales High School, Nagpur, and graduated in commerce.
  • Munnabhai MBBS was his directorial debut, and it broke all formulaic conventions associated with Bollywood. It was a cult in itself!

In the last 15 years, Rajkumar Hirani has directed five films which include Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003), Lage Raho Munnabhai (2006), 3 Idiots (2009), PK (2014) and now, the explosive biopic on the life on Sanjay Dutt (“Sanju”) which has become an instant hit.

However, not many are aware of this, but his early career didn’t work out the way he wanted it to. For many years he tried his luck at being a film editor but to no avail.

This forced him to shift to advertising where he established himself as a director and even a producer of ad films. He had once appeared in a Fevicol Ad as well a Kinetic Luna ad.  The latter was an ad campaign created by Ogilvy Mather.

 

Soon enough, he decided to quit advertising and began working with Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Some of his early works included editing the promos and trailers of “1942: A Love Story”. He even edited “Kareeb.” This led him to his next big opportunity of working on the film “Mission Kashmir.”

What differentiates Hirani from other filmmakers is his ability to create a story where he can deftly use humour to question the mindset of the audience. Raju Hirani is known as the Christopher Nolan of India – only because they both have the distinction of being critically and commercially acclaimed directors with only a handful of movies in their kitty.

An expert at understanding the psyche of the Indian moviegoer, his movies are lighthearted but revolve around significant societal issues. What is really special about Hirani is that his films don’t just do well at the box-office, but they also have a good shelf life.

In almost all of his films, there is one protagonist who is afraid to tell the female protagonist that he loves her. There is always a father who is fed up with their son or daughter, and at the same time, there is always an antagonist who undergoes a transformation by the end of the movie. In every film, there is a gigantic challenge that the protagonist has to face, which of course, they overcome in flying colours. However, there are way too many characters in his films, and their storylines always end on a positive and happy note.

He feels, “When someone says to me, ‘Our minds are preconditioned to believe things, and you gave us a different viewpoint to think,’ I feel like I’ve done something worthy.”

Every film is like the first film for him and every time it feels harder to capture the attention of the audience. But what makes his movies strike such a chord with the audience? The answer lies in his innate ability to take the uncanny elements of life and weave them together in a film and make them magical.

What do some filmmakers and writers say about him?

Karan Johar on ‘An Afternoon Film Bazaar with Rajeev Masand’
“I love the fact that he (Hirani) is the country’s biggest filmmaker and he has been making good films time after time. He is making socially-relevant blockbusters. I hope I come up with a brilliant idea for a movie with a social relevance.”

Writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar said that the reason why Rajkumar Hirani is able to make cinema that touches the heart is because he is a good human being.          “I am a huge admirer of Rajkumar Hirani. He does really good work, and now again, he has done an amazing job. I always say one thing about him that to make such kind of films you not only have to be a really good director or writer, but you have to be really good human being. He is really good human being, and that’s what works for him.

Anurag Kashyap was very impressed by Rajkumar Hirani’s film “PK” and said that the filmmaker is one of the country’s bravest directors.

To make every scene entertaining and engaging can be tough for a biopic which draws from real-life events. For “Sanju” though, it was perhaps far trickier because it dealt with problematic aspects like the actor getting addicted to drugs and being convicted for illegal possession of firearms.

A Hirani film is not helmed by Bollywood stars or opulent sets but by sheer good writing. The director has been able to entertain the audience despite the prejudice and duplicity that is ingrained within the Indian society. As of now, his latest film is a departure from his usual ‘track record’ of quintessential comedies and is actually a biopic about the troubled life of Sanjay Dutt; along with a social message. Will Hirani try something new in the future? Only time will tell.

As a Hirani fan, I hope “Sanju” has the same relevance in the years to come as “3 Idiots” which is still being avidly watched a decade after its release.

This post was first published on my blog.

The post The Genius Of Rajkumar Hirani Lies In His Ability To Use Humour To Question Society appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Faye D’Souza Targeted By Trolls Over Fake Tweet

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Unverified handles circulating fake quotes of popular figures are not new. And when the fake quote is attributed to a woman, it becomes an excuse for anonymous trolls to issue death and rape threats to her. Rana Ayyub was recently attacked viciously for days over a fake tweet. Her phone number and address were shared publicly, urging people to rape her.

The recent victim of such an attempt was Faye D’Souza, Executive Editor of Mirror Now. She was targetted after certain handles circulated a fake tweet of hers. Fortunately, it was foiled before the death and rape threats started.

The fake tweet was made after reports emerged that police “recovered a child from the Missionaries of Charity which has been facing charges of selling newborns to childless couples in Jharkhand.”

D’Souza took to Twitter to clarify that she had not posted the provocative tweet. After her clarification, the page deleted the post. The Facebook page called ‘Presstitutes‘ is followed by over 5,80,000 people and regularly targets journalists and individuals it sees as liberal. The post about D’Souza’s fake tweet received about 1800 shares and over 412 comments. It was shared with the caption “Insane and she is a journalist. Wonder what will happen wid Modi loses (sic).”

Several publications like AltNews are relentlessly tracking down fake news and tweets.

D’Souza was was quick to point out that the tweet cleverly said “Fictional tweet” in one small corner, but how many would look that closely before outraging in the comments’ box.

The question that needs to be asked is – who are the people behind such heinous acts? Will they ever be arrested for their crime?

The post Faye D’Souza Targeted By Trolls Over Fake Tweet appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

‘Sacred Games’ Is For Everyone Who Is Tired Of Indian Soap Dramas

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There is huge excitement among Indian Netflix audiences this month. After Netflix India’s original movies “Love Per Square Foot” and “Lust Stories”the first-ever Netflix original Indian web series released on July 6. “Sacred Games” has been directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, and adapted by Varun Grover, Smita Singh and Vasant Nath from Vikram Chandra’s thriller novel of the same name.

Excitement about this series started with the trailer itself. Firstly, it was because of the cast – Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Saif Ali Khan, Radhika Apte, along with Neeraj Kabi and Marathi big shots Jitendra Joshi, Girish Kulkarni all together in the same place! Secondly, because it is the first Indian Netflix original thriller series, curiosity was at its peak.

From the trailer, the plot looked simple – the same old story of a gangster’s rise and fall. We’ve seen it in Bollywood before. But after watching the series, one can’t resist getting attached to it and wanting more. Its influence rises with every episode, and at the end of the season, we are left dumbstruck.

The season is entirely based in Mumbai. Saif Ali Khan plays police inspector Sartaj Singh who is honest but not very successful in his work. He has been presented in an entirely different role which stands out from his usual characters, apart from his notable contributions in movies liked “Rangoon” and “Kaalakaandi”. Nawazuddin DialoguesThe antagonist Ganesh Gaitonde has been portrayed by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who has not only done an extraordinary job, but also owned the series in the way he says –”Kabhi kabhi lagta hai apun hi bhagwan hai!’ (Sometimes it feels like I’m God).’

He gives Sartaj a big mystery to solve, which has a long list of sub-questions. What is their connection? What’s going to happen in the next 25 days? Why and how was he betrayed? Was he scared? Where was he in the last 15-20 years? Why is his third baap so important? The episodes answer some of these questions and add a few new mysteries along the way, keeping the viewers glued to their screens. Each episode is named after mythological terms from the Mahabharata, which is a good change from the bombardment of foreign mythological series.

Four women play an important role in Ganesh’s life. First, his mother (played by Vibhawari Deshpande). Even though she is a part of the series for a very short duration, she has a significant role to play in leading him to his first ever crime.

His infatuation with Kukoo (Kubra Sait) despite her secrets, leads him to a rivalry with Sulaiman Isa and his gang. His wife Subhadra (Rajshri Deshpande) plays a small but major role in his life. Her death makes him murder 80 random innocent people, which fuels the riots in 1992 and lands him in jail. Kantabaai was Ganesh’s guide in Mumbai (portrayed by Shalini Vatsa). All these women rise bright and strong and even dominate Gaitonde’s being.

kanta

Sartaj Singh is shown isolated and disturbed by his divorce. He eventually evolves as a person bold enough to even risk his job by diving deep into Gaitonde’s case. Saif Ali Khan has done his homework for this character so it doesn’t look forced at any point.

radhikaOne of the most powerful characters of this season is Anjali Mathur (Radhika Apte) -a RAW agent who is shown continuously fighting the demons of patriarchy in the line of work and the tragic closure of her missing father’s case. Looking at the strong female characters Radhika has portrayed earlier, we might develop some expectations from Anjali, her being a female RAW agent. She is shown to have been complaining that female agents, despite their abilities, are forced to do desk work rather than go on the field. At the same time, she is portrayed to be inadequate at her job, not vigilant enough. Whether it is the requirement of the character or not is another matter, but RAW certainly trains their agents well, so I did not find that part convincing enough.

The same is the case with constable Katekar. The fate of his character looks slightly out-of-place. joshiHis journey from the cop who is unenthusiastic about the missing Muslim boy to the cop who tells his wife, ”आज खूप दिवसांनी खऱ्या पोलिसासारखं वागलो (Today, I acted as a true policeman after a long time),” with satisfaction, is overwhelming.

Both Sartaj Singh and Ganesh Gaitonde are not originally from Mumbai but want to cherish it in their own ways.

Ganesh’s character might remind us of the Joker from Batman, but later we realise that he is more than just a villain or anti-hero. They have done a good job of showing the evolution of Ganesh’s character through his thought process and ambitions. However, we don’t get much visual input about who he is and what he does. He talks about big things in the narrative but looks idle except for the sex and murder. Gaitonde’s character is limited to his own male ego and sexual pride. This suppresses Nawazuddin’s skills as an actor, even though his narrative takes over the season.

We also get a look at Mumbai’s history (of four decades) from Gaitonde’s point of view. nawazIt is quite challenging to construct a fictional character taking part in actual history without moulding it, especially while constantly switching from flashbacks to present, but the directors and writers have been successful in making it look natural.

The interesting fact is, Ganesh Gaitonde is a Brahmin by birth. His father was a Pundit with low self-esteem who did nothing but beg and his mother had an extramarital affair. A family background like this is never shown for a Brahmin character in Indian fiction.

Another question we are left with is – are Khanna Guruji (Pankaj Tripathi) or Malcolm Murad (Luke Kenny) the bigger villain in this story? Guruji resembles the Hindu manipulators who trap people in the vicious mesh of religion. Malcolm is a cold-blooded assassin. Their connection with each other and with Gaitonde and his network is yet to be presented in detail. So it is going to be a thrilling experience to see how these two characters evolve and use Gaitonde as a pawn leading him to his own, and possibly the city’s, destruction. All eight episodes were released at the same time, so the viewers can do nothing but wonder about the next season till it comes.

Neeraj Kabi, who plays DCP Parulkar, has efficiently portrayed a selfish character. Girish Kulkarni, as usual, does a fantastic job even in the small duration of his role, to show the journey of a local bootlicking political aspirant to a gluttonous Home Minister.

One more big difference in “Sacred Games” is that the characters are not talking in Hindi forcibly, they talk in their respective languages (Punjabi/Marathi) among their own people. This, along with the frank swearing helps in enriching the series’ authenticity. In the same league as “Masaan” and “Gangs Of Wasseypur”, watching “Sacred Games” is exhilarating. Those who berate it for containing inappropriate language and scenes, possibly don’t understand that these are least important among all the other positive elements of the series.

The overall experience is wonderful and such experiments must be done more often. I’d say, everyone who is bored of watching Indian serial drama and also bored with foreign crime drama with the usual hero-antihero crisis (Sherlock-Moriarty, Hannibal-Graham, Batman-Joker etc), should watch a good work of fiction like this.

The post ‘Sacred Games’ Is For Everyone Who Is Tired Of Indian Soap Dramas appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

The Short Story ‘The Address’ By Marga Minco Teaches Us Not To Regret The Past

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A feeling of nostalgia seems to have taken over me. While flipping through the pages of my class XI English textbook called “Snapshots”, I came across a chapter that has inspired me quite significantly with its simplistic storytelling. A striking feature of this story is the sheer ease with which the author has portrayed a multitude of emotions, right from betrayal to melancholy, and everything in between. The story by Marga Minco, a Dutch journalist, reiterates the fact that dwelling in the past only ends up adding to the emotional turmoil a person might be going through in his/her life.

The story further brings to light that as soon as we accept something and move on in life, the better we’re bound to feel. Accepting something not only makes us feel better emotionally, it also helps us to concentrate on the opportunities that might come our way in the not-so-distant future.

An Overview

“The Address” by Marga Minco narrates the story of a lady (possibly the author herself), who, after losing her entire family in the Holocaust, returns to ‘the address’ in order to collect all her family’s possessions that the author’s mother had left with Mrs Dorling, a non-Jewish lady, before leaving her homeland.

After the war was over, the author went to Mrs Dorling’s house to collect all her past possessions, but to her surprise, Mrs Dorling refused to recognize her. In a second attempt, the author rings the doorbell of Mrs Dorling’s house, only to be welcomed by her daughter. She offered her a cup of tea and asked her to wait for Mrs Dorling. As the author observed the room, she saw the cups and other utensils her mother had left with Mrs Dorling. She also came across the tablecloth with burn marks on it. She left the house without waiting for Mrs Dorling to return.

Human Emotions Portrayed

‘The Address’ by Marga Minco throws light on a multitude of human emotions. On her first visit to 46, Marconi Street (Mrs Dorling’s house), the author was given a cold shoulder by Mrs Dorling. This act of Mrs Dorling is enough to tell us that the author’s mother was betrayed by Mrs Dorling.

The author, on the other hand, was being overpowered by emotional turmoil and sadness after Mrs Dorling hadn’t recognized her. After being treated unpleasantly by Mrs Dorling on her very first visit to the house, the author developed an awful impression of Mrs Dorling. To her, she was a thief who had refused to recognize her as she didn’t want to return the possessions that the author’s mother had left behind.

On her second visit, the author was welcomed by Mrs Dorling’s daughter, who, unlike her mother, asked the author to come in and even offered her a cup of tea. The author, while running her eyes around the house, saw a few things her mother had left with Mrs Dorling. She also observed that Mrs Dorling’s daughter loves those possessions quite dearly and is proud of possessing them. In the end, the author decided against taking her possessions along as she felt that all these possessions would remind her of  her family members who had died during the course of the war.

Leaving Everything Behind

The story clearly brings to light the fact that holding onto the past can be an extremely painful exercise. It goes without saying that forgetting the moments and the experiences that torment you can be a really daunting task, but once you accept your past wholeheartedly, you tend to get a big weight off your back. The author, despite being attached to memories of her past, had the courage to leave them behind in order to make a fresh beginning.

“The Address” by Marga Minco is indeed an inspiring story which sheds an adequate amount of light on the importance of letting things go. It further reiterates that both past and future are illusions, and all we have with us is the present.

The post The Short Story ‘The Address’ By Marga Minco Teaches Us Not To Regret The Past appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.


From Amruta Fadnavis to Sushma Swaraj: Right-Wing Trolls Don’t Care About Who They Attack

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When it comes to cyber trolling, the right wing cyber army doesn’t spare anyone. From Sushma Swaraj to Amruta Fadnavis, they are least bothered about the person’s political ideology. Cyber trolls can’t stand anyone who shows any leniency towards people from the minority communities.

When it comes to women, the abuse and name-calling become more intense. There have been instances where even their family is’nt even spared. Some time back, someone made a rape threat to Congress Spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi’s daughter, many even mocked Sushma Swaraj for her health problems.

Last year, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s wife was trolled and abused for promoting a Christmas themed charitable event in Mumbai.

It started when Amruta Fadnavis put out a tweet about the event organised by a FM channel

It was just an event which Amruta decided to be part of, but trolls brought a religious angle to it.

It turned into name calling and giving tags

Memes were made to mock her

Accoding to right-wing trolls, all events should be for Hindus, not any other religions

Even though Amruta had put out a tweet to clarify, trolls did not care.

This is not the first time. Right-wing groups have targeted several right-leaning public figures, on almost a daily basis. Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan was attacked for supporting Supreme Court’s ban on firecrackers during Diwali, he was forced to delete it. The amount of poison which has infected certain sections of Hindus by right-wing organisations for political gain seems to be coming back to bite them. If they don’t check this trend, it will eventually destroy them.

The post From Amruta Fadnavis to Sushma Swaraj: Right-Wing Trolls Don’t Care About Who They Attack appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

जॉनसन &जॉनसन दोबारा जम जाएगा क्योंकि बाज़ार ही तो तय करता है हमारी ज़रूरतें

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पिछले हफ्ते इंटरनेशनल बिजनेस टाइम्स की रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक, अमेरिका के मिसौरी राज्य में 22 महिलाओं ने विख्यात अमेरिकी फार्मा कंपनी जॉनसन एंड जॉनसन के खिलाफ एक याचिका दायर की, जिसमें उन्होंने कंपनी पर यह आरोप लगाया कि कंपनी के पाउडर आधारित उत्पादों के चलते उनमें गर्भाशय का कैंसर विकसित हुआ है। शिकायतकर्ताओं के अनुसार, टैलकम पाउडर आधारिक उत्पादों में मौजूद एसबेस्टस ने उनमें गर्भाशय कैंसर विकसित होने में योगदान दिया है।

ज्यूरी ने इस मामले में सर्वसम्मति से फैसला सुनाते हुए जॉनसन एंड जॉनस कंपनी पर 32000 करोड़ रुपये (4.7 बिलियन डॉलर) के भारी-भरकम जुर्माने का आदेश जारी किया है। जुर्माने की वजह कंपनी के पाउडर संबंधित उत्पादों के कारण बड़ी संख्या में महिलाओं को गर्भाशय का कैंसर होना बताया गया है। हालांकि कंपनी ने इस बात का खंडन करते हुए आगे इस मामले में अपील करने की बात कही है।

खैर, मामला चाहे जो भी हो ज़ाहिर-सी बात है इसका सीधा असर जॉनसन पाउडर की बिक्री पर पड़ेगा, क्योंकि अब लोग इस पाउडर को यूज़ करने से डरेंगे। आखिर कोई भी मुफ्त में भी बीमारी मोल नहीं लेना चाहता, फिर पैसे देकर मोल लेना कौन चाहेगा? हो सकता है भविष्य में जॉनसन कंपनी यह केस जीत जाये या फिर वह अपने उत्पाद में कुछ आमूलचूक परिवर्तन करके उसे मार्केट में उतारे, तो दोबारा से लोग उसके उत्पाद को खरीदने में इच्छुक होंगे।

याद कीजिए, करीब दो साल पहले युवाओं की लोकप्रिय ‘बस दो मिनट में पकनेवाली मैगी‘ पर भी स्वास्थ विरोधी आरोप लगे थे। भारतीय खाद्य नियामक संस्था FSSI ने मैगी में कुछ लेड जैसे तत्व की मात्रा स्वीकार्य स्तर से अधिक पाये जाने का आरोप लगाते हुए सुप्रीम कोर्ट में याचिका दायर की थी, जिसके बाद नेस्ले कंपनी अपने इस उत्पाद के 550 टन का स्टॉक नष्ट करना पड़ा था। इन सबका सीधा प्रभाव मैगी की बिक्री पर पड़ा। ज्ञात हो कि मैगी नेस्ले कंपनी की सबसे ज़्यादा बिकनेवाले उत्पादों में से एक है। लेकिन इस विवाद के बाद लोगों ने मैगी खाना बंद कर दिया। जो मम्मियां समय के अभाव में अक्सर ‘दो मिनट वाली मैगी’ बनाकर अपने बच्चों को खिलाया करती थीं, वे अब 10-15 मिनट देकर उनके लिए कुछ हेल्दी नाश्ता बनाने पर ध्यान देने लगीं।

इसके कुछ ही दिनों बाद अचानक से फिर खबर आयी कि नेस्ले के इस उत्पाद में कोई खामी नहीं है। कंपनी ने बंबई उच्च न्यायालय के आदेश पर FCCI से मान्यता प्राप्त प्रयोगशालाओं में जब मैगी के नमूनों की जांच करवायी, तो उसमें मैगी को पूरी तरह से सुरक्षित पाया गया। यही नहीं अमेरिका, सिंगापुर, ऑस्ट्रेलिया आदि कई अन्य देशों में भी भारत में निर्मित मैगी को सुरक्षित पाया गया। उसके बाद नेस्ले ने मैगी में कुछ आमूलचूक बदलाव करके उसे एक बार फिर से मार्केट में उतार दिया। नतीजा, एक बार फिर मैगी हर घर के ग्रोसरी लिस्ट में शामिल हो गयी।

इसी तरह भारत की एक गैरसरकारी संगठन सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवॉयरनमेंट (सीएसई) द्वारा दो बहुप्रचलित शीतल पेयों पेप्सी कोला और कोका कोला की बोतलों में निर्धारित मानकों से ज़्यादा कीटनाशक होने का आरोप लगाये जाने के बावजूद उसकी बिक्री पर इसका कुप्रभाव देखने को मिला। इसके अलावा कई नामी-गिरामी कंपनियां अब तक अपने प्रोडक्ट की गुणवत्ता, उससे जुड़े उत्पाद के विज्ञापन आदि को लेकर अब तक विवादों में फंस चुकी हैं और ऐसे किसी भी विवाद के प्रकाश में आने के बाद उसकी बिक्री पर इसका तुरंत प्रभाव पड़ता है। आज के दौर में लोग ”जो चीज़ मार्केट में हिट है, वही आपके लिए फिट है” वाली अवधारणा पर भरोसा करते हैं।

भारतीय संस्कृति की मार्केटिंग है ट्रेंड में

इसमें कोई दो राय नहीं है कि हमारी भारतीय सभ्यता-संस्कृति विश्व की सर्वोत्तम सभ्यता-संस्कृतियों में से एक है लेकिन, अफसोस कि पश्चिमी प्रभाव में हमने इसे कटघरे में लाकर खड़ा कर दिया। फिर जैसे-जैसे हम पश्चिमी सभ्यता के प्रभाव में आते गये, वैसे-वैसे हमें अपनी संस्कृति में तमाम तरह की खामियां नज़र आने लगीं। फिर तो धीरे-धीरे हमने ना केवल अपना पहनावा बदला, बल्कि हमारे विचार-व्यवहार आदि सभी में पश्चिमी प्रभाव दिखने लगा। हमें होली के रंग फीके लगने लगे, दीवाली की रौशनी आंखों में चुभने लगी, तीज और करवाचौथ में खामियां नज़र आने लगीं। अन्य व्रत-त्यौहार, हवन, पूजा आदि सब अर्थहीन प्रतीत होने लगे। चूड़ी-कंगन, काजल, टीका, पायल, बिछुआ आदि सब झंझट लगने लगे। सरसों तेल की जगह लोगों को रिफाइंड भाने लगा। बाजरे की रोटी और चने का साग खाने के बजाय उन्हें बर्गर, पेटीज़ और पिज्ज़ा आदि खाने में में ज़्यादा मज़ा आने लगा।

फिर अचानक से एक दिन बाज़ार ने बाबा रामदेव को भारतीय संस्कृति के ब्रांडिंग प्रोडक्ट के रूप में मार्केट में उतारा। बाबा ने योग और ध्यान के ज़रिये एक बार फिर से लोगों को भारतीय संस्कृति का पाठ पढ़ाया। मीडिया ने भी उनके बारे में जमकर प्रचार-प्रसार किया। सरकार तो पहले से ही उनके समर्थन में थी ही। फिर क्या था, लोगों को एक बार फिर से अपनी संस्कृति में सबकुछ अच्छा-अच्छा दिखने लगा।

बाबा ने प्राकृतिक उत्पादों के सेवन पर ज़ोर दिया, तो मार्केट में कद्दू के जूस, ऐलोवेरा, नीम, तुलसी, हल्दी, चंदन, गौ-मूत्र आदि से बने उत्पादों की बाढ़ आ गयी। उसके बाद धीरे-धीरे उन्होंने प्राकृतिक चीज़ों से बने अपने प्रोडक्ट को मार्केट में उतारना शुरू किया, जिसे लोगों ने हाथों-हाथ लिया। लोगों को एक बार फिर भारतीय तीज-त्यौहार अच्छे लगने लगे, अपनी संस्कृति पर गर्व होने लगा और पश्चिमी संस्कृति में खामियां नज़र आने लगी। हालांकि, बाबा रामदेव से पहले भी कई प्राचीन ऋषि-मुनियों ने योग, ध्यान, प्राकृतिक उत्पादों आदि की विशेषताओं पर बल देते हुए उन्हें अपने जीवन में शामिल करने पर बल दिया था, लेकिन उस समय उनकी ब्रांडिग करने के लिए मार्केट मौजूद नहीं था ना।

बाज़ार हमारे जीवन पर हावी होता जा रहा है-

क्या आपको ऐसा नहीं लगता कि आज बाज़ार ने हमारे जीवन में इस कदर घुसपैठ कर ली है कि हमारे आहार, विचार, व्यवहार सब उससे प्रभावित हैं। हमारे अपने सोचने-समझने की क्षमता कुंद पड़ती जा रही है। जो चीज़ कुछ दिनों पहले अच्छी लगती थी, अचानक से बाज़ार ने उसे गलत साबित कर दिया और हमें भी वह गलत लगने लगी। पिछले कुछ समय से देश-दुनिया में होने वाले राजनीतिक, सामाजिक, आर्थिक और सांस्कृतिक परिवर्तन इस बाज़ार की ही देन है।

बाज़ार का यह प्रभाव इतने खतरनाक स्तर तक पहुंच गया है कि आज हम व्यक्तिगत संबंधों पर भी इससे अछुते नहीं रहे हैं। बेटे को फलां कंपनी की जींस चाहिए, क्योंकि उसका प्रचार फलां अभिनेता करता है, बेटी को फलां कंपनी की लिपस्टिक चाहिए, क्योंकि बाज़ार बता रहा है कि वह प्राकृतिक समाग्री से निर्मित है। श्रीमती जी स्टोर से फलां कंपनी का तेल खरीदेंगी, क्योंकि बाज़ार कह रहा है कि उसमें वसा की मात्रा काफी कम है और श्रीमान जी भी फलां कंपनी का रेज़र चाहिए क्योंकि बाज़ार कहता है कि यह अधिक स्मूदनिंग प्रदान करता है।

इससे पहले चाहे हमारे बड़े-बुजुर्ग कहें, डॉक्टर कहें या फिर खुद भी भले समझ आ रहा हो कि फलां चीज़ हमारे स्वास्थ या हमारे जीवन के लिए सही नहीं है, लेकिन हमने उस पर ध्यान नहीं दिया, लेकिन आज बाज़ार कह रहा है, तो वह चीज़ हमारे लिए अच्छी या खराब हो गयी। ऐसा प्रतीत होता है मानो अपनी बुद्धि तेल लेने चली गयी है। हमारे लिए कौन-सी चीज़ अच्छी है और कौन-सी बुरी, यह जानते हुए भी अक्सर हम बाज़ार के दबाव में आकर बुरी चीज़ को अपना लेते हैं। इस बारे में अगर हम अब भी सचेत ना हुए और हमने अपनी बुद्धि से काम लेना शुरू ना किया, तो आनेवाले समय बेहद खतरनाक साबित हो सकता है।

The post जॉनसन & जॉनसन दोबारा जम जाएगा क्योंकि बाज़ार ही तो तय करता है हमारी ज़रूरतें appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

The Reason Kabir Is Relevant Well Beyond Our School Curriculum

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Organised religion inevitably turns into a confusing mesh of outdated codes and rituals and therefore invites a reaction against itself. Just as the 5th-century BC saw the emergence of Buddhism as an alternative to the rigid strictures of Hinduism, 15th-century India was a time when many prominent figures – poets and saints raised their voices against the malpractices then prevalent in the guise of religious customs.

Kabir, the 15th-century mystic, was an important figure of the Bhakti movement. He was an outspoken critic of the dogma that encumbered both Hinduism and Islam at the time. Possessing a cheerful and uninhibited personality, he was practically illiterate. Yet this did not deter him from reaching out to the masses and conveying his simple, yet profound, message. The vehicle of his verse was the easy-to-remember couplet and his language, called ‘khichdi’ was an amalgam of various Indian dialects.

Though Kabir’s poetry is in the curriculum of most Indian boards, I doubt if there is an effort to make the students understand the depth of his writings. Usually, the teacher dictates the literal meaning of the couplets included in the syllabus and the students reproduce the same in the exam hall. Thus, they lose a chance to learn a lesson that has the potential of changing their vision of life and give them a new-found sense of purpose. Perhaps it is because of the deceptive simplicity of his writings that we miss his message. He aimed at bestowing people with the most fundamental truth of life, knowledge that had hitherto been the preserve of only the upper-caste Brahmins and available only to those with access to the classical Vedas and Upanishads written in Sanskrit. He writes in one of his couplets-

जब मैं था तब हरि‍ नहीं, अब हरि‍ हैं मैं नाहिं।
प्रेम गली अति सॉंकरी, तामें दो न समाहिं ।।

(Till the time ego lived in my heart there was no lord, now when my lord lives in my heart there is no ego
love is a very narrow space which can not accommodate both at the same time)

The ‘मैं’ here is usually considered to mean pride. Whereas Kabir is really pointing out at the illusion that an independent ‘I’ exists and our identification with this ‘I’. In reality, it is just the play of language. All writing and speech is an attempt to label and affix. Grammar has fooled us into thinking that ‘I’ am the agent of my actions. However, in reality, there are only actions, no agent. When the body and mind are observed, it is found that there is no ‘person’ as such, there are only processes. Kabir tried to point towards this inseparability of the flow of life in his verse. He teaches us to see the world as it is and become free in the searing light of truth. We would do well to inculcate this spirit in our own lives.

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Revisiting ‘The Third Level’ By Jack Finney

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The past is a good place to visit, but certainly not a good place to stay. The Third Level by Jack Finney is an engrossing story set in the 1950s. The story is studded with numerous undertones of irony. It takes you back in time. It was a world when people hadn’t seen two of the bloodiest wars in the history of mankind. The story brings to light the fact that figments of someone’s imagination can be used for shying away from reality, which in all fairness, is harsh enough. Let us take a closer look at the story.

Overview

The Third Level tells the story of a 31-year-old guy named Charlie (not Charlie Sheen). One fine evening, while rushing home, he decides to take the subway from the Grand Central Station in New York City. He ends up finding himself on the Third Level of the Grand Central Station (there were only two levels). There, Charlie observes spittoons lying on the floor. He observes that people wear wearing derby hats and gold watches, which they kept in their vest pockets. He also sees a Currier & Ives locomotive.

Realising that he’s gone back in time, Charlie tries to buy tickets to Galesburg. During the lunch hour, the next afternoon, Charlie withdraws all his savings (nearly 500 US Dollars) to buy old style currency notes. Charlie narrates this incident to Sam, his friend who works as a psychiatrist. Sam concludes that the Third Level is nothing but a mere figment of Charlie’s imagination. The miseries which the modern world, full of war, worry and terror, had to offer made Charlie hallucinate about the existence of the Third Level.

Charlie succeeds in finding an evidence related to the Third Level’s existence. He discovers a letter addressed to him by his psychiatrist friend Sam. The letter was dated July 18, 1894. It seemed that Sam wasn’t as incredulous of the Third Level as he had appeared to be.

The Protagonist

Charlie’s a 31-year-old guy. He wore a Tan Gabardine suit (I remember Roger Moore wearing Tan Gabardine suits when he portrayed James Bond on screen). He’s an ordinary guy with a family. Peace and serenity happen to be the two things he wants rather desperately. His decision to stay back in the year 1894 reiterates his desire to live a peaceful and joyous life with his wife.

The Verdict

The story clearly explores the concept of time travel. Jack Finney explores the mentality of a common man. He succeeds in exposing the vulnerable side of a common man. A myriad of problems conspired to corrupt Charlie’s mind. It further robbed him of his senses, and in his panic induced state, he hallucinated about the Third Level at the Grand Central Station. Even though it was hard for Charlie to believe his eyes, he decided to stay there, in the year 1894.

What stands out in the entire story is the extent of ease with which Jack Finney was able to bring out a common man’s craving for peace and security. Like any common man, Charlie too appreciated the so-called ‘pleasures’ of everyday life and the security of the familiar. He wanted to stay in the past because 1894 was much more peaceful, secure, serene. The world in 1894 hadn’t seen the repercussions of war. The insecurities that came with war, terror, and disease had gotten the better of common folks like Charlie who wanted a transient relief from the harsh realities of life.

All in all, The Third Level brings us to the conclusion that people find it hard to make peace with unpleasant things they come across in life. The story further makes the reader realize that the past and future are real illusions. They exist in the present, which is all there is.

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Image source: perceptions (creative break)/Flickr

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Thank You Priyanka Chopra, For Showing Women That There’s Nothing Wrong In Being Ambitious

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Dear former Miss World,

The world watched when you released your first musical album. The world watched as you made Alex Parrish happen. The world watched when you made your first appearance on Ellen, your first Oscars, when you made your debut at the Emmy’s by breaking the unwritten rule of not wearing red on the red carpet, in all your glory. Everybody watched when you were awarded a Padma Shri and the honour of being on the Time and Forbes’ lists.

We know the commute from “The Hero” to “Baywatch” couldn’t have been easy, even though we’ve only been spectators in your journey. You’ve broken every stereotype and you’ve you done it not just by your unconventional choice of roles, you’ve shattered every glass-ceiling, not just with your speech at the Penguin Annual Lecture but by showing everyone that you’re truly beyond every tag. You’ve never given in to the prejudice of what an actor should be, you were never defined by the term woman of colour. You never allowed yourself to be tied down by these labels.

While some might say that social identities only come into play when we are faced by somebody who belongs to a contrasting group of the same category, you’ve shown us that being Priyanka is your only identity. I cannot think of another name from the entertainment industry that has become such a huge inspiration for women around the world. Your journey has been realistic and awe-inspiring, your empire has been built with blood, salt and water. It stands on pure hard work and diligence.

This is a thank you letter for showing women around the world your tremendous work ethic, for teaching them that they can be shit-hot at the whole shebang, that there is nothing wrong in being ambitious and wanting to have everything, be everywhere, to want the whole cake and eat it by themselves.

I can only congratulate you Priyanka, you’ve made it happen and along the way, you’ve inspired millions across the globe. You envisioned what a woman can be when she is unstoppable and you’ve showcased just that. We know your journey is still unfinished, so ride to glory world conquerer, I know you can look fabulous and keep a heart of gold while doing all of it.

– One of the many hearts you inspire, Maria.

Featured image source: Raajessh Kashyap/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

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13 Reasons Why – Decoded

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SPOILER ALERT

This article talks about drug use, sexual violence, physical abuse. Some readers may find it disturbing, please reach out to your support group in case this article triggers some unpleasant memories or experiences and contains spoilers for those who have not seen the series.

With two extremely successful seasons and a riveting storyline that captured the audiences, it was no wonder that 13 Reason Why was an immense hit. The first season premiered on March 31, 2017, and is a Netflix Original. Netflix has over a period of time come up with various hits and not-so-hit series and movies. This particular series is no doubt one of a kind.

The series starts with a young man who receives a mysterious set of tapes, and these tapes are the last testimonial of the recently deceased Hannah Baker. A girl who went through an extremely rough patch and this is putting it across in a very mild manner.

Hannah Baker decided to end her life after the school counsellor did not believe that she was sexually assaulted, she was slut-shamed and betrayed by her friends. Now, why would she decide to end her life? After all, haven’t we normalised bullying and take it as a part of growing up? Boys are told to ‘tough it out’, and girls are asked to ‘deal with it’, as this is the reality of life.

Hannah was trying to fight depression and the fact that she kept all this from her parents can be construed as a mistake, but then when we grow up, we realise that our parents may not as perfect as they seem, and the subtle reality of life starts making sense.

At an age where our bodies are changing, we’re dealing with hormonal changes and newfound desires add on to the fact that our reality, financial or otherwise starts making sense, and we tend to hide things. Not because we don’t trust others around us but of the fact that most of us don’t want to add on to the pressure that our family is going through. As kids, we feel the least we can do to help our parents is to ensure that we are ideal kids and try to deal with our problems, after all, we all trying to be ready for the real world.

Hannah is going through the same turmoil, from finding out about her fathers’ affair to realising that her parents’ business is not doing well and overhearing their arguments about financial woes this girl was trying to make the best of the situation and the reality that she was living in. She had her flaws and lived with the guilt of being a witness to her friend Jessica being raped by Bryce, who later on, we find out is a highly manipulative and abusive person who has raped quite a few women in a drunken state or otherwise.

We all feel that in difficult situations, we will intervene as heroes and some of us are able to step in but some of us freeze with fear. Both these reactions are normal in their own way, the fact that Jessica’s boyfriend was aware of the ordeal she was going through does not help Hannah.

Irrespective of how she was, one of the primary reasons why this show became a hit was the fact that it talks about issues that we don’t want to admit happens, from rapists being allowed to walk free to boys who are dealing with the guilt of their actions.

This show amazingly shows the journey of its characters and how they deal with the aftermath of everything that happened. Season 1 focuses Hannah’s take on things, and in season 2 we find out that Hannah was not as perfect, she had her flaws but was trying to make things right and not give up hope until the point she did.

As a viewer who only recently binged watched the two seasons, I can say that there are too many triggers. I was pleasantly surprised as the show explored the various aspects of growing up in a time where social media is used to bullying, the bullies find out new ways of blackmailing their victims, the jock culture and peer pressure that is reaching new levels. To say that kids can use their intellect to say ‘no’ and be smart is easy, but being a kid is not easy. Each generation that walks faces new threats and new issues that may not have been dealt with by their predecessors.

Apart from addressing the rape and the jock culture, the show addresses the issue of how triggers work for survivors and how it can be unimaginably painful (for those who are not aware, a trigger is an incident that can cause flashbacks of the trauma or create emotional distress in a person).

Jessia resorts to drinking and drugs to deal with her trauma. She’s trying to deal with her life as her peers refused to believe what her deceased said about her being raped and how her boyfriend knew about the ordeal. The protagonist Clay loved Hannah and becomes something of an unsung hero for everyone in the series.

The most pivotal point in the series for me came in season 2. I am talking about the rape of Tyler, he was sodomised by the bullies (makes me wonder what kind of a school this was), from a production and cinematography point of view, the entire sequence has been shown brilliantly and Devin Druid who plays the role of Tyler has acted very well in that scene. Druid has portrayed a character who has a love-hate relationship with the audiences and done it amazingly well.

So, be it the strong cast or the taboos that this show addresses, it’s one show that has triggers but is worth watching (apart from the season 2 finale, find that part a little hard to digest).

As I conclude this, I think I will watch season 2 again and get ready to cry some, when Clay says goodbye to Hannah.

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Image source: 13 Reasons Why/Facebook

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A Separatist Leader’s Daughter Topped J&K Boards And Social Media Only Had Hate To Offer

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“Wonder Woman”, a 2017 American superhero film based on one of the largest and oldest American comic books from DC comics, directed by Patty Jenkins, opens with the voice of Gal Gadot, who plays Daina Prince/Wonder Woman:

“I used to want to save the world, this beautiful place. But I knew so little then. It’s a land of beauty and wonder, worth cherishing in every way,” she says. “But the closer you get, the more you see the great darkness simmering within. I learned this the hard way, a long, long time ago.”

This may be true for someone who recently outclassed everyone else in the CBSE Board Examination. I assure Gal Gadot that the daughter of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) chief Shabir Ahmed Shah has come face-to-face with the simmering darkness in a harder way.

On May 26, this year, daughter of separatist leader Shabir Shah, who is currently in Tihar jail, topped the CBSE Class 12 exams in Jammu and Kashmir. A student of Delhi Public School (DPS) Athwajan, Srinagar, Sama Shabir Shah secured 97.8% marks.

Ahead of this news, many people in Kashmir realized that the world suffers from an incessant shortage of appreciation, good and informed manners. Some people, instead of congratulating the girl, started challenging her outlook. Others were busy circulating her videos and uploading screenshots of pictures on freshly created Instagram accounts despite knowing the difficult circumstances she faced with her father in Tihar. Almost none of them gladly praised the young student.

In some parts of the world, young people are often taught fair treatment, how to widen access to their dreams and how to disagree in a civil manner. But a particular section of people around the world wants nothing to do with this. In these peoples’ imagination, the families of political leaders appear and disappear all day long in what they call as unlawful clothes, and disgrace follows.

In 2016, when Afzal Guru’s son scored distinction in his 10th class board exams, a fake quote in the name of Anupam Kher sought the rechecking of his papers to which Ghalib Guru responded, “Anybody who is interested to check my papers he/she can check and my marks will not slash but surely will increase.”

After this statement, people in Kashmir kept their screens buzzing with “Ghalib’s befitting reply to Anupam Kher” posts on social media.

Everybody started to shift their focus towards Ghalib and flooded their social media timeline in support. Even now, another young student is facing a crisis but this time people are not ready to uphold the moral responsibility to support her. Some people blame this tragedy on gender inequality in the valley while others have a different story to tell.

According to some in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, some girls on social media networks are creating the wrong kind of attention for themselves in an attempt to be viewed in a certain way. Instead of being recognized for their intelligence, thoughts and ideas, they are objectifying themselves. They believe that this creates a general notion about girls among countless social media users who then see every other girl with the same thought.

One of the reasons, they think, is that women are in a constant battle to be seen as equals and this prevents progress because their goal shifts from doing something good in society to being seen as equals. So when a girl achieves something based on her intellect, these users deny her capacity and see her in the same light.

According to Statista, which generates data on social media and users, social networking is one of the most popular online activities with high user engagement rates and expanding mobile possibilities. It states that social networking penetration worldwide is ever increasing and it is estimated that in 2019 there will be around 2.77 billion social media users around the globe and these figures are expected to grow up from 2.46 billion in 2017.

2018 is the year of pride in Jammu and Kashmir. Sama Shabir, daughter of Jammu and Kashmir separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah, has topped the 12th board examination in the state. This time inspiration came to our doorsteps, but most social media users have ignored the hardships she faced in the midst of the Indian fury. Some users are also questioning her studying in one of the elite schools in Kashmir.

Contrary to what some users are showing to their audience outside about Jammu and Kashmir, there are still people who are proud for her.

A Srinagar-based journalist and editor, Majid Maqbool, while reacting on the issue wrote on his Facebook timeline, Sama Shabir has excelled and done what she was supposed to do despite difficult circumstances. Now those circulating her vidoes speak more about themselves than her, or her father. Leave her alone. Better still, mind your own work. Or support the education of a pellet hit student, for example. Elders, adults who provide lengthy juvenile arguments, criticizing her and commenting on what clothes she wears, should think about spending a week, minus Facebook, in a jail cell or confined to their homes, to imagine what decades of incarceration and separation means for the daughter, and her father.”

We need to rise up from the wild accusations, false claims and show respect to the family.

May sense and peace prevail in its true sense!

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‘Choose Your Friends Carefully’ And 3 Other Life Lessons I Learned From ‘Sanju’

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Braving the notorious Mumbai rains, I went to watch the movie “Sanju”. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, I had heard this movie was the biopic of my favourite actor and childhood crush Sanjay Dutt, played by Ranbir Kapoor. I remember imagining myself as Farah and singing that song with Dutt from the movie “Inamdar”, “Aur is dil mein kya rakha hai/Tera hi dard chupa rakha hai/ Cheer ke dekhein dil mera toh/Tera hi naam likha rakha hai,” and weeping bitterly as I felt it should have been my name written on Dutt’s heart. Since then, I had watched several movies of Dutt and my love for him turned to hatred when he was arrested in April 1993 under provisions of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) for possessing an AK 56 rifle in connection with Mumbai blasts.

So I decided to go and watch the movie of this ‘bad’ man who had claimed to have slept with 300+ women, had been an addict, had been a terrorist, had been the black sheep in the family, and had gone through two divorces. I was swearing when the movie started.

It did start on a hilarious note with Sanju mocking the writer who he had asked to write a biography on him. The writer had started the draft by comparing Dutt with Mahatma Gandhi. And Dutt retorting “Pehle hi chapter mein Gandhi bana diya hai, toh end tak toh bhagwan bana dega (If you’ve made me Gandhi in the first chapter itself, I’ll become God by the end of the book).” I laughed. Silly start, this man had been a terrorist and I was guessing Raj Kumar Hirani is attempting to get Dutt some redemption.

But that was not the case. The movie turned brutally harsh as it spoke of a broken childhood, drug abuse, the effect of bad company and also the fact that parents should not expect the moon from a child. Don’t get me wrong please, I am not here to share a review of “Sanju” that has already been written by many top media houses. I have something else to offer. The lessons one can learn from this bad man and his biopic.

The movie had been narrated by three persons. First, the writer Winnie Diaz played by Anushka Sharma whom Dutt requests to pen his biopic; second is his best friend Kamli played by Vicky Kaushal; third is Sunil Dutt played by Paresh Rawal.

The first lesson: Beware of drugs, stay away from addiction. Choose your friends carefully

Sanju asks Winnie to pen his biography so that people know the exact truth behind his tragic life. Here, Winnie is deterred by Zubin Mistry (played by Jim Sarbh) saying that Sanju is nothing but a druggie whom he had known for years. He points to a scar on his forehead and blames Dutt for it. On being asked about this, Dutt reveals the truth to Winnie.

Sanju had met Zubin on a film set where Sanju was nervous on giving the first shot. He was scared of Sunil Dutt who was directing the film and to get the shot right he puffs a cigarette from Zubin to calm himself. That was the beginning of his destruction. Zubin takes him to the land of drugs. It was Zubin who introduced Dutt to marijuana, hashish, LSD, heroin, cocaine, and several inhalants. While Zubin tricked him by consuming glucose powder himself, he dragged Dutt down. So be careful about who you call your friend.

Dutt did not understand good versus evil but now you can. And never ever try drugs. We get hoards of advertisements saying that smoking causes cancer and alcohol is injurious to health, but trust me, drugs will finish you forever.

Another word of caution, recovery from drug abuse is very difficult. Sanju had to go through rehabilitation in America where he dealt with tremendous withdrawal symptoms, and even tried to flee from the de-addiction centre. His life was highly influenced by his mother Nargis Dutt and he looked at her as his role model to fight the addiction.

On his return to India when Zubin tried to force drugs on him, Sanju beats him up and thus the cut mark on the forehead. So I hope the lesson is now loud and clear. Choose your company carefully and steer clear of drugs.

The second lesson: A friend in need is a friend indeed 

The innocent friend Kamlesh aka Kamli who an immigrant in NYC, becomes a pillar of support for Dutt. Kamli had met Dutt in the hospital where Nargis was recuperating and being an ardent fan of Nargis Dutt, he wanted to gift a statue of Ganapati for her recovery. Nargis Dutt battled cancer for a long time, and to combat that grief, Dutt resorted to using drugs.

It was Kamli who helped him get out of the addiction, provided a shoulder each time Dutt broke down and also stood by him during his bad days. He even postponed his plan to buy a car and rushed to India when Dutt called him in desperation, pleading to save him. So, there you are. This is the kind of friendship one should share. I too have severed ties with my school friends with whom I grew up. They were backstabbing spoilsports. In our WhatsApp group, there were two men who were Corex addicts and also alcoholics, and these friends of mine supported their acts instead of urging them to stop. So what is the use of this friendship? Better to be alone rather being in the company of fake friends. Go get a friend like Kamli who will stand by you in your difficult times, who will help you when the need arises.

The third lesson: Parenting, dealing with childhood and adolescence 

Dutt was scared of his father. He confided in Kamli that his father never praised him and wanted him to be a perfectionist. That was one of the reasons he took to drugs. Sr. Dutt understood it only after Kamli intervened and asked Dutt saab to look at Sanju as an ordinary human and not a superhero. Even Sanju breaks down in front of his father saying that he didn’t want to die because of drugs.

Parents, don’t get me wrong. I know your intentions are good but breathe easy. Senior Dutt later became a friend with Sanju and in the process, got his son rid of the addiction, gangsters, and helped him become a celebrated film artist. Go praise your child even for the smallest achievement. Appreciate even their smallest win. It will boost your child’s confidence.

The fourth lesson: Find true love

Dutt made the mistake of having sex with numerous women and that is offensive and also an unpardonable act. As a counsellor myself, I would like to say it was a result of losing his mother at a very young age. Search for your soulmate instead. Dutt, after all his failed relationships, found solace in Manyata. Wait for your time. Do not play with emotions. It will ultimately harm you. Dutt even slept with Kamli’s girlfriend and I strongly condemn the act. I blame both of them. It is sheer immaturity and as I said pure lust. Manayata stood by Dutt all the while he was in jail. She took care of the kids, managed the lawyers and countless other issues which we may not even be aware of. So there you are. Understand the difference between love and lust.

These are the four lessons which I learned from watching this movie. I don’t want to discuss Dutt’s issues with AK 56 and Bombay blasts. Supreme Court has already taken care of it. But yes, one thing I would like to make clear, I don’t think that he is a terrorist. As I said, bad company, drugs, illicit affairs, immaturity, early loss of mother made him so vulnerable that he kept the gun to protect his father but paid a high price for it and it has been well portrayed in the movie. In fact, you will get a brush of his perils inside the jail once you see the trailer.

To conclude, while the first half of the movie dragged, it gained momentum in the second half. Making a biopic is very demanding and Raj Kumar Hirani deserves accolades for portraying such excruciating details. The cast and crew have done a wonderful job. Watch Sanju for tears, laughter, life lessons, pain, struggle and everything. Go grab some popcorn and watch the movie today!

The post ‘Choose Your Friends Carefully’ And 3 Other Life Lessons I Learned From ‘Sanju’ appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

TRP के लिए बच्चों के इमोशन्स के साथ खेल रहे हैं चाइल्ड रिएलिटी शोज़

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एक ज़माना था जब दूरदर्शन पर आने वाले “महाभारत” को सारा मोहल्ला एक साथ बैठकर देखता था। टीवी बहुत कम लोगों के पास हुआ करता था। फिर समय आया केबल टीवी का, जब सारा परिवार साथ बैठकर कोई शो देखा करता था। अब “नेटफ्लिक्स” और ऑनलाइन सीरीज़ का ज़माना है, जो हर कोई अपने छोटे टीवी यानी मोबाइल पर अकेले देखता है। शायद कटेंट बढ़ गया है और हम कम हो गए हैं। खैर! जिस भी समय की बात हो, किड्स टैलेंट शोज़ को हमेशा टीवी पर एक अलग जगह मिली है।

मेरी उम्र आठ-नौ साल रही होगी, सा रे गा मा पा लिटिल चैंप्स जैसे अन्य टैलेंट शोज़ टीवी पर आते थे। संगीत में दिलचस्पी के कारण बहुत ही मन से ये कार्यक्रम देखता था, लगता था कि कभी मैं भी यहां अपनी जगह बनाऊंगा, पर जब थोड़ा बड़ा हुआ तो समझ आया कि उन कार्यक्रमों में रिएलिटी के नाम पर झूठ और शोषण के अलावा और कुछ नहीं है। टैलेंट शोज़ के भयानक पहलुओं से रूबरू कराने से पहले बता दूं कि जिस मकसद से ये शोज़ चलाएं जाते हैं (बच्चे के अंदर की छिपी हुई कला को बाहर निकालना) उसके ठीक उलट उस कला का गला घोंट देते हैं।

पहले ये बच्चों के अंदर के बचपने को खत्म कर उसके हल्के से मन में भारी भरकम इमोशन्स भरते हैं, फिर उनमें मौजूद हज़ारों जिज्ञासाओं को टीआरपी की बलि चढ़ा देते हैं। बचपन से उन्हें एक सिस्टम को फॉलो कराया जाता है, कब हंसना है? कब रोना है? कितना ड्रामा करना है? टीआरपी के भूखे भेड़िये बच्चों के असली जज़्बातों को खत्म कर देते हैं।

जज़्बात खत्म करने से वह बच्चों के अंदर की कला को वहीं मार देते हैं, फिर वह बच्चे बस बस शो की स्क्रिप्ट की कठपुतली बन जाते हैं। तीन से चार व्यक्ति स्टेज के सामने बैठे इन कठपुतलियों को दूसरों के लिखे, गाए हुए गानों को गंवा कर जज करते हैं। वयस्क मज़ाक और ज़बरदस्ती की इमोशनल अपील एक समय बाद उनके व्यक्तित्व का हिस्सा बन उनकी नींव को खोखला बना देती हैं।

इन प्रोग्रामों को देखने वाले बच्चे भी अभी से ही भौतिकवादी सीढ़ियां तलाशना शुरू कर देते हैं। शो में आए मां-बाप ऐसे प्रतीत होते हैं जैसे बच्चे उन पर नहीं बल्कि वो बच्चों पर निर्भर हों। जज़्बातों को उग्र कर उसमें फिल्म प्रमोशन का तड़का डाल टीआरपी वाले तो खूब कमा लेते हैं पर शो जीतने वाले को छोड़कर अन्य प्रतिभागी कौन सी गुमनामी के अंधेरे में गुम हो जाते हैं पता भी नहीं लगता। चकाचौंध से उतर उन्हें वापस अपनी ज़िंदगी में लौटना पड़ता है जो फिर उन्हें बेरंगी लगती है।

टीवी की चकाचौंध में अपना वर्चस्व बनाए रखने के लिऐ ये बच्चे अपने मन की आवाज़ को अनसुना कर देते हैं। शायद इसलिए ही यूरोपियन और वेस्टर्न देशों में स्वतंत्र कलाकारों की भारी संख्या है और भारत में कमी। खैर, यूट्यूब और अन्य सोशल मीडिया मंचों की वजह से इंडिपेंडेंट कलाकारों की संख्या में इज़ाफा हुआ है पर लोगों की प्राथमिकता अभी भी टैलेंट शोज़ ही हैं।

The post TRP के लिए बच्चों के इमोशन्स के साथ खेल रहे हैं चाइल्ड रिएलिटी शोज़ appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

The Tales Of Trollum, A Dangerous Social Media Vigilante

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If you’ve spent any time online or on social media, you’ve come across a social media vigilante. It’s that friend who complained about her Uber driver in a Facebook post, that uncle who sent you a WhatsApp forward about seeing rats at a fast food outlet or that neighbour who tweeted about a suspicious man lurking outside the gate of your co-op. Now that everyone has a smartphone and an internet connection, they think they can pass judgement on anyone who they feel has wronged them. And considering all the personal information available online – especially our locations – doling out the punishment without involving the authorities would not be that difficult.

What follows are the misadventures of Trollum (a.k.a. social media vigilantes) and how they can be a danger.

Trollum And The Big Red Panic Button

One of the biggest problems with vigilantism on social media is how easy it is to actually do it. Just pick up your phone and accuse away. Proof? Who needs that? All you need is enough prejudiced suspicion. Trollum sees a criminal stereotype, assumes it is, in fact, a criminal and hits the big red panic button. That’s what happened to Eoin McKeogh. A video intended to expose two men evading cab fare was posted on social media, where one man called the other ‘Eoin’. The video went viral and someone commented that Eion McKeogh as the Eion in the video. Overnight, Eion McKeogh became infamous, accused of being a ‘scumbag’ and a ‘thief’. Once the matter actually went to court, Eoin presented his passport to prove he was in Japan when the video was taken. On a much bigger scale, Steven Rudderham was accused of being a paedophile by someone on Facebook. The backlash was so severe that Rudderham committed suicide due to all the threats and accusations. In 2017, an apparent shooting on Oxford Street in London went viral on social media. People rushed to escape the area, causing injuries in the ensuing stampede. When these ‘too quick to accuse’ trolls don’t consider evidence while making the accusations, their victim’s reputations are hurt, whether they are guilty or not. If you asked Eion McKeogh, Steven Rudderham’s family or all those people on Oxford Street that day, they would say this form of social media vigilantism can be very very dangerous.

Trollum And The Corporate Take-Down

Social media’s wide reach and accessibility have caused a paradigm shift in the service, food and hospitality industries. Remember those feedback form you get after a meal? Well, who needs those when you can rant about bad service in 280 characters on Twitter. While this makes reviewing easier for customers to avail better service from industries who want to maintain their reputation and business, it also brings corporations and retail employees at the mercy of customers. Kind of like when Snapchat’s stocks were affected by Kylie Jenner denounced its new update or when Wendy’s found itself on the wrong side of the #MeToo movement.  In 2015, a study found that 50% of the surveyed organisations were unfairly targetted by online trolls and about 1 in 5 organisations spent at least 30,000 pounds/year to put right the malicious online criticism against them. Thanks to the extreme PC on the internet, a lot of these takedowns have to do with misunderstood ad campaigns. When cosmetic company Lush launched a campaign to support a documentary about obesity, it was accused of fat shaming. What ensued in their comments section speaks for itself.

Trollum And The Criminals That Weren’t

Social media has definitely aided in nabbing criminals. However, there have been instances when good intentioned fingers were pointed at the innocent. The most prominent example is that of Sunil Tripathi. Tripathi was a Brown University student who went missing a month before the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013. Based on hazy conjecture and shoddy guesswork, some people raised suspicions that the timing of this might mean that he was the Boston bomber. The resulting social media trial resulted in regular attacks and death threats against the Tripathi family until the real bombers were caught and it was found that Sunil was missing because he had committed suicide. In Jharkhand, WhatsApp messages about ‘child-lifters’ created panic among tribal groups. This panic eventually culminated in the lynching of four men on the suspicion that were child-lifters. It was later found that the messages contained false information.

Trollum And The Bait Hook

Trollum really enjoys calling out celebrities for straying too far away from their ‘pretty and polished’ jobs and actually having an opinion. They hope they’ll get worldwide attention and if people agree with them, they’ll get validation too. But that’s not what really happens. Most times, they end up baiting other users into joining in on the attack causing a social media hurricane for the celebrity.

One of the most famous examples is when Milo Yiannopoulos turned Twitter users against Ghostbusters star, Leslie Jones, resulting in vicious racist attacks against her. Things got so bad that Twitter has now banned Milo Yiannopoulos from their platform for life and Leslie Jones had to take some break from Twitter. Zelda Williams, daughter of actor Robin Williams, was mocked for her father’s suicide, people even put up pictures of Robin William’s head edited on a dead body with marks around its neck. Alia Bhatt was mercilessly trolled for not knowing who the Prime Minister of India was on the show “Koffee with Karan”. When Neha Dhupia tweeted about good governance and safety, she was criticised for daring to have an opinion, even given threats and abuses. Celebrities can become important leaders of change due to their widespread influence, shutting them and their opinions down on social media with a ‘you should just focus on looking pretty’ attitude has become common, but can be very dangerous.

Trollum And The Game Of Shame

Social media vigilantes love to shame people who they deem to be wrong. ‘Politically correcting’ public opinion is the social media vigilante’s way of bettering the world, one tweet at a time. And the way they like to do this is by shaming people into submission. However, many times, this turning deadly. When some anti-abortion activists released a ‘hit list’ with information about abortion providers, it led to eight murders. A girl from Korea was shamed on the internet when she didn’t pick up her dog’s poop from the sidewalk. Was she wrong? Yes, but she didn’t deserve the public shaming that came after. Similarly, Justine Sacco tweeted racist humour while boarding a flight to South Africa. By the time she reached, she had been fired and become the world’s most hated person of the day.

Trollum And The Spam Gang

When social media vigilantes are also technologically competent, they launch high scale DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service attacks) against their targets. They not only pose a problem for normal civilians but governments too. Groups like the Lizard Squad and Anonymous are prime examples of this. A DDoS attack is when a website is flooded with so much internet traffic that it’s knocked offline. Lizard Squad has claimed to launch the attacks against Pokemon Go servers as well as the Xbox servers apparently so that children could spend time with their family instead of electronics. They also created a service through which a person could launch DDoS attacks on victims with a set amount monthly. Anonymous is a decentralised hacktivist group with the aim of delivering social justice through cyber-attacks. It has hacked into ISIS’ social media and taken down their websites. It has taken down child-abuse websites. While most of these sound positive, the methods of execution can be questionable, especially since it operates outside the law. The vigilante group LetzGo Hunting poses as vulnerable children online in an attempt to catch and punish paedophiles. One such person was Gary Cleary, who committed suicide after he was targeted by LetzGo Hunting, even though the police had not charged him with any crime.

Trollum is clearly getting bigger, nastier and stronger by the day. Many Indian cyber law experts have suggested amendments to India’s IT law so that these social media vigilantes can be brought within the jurisdiction of the law and dealt with appropriately. But just like cases of sexual harassment, cases of cyber harassment are grossly under-reported. So netizens, if you’re a victim of an online crime, reporting it to the authorities is the best way to only get justice for yourself but also to ensure that IT laws in India are updated to prevent these crimes from happening again.

The post The Tales Of Trollum, A Dangerous Social Media Vigilante appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

What It Feels Like To Be In Love With A Haryanvi Guy

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He’s too hot and too cold to handle at the same time. His hotness melts you inside-out and his cold attitude towards everything will shake you from within.

His tenderness will make you feel loved and wanted. Once he falls for you seriously, there will be no one who can love you more than him.

His courageous nature will give you a sense of security all the time. His walking style shows you his command over the world.

His short temper will bring you face-to-face with many situations where you will see him shouting at others, abusing freely, and unnecessarily turning a normal conversation into a fight. Later, he will give you an explanation like, “Jaat hoon, nahi hota control (I am a Jaat, I can’t control myself).” Even though you’ll eventually get used to it, the goosebumps you get on each such incident will never vanish.

You will fall in love with his native language. It may sound pretty disrespectful to you in the beginning, but you will soon start enjoying it. The way he’ll give you names and say those favourite lines, you will have no reaction left than a smile.

Gradually, you will notice him surrounded by his so-called good friends, whom you don’t like at all. They will endlessly try to ruin him in numerous ways – encourage him to loiter, smoke, drink or flirt with other women. No matter how hard you try, you’ll fail several times in trying to make him a decent guy.

He will find you dominating, stubborn and arrogant. He’ll claim that you initiate all the fights that happen between you two. Give him time, he’ll contradict his words later on.

He will soon try adapting to you, he will start controlling his anger, and become that sweetheart you always wanted. He will try giving up toxic friendships and habits. But don’t forget that some things will always be the same. Like he says, “Jaat hoon, ye ni chootega (I am a Jaat, I can’t leave this).”

As soon as you realise that everything is going on in your favour, be prepared. You’re heading towards an explosive event. You see, they’re full of unexpected things and are one of the most unpredictable personalities ever. It’ll feel like a roller coaster ride of a lifetime. You’ll witness yourself laughing, smiling, crying, begging, shouting, upset, all at the same time. They’ll hurt you with their words and will later use words coated with sugar and dipped in honey once they realise that they hurt you. He’ll be your mood swinger for sure.

They are pretty good liars and can be very secretive. They also get irritated very fast but calm down faster. They cry as much as they laugh but only when they get too emotional, which will be the rarest of rare cases.

Being with them, you will see many changes in yourself too. You’ll become more patient, more down-to-earth, more caring. You’ll learn to enjoy life, learn to sing and dance with them, learn to be carefree, learn to laugh and smile often, learn to forgive the biggest mistakes. You’ll discover a new self with him.

Beware. Once you fall for them, you’ll lose control over yourself. Whether you plan to give up on him or he does, neither of you are going anywhere. They have the ability to hold on to you no matter how much you make up your mind to leave. You just can’t leave them. And they know it very well.

Yes, they are different, entirely different. But they are unique. You won’t find all these traits in anybody else except them. They’re really soft and delicate from the heart, don’t be judgemental of their outer harshness. Once they fall in love seriously, they fall really hard. Be with him and he’ll do anything and everything to keep you.

The post What It Feels Like To Be In Love With A Haryanvi Guy appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

The Stand-up Special ‘Nanette’ Is A Reflection Of The Brutal World We Live In

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“There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself” – Hannah Gadsby

The Netflix stand-up comedy special “Nanette” by Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby is trending on social media because of her relevant, honest, and fearless content. Hannah Gadsby, who identifies as a lesbian, has faced struggles and discrimination not just in her career but even way before that. In “Nanette”, Gadsby shows us how human beings are often filled with hatred and loathing, which often has an adverse effect on the lives of people around them. Women especially feel constantly triggered and scared in a room full of men, when in an ideal world, they would have no reason to be.

She breaks down how comedians often have to suppress and alter the memories of traumatic incidents so that they can make jokes out of them. This revelation by Gadsby is transformational, and a revelation for many. It urges people to speak out against injustice but also reminds them to be vulnerable to be able to heal their own wounds. Her show is not just a reflection of the world of stand-up comedy, but also the one that we live in.

The post The Stand-up Special ‘Nanette’ Is A Reflection Of The Brutal World We Live In appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

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