Swati was looking for internship opportunities, but despite constant efforts, she couldn’t get one. After multiple rejections, she realised that lack of experience and skill-gap made her profile below par and was the reason for all the rejections. Unfortunately, there are millions of students like Swati out there. But fortunately, there is a solution to help solve this problem and that is — Online learning.
The certificate you will receive at the successful completion of the training (offline or online) will help put you a step ahead of your peers and the knowledge will help give you an in-depth understanding about the subject. It would help boost your resume and in seeking career opportunities as employers prefer students who have relevant skills and understanding.
There has been a debate about online learning for some time, students often wonder – if it is solving a problem or creating problems? To help you make an informed decision we will discuss both the aspects.
To Begin With, What Is Online Learning?
Unlike the conventional learning in a classroom, online learning makes the content available for students digitally. Students can learn online, anywhere and anytime. Instead of physical copies of books, e-learning uses visual content and gamification.
Boon?
Learning has always been a long and tedious journey. Offline centers and study material usually make learning monotonous and the student tends to lose interest after a while, but online learning has made it interesting, fun and a cakewalk. You can relax back in your seat while the knowledge is displayed on your screen.
Some Of The Perks Of Online Learning Are:
1. Economical: In the case of online training, students’ aim is to learn so companies do not incur any expenses in miscellaneous offline activities and money is spent only on developing the content for the student thereby lowering the cost of training. Moreover, the time you might have spent commuting can now be saved.
2. Get your doubts cleared: While learning, doubts might arise about the topic and students usually hesitate in asking questions in front of the class. In online learning, you are an anonymous user and your doubts, as frivolous, they may be, do not have to be asked in front of a class full of students. It will help you in getting your doubts cleared without a hesitation.
3. Flexibility:You will be able to learn a new skill as per your timeline while devoting as many hours in a day as you would like. The short breaks that students usually encounter during professional and academic career and spend procrastinating can now be spent in a productive way.
Bane?
With the increase in the number of students opting for online learning, there have been various doubts associated with it. Students and parents wonder if it is value for money or if all the doubts will be answered or would they be losing out by not being in a classroom? Students find it difficult to imagine how the topics which are taught in the classrooms will be taught through online mediums. Students even worry about getting duped and because of these questions they stay vary from opting for an online training.
The questions that might arise are justified but can easily be avoided with thorough research about the platform offering the training. Even platforms are working towards bridging the gap so as to provide a flawless experience for the student and help remove all their qualms.
Over the past couple of years, online learning has grown exponentially and is becoming a mainstream medium for learning. With the rise in competition among students, it is essential to have in-depth knowledge and stay up to date with relevant skills. The final choice is yours — offline or online?
About the author: Sarvesh Agrawal is the founder and CEO of Internshala – an internship and training platform.
In 2015 , an Indian film achieved remarkable appreciation and acclaim. It won the National Award in India. and also received an entry in best foreign language category for the Oscars.
But what was so special about this film?
The film was “Court”, a courtroom drama about a social activist and folk singer who is arrested for encouraging a sewerage worker to commit suicide through his songs. Written and directed by first-time director Chaitanya Tamhane , the film throws light on flaws in the judicial system of India; issues such as social inequity, freedom of expression and the problems of the working class, especially sewerage workers and the type of suffering they encounter.
Apart from subtly portraying the examination of the judicial system, the film also takes us into the personal lives of the main characters. The story revolves around the accused folk singer, the prosecuter, the defence attorney, and the main judge of the court. Through these four lead characters, the director wants to make us understand the difference between their ideologies, their perspective towards life, their way of living, and their personal values. It is a kind of film that doesn’t tell or provide an actual concept about each scene, but it puts questions before us and makes us think and analyse each scene.
To give the audience a perfect sense of realism, Tamhane has used a very unique cinematic style. With the use of camera, locations, sets, and, most importantly, non-professional actors, the director has done an excellent job and managed to provide the audience a very disturbing reality of the judicial process.
As far as the cinematography of the film is concerned, there are very few cuts in film, and long running scenes and wide shots are more. The director has deliberately done so to immerse the audience in the situations, pain, frustration, and the illogicality that happens.
The music is another very important aspect of this film, as it helps to grasp the base and essence of the film as well as the significance of freedom of expression. The songs and music sung and composed by Sambhaji Bhagat is a form of powada and lokshahiri, Marathi poetry genres.
Overall, “Court” is a must-watch film if one wants to understand how the work of judicial system in multicultural country like India happens, and what kind of problems the judicial system is facing today.
Rita Mae Brown once said, “Language is the roadmap of a culture”. She could not have been truer, given the important role languages have played in defining not only cultural heritage of people but also their socio-political realities. Languages have been important in international history and politics since time immemorial. Geo-political demarcations and units have been largely co-terminus with a people mostly sharing a language and culture. In India, we have come a long way since the writings using the Indus script were emblazoned on seals of the Indus Valley Civilization [1, 2] and the early days when diacritical symbols were used to associate vowels with consonants, a characteristic feature still seen in modern languages such as Hindi, in the Brahmi script [3, 4].
Post-independence, languages were used as the major basis for reorganizing states in the new Republic of India [5-7]. The States Reorganisation Act (1956) was a major reform of the boundaries of India’s states and territories, organizing them along linguistic lines [8]. Since then, we have had everything from the anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu in 1965 [9, 10] and the Official Languages Act that was eventually amended in 1967 that ensured the current “virtual indefinite policy of bilingualism” of the Indian Republic [11]. The linguistic diversity in the country has flourished over the years, albeit brief spells of political turbulence based on it, from time to time. As per the 2011 census, 43.63% spoke Hindi, 8.03% Bengali, 6.86% Marathi, 6.70% Telugu and 5.70% Tamil, while the remaining 29.08% spoke various other languages [12].
West Bengal is the one state where the interplay of the two languages with the largest number of speakers – Hindi and Bengali – is most visible. Lately, there have been certain developments that have perturbed the dynamics of linguistic influences on the politics of the state. In this article, I would like to focus on the same and highlight the major points regarding this topic of relevance. I would conclude the article with a perspective on languages in contemporary Indian politics, in general, and a possible way forward.
The Banglabhashi and Linguistic Heritage of Bengal
Sanskrit was spoken in Bengal since the first millenium BCE, besides the Middle Indo-Aryan dialects called Magadhi Prakrit that later evolved into Ardha Magadhi and Apabhramsa in what was then a Magadhan realm, and Bengal subsequently became a hub of Sanskrit literature during the Gupta period [13-16]. Bengali evolved from Sanskrit and Magadhi Prakrit in about the turn of the first millenium CE, with a strand of Apabhramsa evolving into local dialects and subsequently into three major groups: Bihari, Odia and Bengali-Assamese languages [17, 18]. While proto-Bengali was the court language of the Pala and Sena dynasties, Bengali itself was promoted by the Bengal Sultanate as the official court language and as the most widely spoken vernacular language.
The irony of our times is that a government that claims to be more close to ‘Ma, Mati, Maanush’ than most others is doing much less for the language than was done previously by trying to do a lot more. The kind of linguistic chauvinism that was displayed in Mamata Banerjee’s push for the compulsory teaching of Bengali from Class I to X was deplorable. This is irrespective of which board a school is affiliated to or what a student’s mother tongue is. It did more harm to the idea of Bengal, which has always been tolerant and inclusive, than good. She also jeopardized talks with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, in the process. Bengal has never had divisions along linguistic, communal or caste-based lines as much as in other parts of the country. In this context, such an imposition is unwise.
More importantly, the manner in which it was done needed a bit more thinking and formulation. The biggest problem is the lack of good teachers to teach the language to children in primary schools. Bengal has nearly 15,000 secondary schools and well over 59,000 primary schools. If every one of these schools had to teach Bengali as a compulsory paper to all students in the classes mentioned, many more teachers will be needed. Some say that over 1,00,000 teachers may be required [19], and the pertinent question is: does the state have those many qualified teachers? The other major issues pertaining to this are that Mamata Banerjee should be clear about whether she wants to give the children a working knowledge of the language or wants to instill linguistic prowess. The three-language policy in the state has made the added pressure of being good at Bengali now on those who had not taken Bengali as one of their subjects. Lastly, the lack of options in linguistics and language deprives students of skills and options that may be useful to some of them later.
Even with all of Mamata Di’s fervor on this policy and front, she has not established more comprehensive measures for tackling the rot in the system, beyond just school education. Cultural hubs are on the down slide [20] and majority of the youth in Bengal, who graduate from the universities in the state, year after year, cannot write correct Bengali. The deterioration in Bengali studies in the state worsened after the collapse of the mother-tongue medium school system that had been around since the time of Iswarchandra Vidyasagar, who, in the process of developing the Bengali language, had promoted Sanskrit and English too. But unfortunately, perhaps since English is no longer taught in these schools, the the middle class no longer prefers such institutions. Yet, there is a ray of hope still for the Bengali people to maintain their pride in their language and its associated heritage: the Banga Sanskriti Utsab has recently been revived after a long gap, Banga Sammelans are being organised [21] and the ‘Little Magazine’ culture of Bengal is also stable [22].
To understand the pride of the Bengali people in their language one needs to briefly look at the post-Independence history regarding the same. After the Congress’ collapse in the state, with the heydays of Siddharth Shankar Roy and Bidhan Chandra Roy well behind, the Communists under Jyoti Basu made a major push to recognize the linguistic heritage of the state. Reading Jyoti Basu’s memoirs gives an interesting perspective on this front:
On December 6, the Communist leader Ranen Sen said that the Congress government had always promised to reorganise the states on the basis of language, but had adopted double standards. The report of the commission had only toed the Congress government’s line by pushing the question of cultural and language in the background. I told the Assembly, “The Congress is entirely responsible for the poisonous atmosphere that has been created by the report. A solution can be reached only on the basis of language and regional affinity. We must not forget that India is one. This is not a question of limiting boundaries of states but a question of our national security and unity. The Centre has not done any scientific research though during the British Raj it was a same Congress which had earned the people’s mandate by promising states on the basis of language. Just setting up commissions will not do”.
I said that the commission’s report was opportunistic and the Centre was entirely responsible for its irrelevance. In fact, the Centre and the Congress government in West Bengal were at odds over the question of West Bengal’s boundary. The logic that the limits of the state be extended because of the refugee and unemployment problems did not hold water; I said that it would be impossible to solve these problems by just getting that extra mile from Bihar.
I demanded that necessary steps be taken to ensure local self-government in the Nepali areas of Darjeeling. This was our party’s stand. Naturally the Congress government had to reject this demand. At that point of time, our demand was dubbed as “anti-national”. After four decades, the Congress government has had finally to give in to this original demand of the Leftists. The Left Front government has successfully ensured this.
On December 10, Dr. Roy told journalists, “It is necessary to make some amendments to the recommendations of the States Re-organisation Committee keeping in mind the security and stability of West Bengal and aspirations of the people of neighbouring Bihar.”
Subsequently in 1956, Dr Roy and his Bihar counterpart Sri Krishna Sinha issued a joint statement advocating the merger of West Bengal and Bihar. This created a major stir in the state.
Though the idea of the merger of the states did not last, the continuous campaigning by the Bengali leaders led to the moving of some parts of Bihar into Bengal:
Bihar and West Bengal (Transfer of territories) Act, 1956
Section 3
(1) As from the appointed day, there shall be added to the State of West Bengal the territories which on the 1st day of March 1956, were comprised in—
(a) that portion of Kishanganj sub-division of Purnea district which lies to the east of the boundary line demarcated in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2) by an authority appointed in this behalf by the Central Government and that portion of Gopalpur thana of the said district which lies to the east or north, as the case may be, of the said boundary line; and
(b) Purulia sub-division of Manbhum district, excluding Chas thana, Chandil thana and Patamda police station of Barabhum thana;
and the said territories shall thereupon cease to form part of the State of Bihar.
(2) The boundary line referred to in sub-section (1) shall be so demarcated as to be generally two hundred yards to the west of the highway in Purnea district connecting Dalkola, Kishanganj and Chopra with Siliguri in Darjeeling district and two hundred yards to the south or south-west of the highway in Purnea district connecting Dalkola and Karandighi with Raiganj in west Dinajpur district;Provided that the boundary line shall be so demarcated as not to cut across any village or town;Provided further that from the point where the first -mentioned highway meets the southern boundary of Kishanganj municipality to the point where it leaves the northern boundary of that municipality, the boundary line shall be the same as the boundary of that municipality on the east.
(3) The territory specified in clause (a) of sub-section (1) shall be included in, and from part of Darjeeling district, and the territory specified in clause (b) of that sub-section shall form a separate district to be known as Purulia district within Burdwan division of the State of West Bengal.
(4) Nothing in sub-section (3) shall be deemed to affect the power of the State Government to alter after the appointed day the name, extent and boundaries of any district or division in the State of West Bengal.
An amendment was introduced in the First Schedule to the Constitution. The fervor and intensity of Bengali (language) activism was more on the other side of the border. On February 21, 1952 five students and political activists were killed during protests near the campus of the University of Dhaka. Eventually, even though Bengali became an official language of Pakistan in 1956, the subjugation of the interests of the Bengali people led to the formation of Bangladesh. The day of February 21 has since been observed as Language Movement Day in Bangladesh and was proclaimed the International Mother Language Day by UNESCO in 1999, making Bengali the only language in the world to be known for its language movements and people sacrificing their lives for their mother language! In this context, the pride of the Bengali people in their language is understandable. And yet the people have an inherent sense of inclusivity and justice to their brethren who reside in the state.
Today, as per the West Bengal government, the official languages of the state are Bengali, Urdu, Hindi, Odia, Santali, Punjabi, Kamtapuri, Rajbanshi and Kurmali. One also has Nepali has an official status in the three subdivisions of the Darjeeling district. One must nurture and provide for the teaching of all of these in the state to truly keep the nature of the society that resides in Bengal. Haphazard band-aid treatments like the one that led to the clashes in Islampur, where language teachers were sent to a school where apparently the need of the hour was for teachers in the sciences and literature, reeks of a politics of convenience. The District Inspector may have been suspended but the bigger question still remains: what is Mamata Banerjee’s vision and plan to safeguard the unity of, and diversity within, Bengali society, particularly along linguistic lines? Notwithstanding the terrible law and order situation that prevails in the state, one must not get swayed by the rhetorical game-play and political manoeuvring being done by quite a few of the parties in Bengal today. It is a grave matter that needs to be handled with utmost sincerity and urgency.
Mamata Banerjee did start her term with a lot of zeal on this front. Just after assuming office, she declared that though English and Bengali would be the official languages of the state, it would also have six “second official” languages: Urdu, Gurmukhi, Nepali, Ol-Chiki, Oriya and Hindi. This policy and its implementation was as poorly thought-out as it was (or atleast seemed to be) whimsical. For one, this would make government offices a virtual tower of Babel, with the bureaucrats being possibly forced to learn these languages. Secondly, someone needs to tell Mamata Di that Gurmukhi is not a language but a script, while the people of Nepali descent in Bengal’s hill districts speak Gorkhali not Nepali. Also, Urdu, which superficially might be assumed to be spoken by the state’s large Muslim population, is spoken by less than 5% of the 2,30,00,000 Muslims residing in the state. If this isn’t tokenism for appeasement, then what is? And that too misplaced, uninformed tokenism! There has to be a more comprehensive reform in the way that the state’s languages are considered and promoted. Just by changing the status of some languages, are we addressing the key issues that are plaguing these languages? Are we not writing off a proverbial blank cheque for a deficit of ideas on how to handle the treasure trove of languages that Bengal has and the negligence that that trove has faced? These are all hard-hitting questions Mamata Di must answer!
The Fallacy In The Imposition Of Hindi And Sanskrit
Since the times of the anti-Hindi movement in Tamil Nadu, one of the key points of debate and discussion has been the use of Hindi in various parts of the country. One must understand that Hindi was never the natural language of many parts of the country. Their cultures and history remained independent of the Hind-speaking areas in India. Given this background, the earnestness to teach and use Hindi and Sanskrit is good only up to the point it does not infringe on the interests and identities of the various other languages that exist in India today. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has had a proclivity to use Hindi probably due to the historical emergence of the party from within the Hindi-speaking belt. While I appreciate the attention given to the language, having enjoyed reading various literary pieces in the language, be it of Premchand or Hazari Prasad Dvivedi, one just cannot try to do that in all parts of India. Narendra Modi’s recent attempt at saying a few lines in Bengali was appreciable and something his party should learn from. There needs to be that one state leader who can stir people’s hearts with his/her oratory in Bengali and/or other state languages.
Recently, a Bengali rights group Bangla Pokkho has been formed to stand up against “Hindi imperialism”. The group is gaining influence at a rapid pace in West Bengal and has had some early success in furthering its ideology. It highlights the influence of anti-Urdu movements in ertwhile East Pakistan as its inspiration. While some groups have tried to put up stickers of ‘Hindi hain hum, watan hai Hindustan humara’, Bangla Pokkhohas regularly removed them and tried to stand up against the mentality that underlies such statements. Even if we were to concede to the civilizational meaning of the term ‘Hindu’ rather than the religious one, the ‘Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan’ slogan is misplaced due to the placement of the language Hindi as the preferred language per se. The BJP and other parties must understand this and respect the wishes and interests of the people they wish to represent. The fallacy in the imposition of Hindi and Sanskrit across the country is that what is seen as a unifier of the country may lead to widespread discontent and anger among its constituents and thereby to fracturing instead. It is only with the acceptance of all the languages of the state that we can truly embody the idea of ‘unity in diversity’.
I do see the argument in saying that one needs a certain sense of unity, of one-ness in the country, and language can be a way to unify, as some people put it. Yes and no! Yes, it can unify if historically there has been a language of natural choice among the people and people openly accept it. And no, if it is imposed when both linguistics and history says otherwise. Tamil derives its roots from Brahmi as does Sanskrit. Forget Hindi, saying that Sanskrit should be the official language of India will be a statement either in ignorance of historical realities or one of political convenience. Does this mean that one cannot find a way out? One can. But it has to be through a politics of consensus. Not a politics of coercion. It has to be through dialogue, discussion and debate. One has to remember that one can take a horse to a pond but cannot make it drink water. Similarly, as much as one would like to unify the country using language, one has to understand the subtleties and dynamics of linguistics that prevail in the current demographics of the country. Language has been a powder-keg, ready to blow up at any point, simply because India is a country with many nationalities in it, based on socio-cultural aspects. To believe that one can homogenize the country based on language or race or religion or any other social identity is a futile pursuit, if the principles of democracy and free will are truly espoused and practised. It has to be consensus, consultation and camaraderie that can take us forward and make India a stronger country.
Dying Languages
One of the major points of concern, for me, today, relate to the subject of dying languages in India. In one of the most tragic occurrences, the death of Boa Sr, the last person fluent in the Bo language of the Andaman Islands, broke a link with a 65,000-year-old culture! There are about a 100 different languages in India that the Ministry of Human Resource Development has identified that are endangered. Languages such as Koda and Kharia in Bengal are endangered as we speak. While the former had just 47,268 speakers as per the 2011 census, the latter has a slightly more respectable 297,614 speakers according to the same census. I have not heard one positive step suggested by Mamata Banerjee, while she goes on about Bengali and Urdu, which are spoken by the majority of the state. Clearly, a person who talks of minority interests does not quite either understand or want to act for the interests of those whose vote has little value in the grander scheme of things.
Without the political will and government support, a major section of our heritage may vanish forever. Unfortunately, because of the dearth of numbers of speakers of these languages, there cannot be mass movements or political electioneering based on the representation of these languages. Much like the problems faced by minorities based on other social identities such as caste and religion, linguistic minorities are facing an existential threat today. I would suggest the constitution of state and national assessment committees to see the state of these various languages and the appropriate steps that need be taken as soon as possible. Be it the introduction of the option of these dialects in modules or promotion of media, either printed or electronic, that can put forth content in these languages are some of the ways this can be tackled.
In Conclusion
As a proud Bengali, and someone who was brought up with the works of Tagore and Bankimchandra as much as with those of western littérateurs like Tolstoy, Shelley and Shakespeare, I would like the current government in Bengal to introspect. To introspect what it means to be truly Bengali. If there is one state where after the years long rioting just after Independence in the late 1940s and early 1950s, there has been fairly less communal clashes and divisions along caste lines, it has been Bengal. If there is one state that has produced a number of liberal, progressive thinkers and public figures, it has been Bengal.
I stand for that Bengal where inclusivity is not tailored according to the convenience of vote-bank politics but is ingrained in the heart and soul of each and everyone who is a part of the state, and one front where we need to do more is on the language front. I hope Mamata Di hears the laments of those whose voices cannot shake the corridors of powers as much as she hears the rhetoric of those whose does.
I hope to see a day when I can truly say: Amar Shonar Bangla (my golden Bengal), as can the Gorkha, the Nepali, the Oriya, the Kharia and the various others in the state, in their own languages.
References:
[1] Parpola, Asko. Deciphering the Indus script. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
[2] Rao, Rajesh PN, et al. “Entropic evidence for linguistic structure in the Indus script.” Science 324.5931 (2009): 1165-1165.
[3] Salomon, Richard G. “Brahmi and Kharoshthi.” The world’s writing systems (1996): 373-383.
[4] Daniels, Peter T., and William Bright, eds. The world’s writing systems. Oxford University Press on Demand, 1996.
[5] King, Robert Desmond. Nehru and the language politics of India. Oxford University Press, USA, 1997.
[6] Sarangi, Asha, ed. Language and politics in India. Oxford University Press, 2009.
[7] Gooptu, Nandini. The politics of the urban poor in early twentieth-century India. Vol. 8. Cambridge University Press, 2001.
[8] Arora, Satish Kumar. “The reorganization of the Indian states.” Far Eastern Survey 25.2 (1956): 27-30.
[9] Arooran, K. Nambi. Tamil Renaissance and Dravidian Nationalism, 1905-1944. Koodal, 1980.
[10] Forrester, Duncan B. “The Madras anti-Hindi agitation, 1965: Political protest and its effects on language policy in India.” Pacific Affairs 39.1/2 (1966): 19-36.
[11] Gargesh, Ravinder. “South Asian Englishes.” The handbook of world Englishes (2006): 90-113.
[12] Registrar General, India. “Census of India 2011: provisional population totals-India data sheet.” Office of the Registrar General Census Commissioner, India. Indian Census Bureau(2011).
[13] Gupta, Sunil. “The Bay of Bengal interaction sphere (1000 BC-AD 500).” Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 25 (2007): 21-30.
[14] Mukherjee, B. N. “A New Source of the History of the Bengali Script and Language.” Literature East and West: Essays Presented to RK Dasgupta. Allied Publishers, 1995.
[15] Klaiman, Mimi H. “Bengali.” The Major Languages of South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Routledge, 2003. 69-87.
[16] Atreya, Lata, Smriti Singh, and Rajesh Kumar. “Magahi and Magadh: Language and people.” Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences 3.2 (2014): 52-59.
[17] Choudhury, Monojit, et al. “Evolution, optimization, and language change: The case of bengali verb inflections.” Proceedings of Ninth Meeting of the ACL Special Interest Group in Computational Morphology and Phonology. Association for Computational Linguistics, 2007.
[18] Sen, Sukumar. History of Bengali literature. South Asia Books, 1979.
[19] Bengal nanny state. The Telegraph. 17 May 2017.
[20] Cultural Hubs on their Knees. The Telegraph. 10 February 2013.
[21] AK Ghosh. A Language in Peril. The Statesman. 12 June 2017.
[22] Chandrima Pal. “Interview: Can the famed ‘little magazine’ culture of Bengali literature thrive in the digital age?” Scroll. 15 September 2018.
Cast: Mrunal Thakur, Richa Chadda, Demi Moore, Freida Pinto, Manoj Bajpayee, Anupam Kher, Adil Hussain, Sai Tamhankar
Director: Tabrez Noorani
Rating: 2.5 / 5.00 stars
My initial expectations from Tabrez Noorani’s “Love Sonia”, were that it might be a film with a social message which people, in general, might not be ready to appreciate. This film revolves around the story of a girl from a Maharashtrian village, who gets caught in the global sex trade network. It beautifully depicts how this profession operates at many levels, mainly as an organised business. This film does not leave you just with the brutal realities, but it also manages to be a poetic narrative at the same time. There have been many movies made on this subject in the past, but they do not involve the audience as this film does. Their treatment of the subject does not force us to think about the issue as a social menace, and we easily forget about it as soon as the film comes to an end.
The film’s raw energy manages to overwhelm the audience and leaves them in awe at the talent with which the story has been told. Even after the movie has ended the viewer is left with too much food for thought. While watching the film, you will feel the pain that the central character, a young school girl, Sonia, is going through physically and mentally during the whole journey.
The film beautifully depicts the loss of innocence of childhood and how this young girl is forced to face the harsh realities of life, in an unexpected turn of events. While watching the film, you will experience that something is dying inside you while you witness the hell ride Sonia undertakes. Sonia comes to life like a striking charcoal painting; her character is finely juxtaposed to the antagonist. “Love Sonia” does not give up on the idea of beauty, and proves that even in the scarcity of information one can find an abundance of truth and the hidden artistic beauty.
Sonia’s father Shivaji (Adil Hussain), is a debt-ridden farmer, ploughing a drought-ridden land. He sells Sonia’s sister, Preeti, into flesh trade. But he decides to keep Sonia with him. Although, who stays and who leaves, is an entirely commercial decision, and not an emotional one. Shivaji knows that Sonia is physically stronger than her sister, so he decides against sending her away.
The deal to send Preeti from Mumbai is broken when the village’s exile, Dada Thakur (Anupam Kher), cleanses her with the holy water and purges her of the ‘sins’ to appease the good spirits. Sonia requests Dada Thakur to help her in going to Mumbai so that she can live with her sister. Thakur agrees to help her with a sinister smile playing on his face. At this point, his daughter, who is the same age as Sonia suddenly makes an appearance in the scene, and Thakur is no longer smiling.
Sonia shares a deep relationship with nature as we come to know as the movie unfolds. In the narrow lanes of Mumbai, she loses her touch with the natural surroundings too. Sonia (Mrunal Thakur) is awed by the strange wonders of Mumbai – all its lanes and its many contradictions.
Shehla Rashid Shora is a social activist who had served as the Vice-President of JNUSU for the period 2015-2016. She constantly finds herself in the midst of hatred for her strong political stance against the ruling BJP.
It has even gone to the extent of abusing her on every post and issuing rape threats. The pro-right wing BJP supporters call her a hypocrite for calling them Sanghi Goons, in a way justifying the hatred she receives on daily basis.
When it comes to cyber trolling, the right wing cyber army doesn’t spare anyone. Rana Ayyub, Anna Vetticad, Swara Bhasker have received rape threats before. Journalist Sagarika Ghose had been threatened with the rape of her daughter; we can only imagine what the mother would have gone through. The growing dissent against the ruling party has been so strong that Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress party spokesperson, has received a threat that her daughter would be raped.
This morning, I came across a tweet from Shehla Rashid talking about her struggles with mental health issues, which was quite heartwarming and bold of her to talk about. In India, people don’t normally come forward to talk about it due to the stigma.
Okay, so, I've decided to share a deeply personal story on Twitter, even though I know that Twitter isn't kind at all. But I'm sharing this personal story in public interest, hoping it might reach someone who needs to hear this. (1/n)
PMDD is not often acknowledged as an issue, because, well, it concerns women. But if you care about your sister, partner, or friend do raise awareness about PMDD. It's scary how real it can get. You start picking ways and spots to end your life. You start planning it! (3/n)
In a world where algorithms will help you end your life if you want to end your life, it's really important to share information about PMDD – premenstrual dysphoric disorder – a severe form of PMS that can even make you suicidal. Knowing it can prevent it. (5/n)
If there are women in your friend circle or family whom you care about, don't dismiss PMDD as mood swing. Don't tell her that she's imagining it. It's hormonal. Be supportive. Don't say that "men also get stressed". Women are already supportive and considerate about men's issues.
I was shocked to see how a person responded to Rashid’s tweets by saying that she deserves to die. I went through that ‘WTF’ moment. You might disagree with Shehla to a great extent, but it doesn’t mean you go to the extent of wishing death upon her. It says more about you than about her.
This is not the first time. Right-wing groups have targeted several public figures on almost a daily basis. This time it has gone to the worst extent, exposing their ugly face and hatred. We can understand many men can’t take a woman with a strong opinion, but these people should understand that the Mental Health issue is not a joke for you to slander someone for showing allegiance to different strata of the political spectrum.
The person has now deleted the tweet. You can call her a hypocrite, Naxalite, Maoist and whatever fits your vocabulary for taking a stance against the government, but it clearly reveals a lot about you.
आजकल भोजपुरी फिल्मों और एलबमों में एक कंटेंट की समानता दिखाई दे रही है और वो कंटेंट है “राम मंदिर”। चाहे वो भोजपुरी में निकलने वाले एलबम हों, जिसमें गायक राम मंदिर को बनाने को लेकर गाने गाते हैं या भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री जहां आजकल “मंदिर वहीं बनाएंगे” जैसी फिल्में बनायी जा रही हैं।
इस समय यूपी और बिहार में फिल्मों और गानों के माध्यम से राम मंदिर का मुद्दा उठाना क्या किसी खास चीज़ की तरफ इशारा नहीं कर रहा है? जिस तरीके से ये एक फिल्म “मंदिर वहीं बनाएंगे” या फिर “कब बनेगा राम मंदिर” जैसे तमाम गाने एक सिलसिलेवार ढंग से भोजपुरी इंडस्ट्री के माध्यम से आ रहे हैं, ये खास मकसद की तरफ इशारा कर रहे हैं और वो मकसद 2019 का चुनाव हो सकता है।
भाजपा जानती है कि यूपी और बिहार में जहां भोजपुरी बोली-समझी जाती है वहां लोकसभा की 120 सीटें हैं। पश्चिमी उत्तर प्रदेश को हटा भी दिया जाए तो भी 70-80 लोकसभा सीटें हैं जो केंद्र की सत्ता का निर्धारण करती हैं। भाजपा ये भली-भांति जानती है कि पिछले लोकसभा चुनाव जिसमें उनके गठबंधन को यूपी में 80 में से 72 सीटों पर जीत मिली थी और बिहार में उन्होंने 40 में से 31 सीटें जीती थी, उतनी सीटें 2019 के लोकसभा चुनाव में लाना असंभव है। इसलिए भाजपा इस क्षेत्र में अपना राम मंदिर का पुराना कार्ड खेल रही है।
भाजपा ये भी जानती है कि वर्तमान एससी-एसटी एक्ट के कारण सवर्ण समाज भी गुस्से में है। अतः भाजपा के पास इन सवर्ण समाज के लोगों को साधने के लिए भी सिर्फ एक ही हथियार बचता है और वो हथियार है राम मंदिर का हथियार और भाजपा ये हथियार बड़ी चालाकी से, बड़ी सावधानी से इस्तेमाल कर रही है। एक तरफ भाजपा एससी-एसटी एक्ट के ज़रिए दलित, पिछड़े वर्ग के वोटों में सेंध लगाने की सोच रही है तो दूसरी तरफ राम मंदिर निर्माण मुद्दे के माध्यम से वह अपने सवर्ण वोट बैंक को साधने की कोशिश कर रही है।
केंद्र में बैठी मोदी सरकार के पास पांच साल की उपलब्धियों को बताने के लिए कुछ विशेष है ही नहीं। मोदी सरकार हर मोर्चे पर फेल रही है।चाहे वो भुखमरी का मुद्दा हो, चाहे बेरोज़गारी का, चाहे स्वास्थ्य का मुद्दा हो चाहे शिक्षा का। चाहे किसानों का मुद्दा हो, चाहें महिलाओं का, चाहे दलितों का मुद्दा हो या फिर वंचितों, शोषितों का मोदी सरकार हर मोर्चे पर उस उम्मीद पर तो खरी नहीं पाई है जो मोदी जी ने देश की जनता को दी थी।
नोटबंदी ने सैकड़ों लोगों की जान ली और बाद में पता चला कि 99.3 प्रतिशत पैसे बैंकिंग सिस्टम में वापस आ गए हैं। फिर जीएसटी से छोटे दुकानदारों, छोटे लघु एवं कुटीर उद्योगों को भारी नुकसान हुआ इन सब सवालों का जवाब भी मोदी को 2019 के चुनाव में जनता को देना होगा।
क्या इन सवालों से बचने के लिए भाजपा द्वारा एक सोची समझी साज़िश के तहत भोजपुरी फिल्मों और एलबमों का सहारा लेकर समाज में नफरत के बीज बोए जा रहे हैं, जिसकी फसल 2019 के चुनाव से पहले एक दंगे के रूप में उभरेगी, जिसे मोदी चुनाव के समय काटेंगे।
फसल बोने का भी अपना एक ढंग होता है। जब फसल में खाद-पानी सही मात्रा में पड़ता है तो फसल बढ़िया होती है उसी प्रकार इस नफरत रूपी बीज को भाजपा जितना बढ़िया से खाद पानी देगी, नफरत की फसल उतनी बढ़िया होगी।
भाजपा इन उन्मादी गानों से समाजिक सौहार्द बिगाड़ना चाहती है, कहीं इसीलिए तो नहीं भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री का सहारा लिया जा रहा है?भोजपुरी इंडस्ट्री ही क्यों चुना गया तो इस सवाल का सबसे बढ़िया जवाब है भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री अभी एक छोटी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री है और ये बड़ी तेज़ी से बढ़ भी रही है।
एक बात और मनोज तिवारी जो कि इस वक्त दिल्ली भाजपा के अध्यक्ष हैं वो भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री से काफी करीब से जुड़े हैं और इस वक्त मौजूद सारे कलाकारों के सीनियर हैं और उन्हें भोजपुरी के दूसरे दौर का जन्मदाता भी कहा जाता है। हो सकता है कि इसका भी बड़ा भारी असर हो भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री पर।
इसके साथ ही भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री के अब तक के सबसे सफल गायकों में शुमार पवन सिंह हों या भोजपुरी के महानायक कहे जाने वाले रवि किशन, ये तमाम कलाकार भाजपा के सदस्य हैं। ऐसे में पूरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री में देखा जाए तो एक तरह से भाजपा का वर्चस्व है।
भोजपुरी गानों ने आज भी अपनी पकड़ यूपी, बिहार के लगभग हर घरों में बनाई हुई है और आज भी ऐसे गाने आते हैं जो समाज में हो रही वर्तमान घटनाओं, कुरीतियों को समाज के सामने रखते हैं। आज भी भोजपुरी में व्यास हैं जो ज़मीनी स्तर पर निर्गुण, चईता, फगुआ, पूर्वी गाते हैं और समाज का मनोरंजन करते हैं लेकिन वर्तमान समय में कुछ छोटे गायक जो विवादास्पद गाने गाकर हिट होना चाहते हैं वो लोग समाज में अश्लीलता और इस तरह के विवादित मुद्दों पर गाना गाकर समाज में विवाद को जन्म देते हैं जो समाजिक सौहार्द को बिगाड़ता है।
ऐसी परिस्थिति में लोगों को ऐसे कंटेंट से दूरी बनाकर अपने विवेक के अनुसार काम करना चाहिए और समाज में सामाजिक सौहार्द बनाए रखना चाहिए। इस तरह के विवादास्पद गाने या फिल्में जो इस समय भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री में बहुत तेज़ी से उठ रही हैं, फिल्म इंडस्ट्री के लिए भी नुकसानदायक हो सकती हैं। ऐसी फिल्मों और गानों से समाज का एक तबका जिसको निशाने पर लेकर ये फिल्में बनाई जा रही हैं वो इस फिल्म इंडस्ट्री से कट जाएगा। इसका भारी नुकसान फिल्म इंडस्ट्री को उठाना पड़ेगा और इस वक्त जिस तेज़ी से ये इंडस्ट्री विकास कर रही है तब इस तरह के विवादास्पद गाने या फिल्में भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री के लिए आत्मघाती भी साबित हो सकती हैं।
अतः भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री के लोगों को ऐसे साम्प्रदायिक सौहार्द बिगाड़ने वाले गानों या फिल्मों से दूरी बनानी चाहिए। भोजपुरी के कलाकारों, निर्माताओं, निर्देशकों के ऊपर ही भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री को बचाने की ज़िम्मेदारी है। अब इन लोगों को ये तय करना है कि ये कैसे अपनी भोजपुरी को आगे ले जाएंगे।
When we talk about rising superstars of Bollywood, we generally point to the likes of Varun Dhawan (an astonishing number of 10 consecutive hits and a 100% success rate), Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor (true blue superstars) or someone like a Tiger Shroff or Karthik Aryan, who are slowly and steadily building their resumes as big box office draws. But let’s talk about the stars who began their careers as ‘character actors’, but are now on the verge of becoming superstars.
With the recent success of ‘Stree’ (or more like a monstrous success), Rajkummar Rao has finally announced his arrival as an actor who can balance out both commercial and parallel cinema with ease. The critical and commercial success of ‘Stree’ has taken his career to new heights whereas films such as ‘Omerta’ and ‘Trapped’ still keep him grounded in reality and provide him with difficult parts to play. His collaborations with Hansal Mehta, who gave him his first leading role in the biographical drama ‘Shahid’ (in a national award-winning performance), has given him much acclaim from the critics, while also making him an actor to look out for. These parts were followed by some great supporting parts in films like ‘Bareilly ki Barfi’, which provided him with his first taste of box office success. Then came his career best, in terms of his performance as well as the quality of film, ‘Newton’ – his first solo box office hit. There’s no looking back for Rajkummar now as he’s in a phase of his career where he can play complex parts in interesting films while being assured that the audience trust him with his choices.
To simply say that ‘Vicky Kaushal is a promising actor’ would be an understatement. The variety of roles he has played in his short career is amazing, to say the least. Starting from a minor role in the mega debacle ‘Bombay Velvet’ to playing one of the main characters in the beautiful ‘Masaan’, Vicky showed immense promise and likability. But then, he turned the tables by starring in ‘Raman Raghav 2.0’ as a drug addicted cop which was by far one of the most disturbing portrayal of a cop on screen. Fantastic performances in these films led him to some supporting roles in films such as ‘Raazi’ and ‘Sanju’, which proved to be the game changers in his career. He also starred as the lead in the first Netflix India original ‘Love per sq foot’. His future line up of films show much promise and he can easily be called as the next breakout star of Bollywood.
Though these two are yet to achieve the kind of success the other next gen superstars have, it’s safe to say that they are going to have the most memorable performances in any of the movies they star in, as they never cared about screen time in the first place. They are truly, and indeed, the alternate next gen superstars of Bollywood.
A lot of hints are available in this wide world that are evident of a similar lifestyle being followed by a mother and a daughter. This symptom stands identical to the phrase ‘like father, like son’. With her long face and a similar body type, Lourdes Leon resembles her celebrity mother hundred per cent. But, this is not where her resemblance to her mother ends. She’s also incredibly talented like her mother, and apart from her budding modelling career she has published books, started a fashion line and a beauty line, and can speak several languages.
The ‘Queen of Pop’, Madonna has also been a part of many Hollywood flicks. And the young daughter is now treading on her mother’s path to fame. Her journey to the scintillating world of films seemed to have begun with her walking the ramp for several fashion shows.
This becomes more believable with her recent runway debut at the New York Fashion Week. Her dress and makeup were both unconventional. Taking advantage of the fame of being Madonna’s daughter – she cared a fig for her unusual appearance.
She walked with confidence on the runway discarding every inhibition. Lourdes presented herself self-assuredly wearing skimpy, barely-there seashell pasties, a seashell body-chain, shredded bell-bottom, low-rise jeans that exposed her black underwear, and a pair of sports shoes that completed the look.
Her innovative sunglasses added to her funky look along with a headpiece made up of green feathers. She proudly displayed her unshaved legs that were an add-on to the daring style statement. She surprised the onlookers with her unconventional wear. Her denim gave an impression that it was ripped into a thousand shreds probably in a fit of fury. She walked the ramp to show her support for the brand’s progressive messaging.
We have earlier seen fashion trends of the bullet-holed jeans or the jeans ripped at several places from the thighs to the ankle. However, Madonna’s self-proclaimed girl looked resolute in reaching the dizzying heights through the different version of torn-denim demonstration.
With the scrapping of Section 377, our country is slowly moving into a space of acceptance and inclusion, making all love legal. Part of this new direction we’re taking in post-colonial India, are the relatively fresh forms of expression. For example, Drag – in which fashion, accessories and the performance element enables artists to channel a unique persona.
While Drag is still a relatively new art form in India, Sushant Divgikar has found himself a place internationally with, Rani-Ko-He-Nur his drag avatar. In our latest, Sushant ‘Pills the Beans as both himself and Rani, and compels us with both their perspectives on drag, fashion and what it’s like to be the eccentric, Rani-Ko-He-Nur.
To start off with, it’s a ton of effort to get into the drag look – from the makeup, down to the padding, that goes into dressing up like a queen.
“She’s not a Sports Illustrated model. But like she’s comfortable with her body, and she just wears whatever she wants to wear.”
Being a drag queen, he’s often faced with criticism and negativity – but Sushant embraces his individuality and continues slaying like the queen she is.
He even spoke to us on a Facebook Live Q&A later and revealed how drag is growing at a surprising rate along with some exceptional singing talent (in both male and female voices), you can watch that below.
ब्रितानी साम्राज्यवाद के दौर में भारत अंग्रेज़ों का राजनीतिक तौर पर एक गुलाम मुल्क ही नहीं था, सांस्कृतिक और धार्मिक मान्यताओं की जंज़ीरों में भी जकड़ा हुआ था। उस दौर में भारत के अंदर प्रबोधन की जो शुरुआत हुई, वह राजा राममोहन राय ने की। हालांकि इस बदलाव की पूरी अंगड़ाई देखने से पहले ही आज ही के दिन 27 सिंतबर 1833 को उनकी मौत हो गई।
भारतीय समाज में आज जो कुछ भी बेहतर है उनमें राजा राममोहन की कोशिशों का एक बड़ा योगदान है। यही वजह है कि उन्हें आधुनिक भारत के निर्माता के साथ-साथ भारतीय पुनर्जागरण काल का जनक भी कहा जाता है।
राजा साहब औपनिवेशिक भारत में वह पहली हस्ती हैं, जिन्होंने धार्मिक श्रेष्ठता के उन्माद के नाम पर महिलाओं पर लादी गई “सती प्रथा” को मानवता के नाम पर काला धब्बा कहा था।
अपने ही घर से मिली सती प्रथा के खिलाफ लड़ने की प्रेरणा-
सती प्रथा के खिलाफ लड़ने की प्रेरणा उनको अपने ही घर से मिली। बड़े भाई जगमोहन की मौत के बाद उनकी पत्नी को सती प्रथा की बेदी पर जला दिया गया। राजा साहब ने इसके खिलाफ अभियान का संकल्प लिया और 18 साल के संघर्षों के बाद, जनरल विलियम बैंटिक की मदद से नवम्बर 1830 में सती प्रथा के खिलाफ अध्यादेश पास करवा पाने में सफल हुए।
इतिहास के लोकप्रिय आख्यानों में इस बात की चर्चा नहीं के बराबर होती है कि राजा साहब ही वह पहले शख्स थे, जिन्होंने पैतृक संपत्ति में महिलाओं को बराबरी का हक देने की वकालत की थी। बाल विवाह हो या पोंगापंथी, मूर्तिपूजा हो या महिलाओं के लिए शिक्षा इन सभी मुद्दों पर राजा साहब की सोच अपने समय से आगे थी।
देश की महिलाओं को लेकर राजा राममोहन राय के विचार के बारे में क्रॉमवेल क्राफोर्ड “राममोहन राय ऑन सती एंड सेक्सिज़्म” में लिखते हैं,
राजा साहब महिलाओं को राष्ट्र के संदर्भ में देखते थे और राष्ट्र को सभ्यता की अंतरराष्ट्रीय व्यवस्था के संदर्भ में। देश में महिलाओं के साथ होने वाले अत्याचार से वे शर्म का अनुभव करते थे।
राजा राममोहन राय किसी एक भाषा या धर्म को नहीं मानते थे श्रेष्ठ
22 मई 1772 को पश्चिम बंगाल के मुर्शिदाबाद ज़िले के राधानगर गांव में पैदा हुए राजा साहब को सुधारवादी माना जाता है जबकि वह खुद अपनी आत्मचेतना के विरोधी थे। ज़मींदार परिवार में पैदा हुए और ज़मींदारी छोड़ दी, ब्राह्मण परिवार से थे और मूर्ति-पूजा, पोंगापंथी का विरोध किया। हिंदी, अंग्रेज़ी, संस्कृत, फारसी, अरबी और हिब्रू भाषा के साथ-साथ धर्मों के जानकार थे, पर कभी नहीं कहा कि एक भाषा या धर्म श्रेष्ठ है।
आधुनिकता के प्रति इतने अधिक वचनबद्ध थे कि जब अंग्रेज़ी सरकार ने संस्कृत कॉलेज खोलने का फैसला किया तो उन्होंने पत्र लिखा, “संस्कृत शिक्षा प्रणाली देश को अंधकार में रखने के लिए लाई गई है।”
राजा साहब के अंदर विविधता का अंदाज़ इस बात से लग सकता है कि उन्होंने समाज सुधार के उद्देश्य से “मिरातुल अखबार”, “संवाद कौमुदी” और “बंगदूत” अखबार का संपादन किया। यहीं नहीं, हिन्दी में तीन, फारसी में दो, बंगाली और संस्कृत में 32 और अंग्रेज़ी में 47 किताबें लिखीं। प्रेस की स्वतंत्रता, अभिव्यक्ति की आज़ादी और समाज सुधार के उनके प्रयास के कारण उनकी तुलना वाल्टेयर और जॉन मिल्टन से की जाती है।
आधुनिकता के प्रति थी गहरी आस्था-
इसमें कोई दो राय नहीं हो सकती है कि राजा साहब की आस्था आधुनिकता के प्रति गहरी थी, यूरोपीय पुनर्जागरण का उनपर गहरा प्रभाव था। राजनीतिक व्यवस्था में भी राजा साहब मनुष्यता को केंद्र में रखना चाहते थे इसलिए उन्होंने सत्ता के विकेन्द्रीकरण की बात कही, जिससे स्वतंत्रता की हिफाज़त हो सके। जिसकी वकालत बाद के दिनों में महात्मा गांधी ने भी की।
राजा साहब ने न्याय को ज़्यादा पारदर्शी बनाने के लिए दीवानी अदालतों को ज़्यादा अधिकार देने की वकालत भी की। देश में पंचायत व्यवस्था-ज्यूरी सिस्टम की मांग राजा साहब ने ही की थी, जो आगे चलकर पंचायती राज के रूप में जाना गया।
राजा साहब को समाज सुधारक, आधुनिकता के पैरोकार, महान स्कॉलर, लेखक, पत्रकार आदि बताना एक खास तरह के दावे में बांधने की कोशिश कही जा सकती है। राजा साहब की मौत के समय उनके डॉक्टर टी बूट उनके बारे में लिखते हैं,
बीते हुए समय में और आज के दौर में मेरे सामने ऐसा कोई शख्स नहीं जिसकी बौद्धिकता, मानवीयता और आकर्षण राममोहन राय जैसा हो।
आज स्कूल के टेक्स्ट बुक में हम राजा राममोहन राय को जिस रूप में जानते हैं, ज़रूरत है उसका दायरा बढ़ाया जाए। भारत के लोगों के ज़ेहन में राजा राममोहन राय सामाजिक कुरीतियों के विरोधी और आधुनिकता के पहले नायक के रूप में स्थापित हैं। जबकि “स्वतंत्रता, समानता और बंधुत्व” को उन्होंने भारतीय समाज में रचने का प्रयास भी किया। वह आधुनिकता की रोशनी में तमाम पूर्वाग्रही श्रेष्ठता के उन्माद को चुनौती देने की कोशिश कर रहे थें।
आज राष्ट्रवाद और देशभक्ति का नारा लगाने वालों को यह बतलाना भी ज़रूरी है कि राष्ट्र सिर्फ एक भौगोलिक इकाई नहीं होता है ना ही एक तरह के धार्मिक समूहों की खानदानी ज़मीन, राष्ट्र पूरे विश्व का एक हिस्सा भी है, मानवतावाद को ही केंद्र में रखकर हम विश्व व्यवस्था का हिस्सा बने रह सकते हैं।
In the light of the many grave incidents, including lynchings of innocent men, the citizenry has finally opened its eyes to the perils of propagating misinformation. It has been brought to the attention of many that they should neither be creating false news nor spreading it around. Interestingly, there are no legal mechanisms in place for the same. Since one is not just the creator of misinformation, but also its consumer, one needs to have a basic understanding of journalistic practices involved in handling such materials with little to no truth. The media uses different types of tools for spreading news, sometimes for sensationalisation and sometimes for propaganda-like motives. In current times, it has become important to inform ourselves of these tools and how they function to refrain from circulating fatalistic falsehoods. Mentioned below is a description of what constitutes and what doesn’t constitute fake news along with some insights about yellow journalism, which is another variety of misinformation that needs to be studied under the ambit of fake news.
Difference between Yellow Journalism and Fake News
It is difficult to point out which news is Yellow and which one is fake as both of them have similar characteristics. The terms are, in fact, often used interchangeably. But, it is necessary to differentiate between them to recognise which is which. Yellow Journalism is when the editors spice up the news to make it saucier, raunchier. Fake News is a lie. Even though both these phenomena are evil, yellow journalism at least has half a truth, even if it is sensationalized to inappropriate proportions.
On the other hand, Fake News is complete bullshit, so to say. It blooms and wilts in a lie. Historically, Fake News has always been used for destructive and divisive purposes. The whites who supported segregation often spread the news about how blacks are diseased so that support for segregated toilets, drinking water taps, etc. would increase; before the Revolt of 1857, several fake news against the British were spread to turn the dissatisfaction of Indian soldiers into a revolt. The legacy of fake news is adding fuel to racism, anti-immigration views and cultural division.
Fake News has existed since the emergence of politics. It gradually became a warring strategy and was used as such. Julius Caesar and Cassius created and spread the fake news about foreigners. It existed when the Church controlled the information that would pass on when Hitler and Roosevelt printed news to throw each other off during WW2.
Fake News : 2016 version of Yellow Journalism
The seed of Yellow Journalism was planted due to the competition between Pulitzer and Hearst a century ago. Today, it is a fully grown, fruit-giving tree because of how much it sells, its huge audience and the rising profits it earns. But, yellow journalism has taken a nastier form of Fake News. Just as it started to sell more newspapers by tapping on people’s negative reactions like outrage, anger, sadness, indignation, etc., fake news applied the same formula but with even less effort as no accurate reportage is required for its creation. An MIT Lab study has shown that fake news travels six times faster than real journalistic stories.
The Formidability of Fake News
Social media and the state machinery are together working to make fake news a formidable weapon.
Social Media: The design of any fake news is such that it provokes intense negative emotions in the form of anger, indignation, fear or surprise. Such news gets widely circulated on social media. The newsfeed algorithms of social media provide viral contents to its users and receive the highest engagement in the form of likes, comments and reactions. Hence, news which triggers such reactions get an algorithmic promotion. The cycle keeps repeating and we’re trapped into it with no intention or consciousness.
Domesticity: A phenomenon which began by inducing a feeling of national pride, Fake News was used to charge the citizens’ patriotism to instigate them to wage war against other nations. The state machinery gradually realised that the same emotion of patriotism could be manipulated such that within the domestic territory even certain citizens can be pitted against others by dividing the nation’s population into ‘us’ and ‘them’. Donald Trump raging a war against Indian-Americans, Latin-Americans, Black Americans, basically on everyone who is non-white is often based off on the lines that “they’re taking our jobs”, “we are wasting our taxes on them”. Even though these statements are statistically wrong, they’re used to divide cultures and American people.
Profits From Fake News
Google does not allow its advertisers to choose whether their advertisements will go on fake news sites or ethical journalism sites. Therefore, fake news sites have several ads on them. As explained above, such websites operate according to the concept of clickbait ‘journalism’. If a fake story goes viral, the owner of the site can earn a lot of cash as many will click on the ads in the story. Google earns in millions due to the fake news circuits and, hence, even with changed ad network rules, Google still allows a lot of fake news sites to use its ad network.
Even though fake news and yellow journalism are different, there impacts on the audience, at large, are the same. Both of these explicitly work to dumb down the readers and viewers, stop them from questioning the things they read and see, distract them from the real issues plaguing the world. Fake news and yellow journalism have become the armour and weapon of the government. To balance the argument, it is also important to note that sites like Facemata, User feeds, Crisp Thinking, etc. are working to disentangle the audience from the ropes of such evils. The question is, are they going to succeed with fake news and yellow journalism having revenues and investments in millions with stealth support from Google and Facebook?
From Seinfeld to Russell Peters, stand-up comedy has as a rule been a stage for the privileged. Sure, over the years, people of colour like Peters and Chris Rock, and queer comics like Hannah Gadsby have carved out their own spaces. Closer to home, women like Radhika Vaz and Aditi Mittal are taking over a largely male-dominated comedy scene. Ethnicity, sexuality and gender have found their way into (according to this writer) the otherwise bland environment of wife-and-boss jokes. But have Indian comedy audiences seen the barrier of class being broken?
Well, we know of at least one such instance. That’s right. Domestic worker and jewellery hawker Deepika Mhatre is on the case.
In a delightful five-minute long set, she spills some hot tea on class hierarchies and prejudice, teasing out the idiosyncracies of upper class Indians, among other things. For example, the many illogical ways upper class people ascribe value to things, as well as the standards they set for what upward social mobility looks like to everyone.
Wouldn’t it be great to see more women like Mhatre take the stage? Share their experiences? Make us laugh, especially at ourselves, and, in doing so, begin to see ourselves more clearly?
लम्बे इंतज़ार के बाद यश राज फिल्म्स की बहुचर्चित फिल्म ‘ठग्स ऑफ हिन्दोस्तान’ का ट्रेलर रिलीज़ हो गया है। ये कहना बिलकुल भी गलत नहीं होगा कि दर्शकों के सब्र का फल मीठे के साथ-साथ ज़बरदस्त भी निकला। इस फिल्म को लेकर दर्शकों में पहले से ही अति-उत्साह है और इसका अंदाज़ा इस बात से लगाया जा सकता है कि रिलीज़ होने के कुछ ही घंटो में ये ट्रेलर यूट्यूब पर 75 लाख से भी ज़्यादा बार देखा गया और मैं दावे के साथ कह सकता हूं कि 24 घंटे में ये ट्रेलर बहुत सारे पुराने रिकॉर्ड्स भी तोड़ देगा।
यशराज के लिए यह फिल्म बहुत खास है इसीलिए इसके ट्रेलर को जारी करने के लिए भी एक खास दिन को चुना गया। 27 सितम्बर बॉलीवुड में यशराज फिल्म्स के संस्थापक स्व. यश चोपड़ा की जयंती के रूप में मनाया जाता है, इसीलिए उस दिन खास फिल्म के ट्रेलर को रिलीज़ कर उन्हें श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित की गयी। इसके दौरान अभिनेता अमिताभ बच्चन, आमिर खान, कैटरीना कैफ सहित सभी भावुक नज़र आएं।
ट्रेलर देखने के लिए लिंक पर क्लिक करें-
विजय कृष्णा आचार्य द्वारा निर्देशित इस फिल्म के ट्रेलर को ही देखकर अनुमान लगाया जा सकता है कि यह बॉलीवुड की अब तक की सबसे ज़्यादा बजट वाली फिल्म है। फिल्म का ट्रेलर इसकी कहानी को स्पष्ट रूप से बयां करता है। कहानी 1795 की है, जहां ईस्ट इंडिया कंपनी की हुकूमत के खिलाफ ‘ठग’ खुदाबक्श आज़ाद बगावत पर उतर आता है, जिसको पकड़ने के लिए अंग्रेज़ ‘फिरंगी मल्लाह’ नाम के दूसरे ‘ठग’ का सहारा लेते हैं।
एक तरफ खुदाबक्श है जिसके नाम के साथ ही आज़ाद जुड़ा है, जिसे देश से प्यार है और गुलामी मंज़ूर नहीं है। तो दूसरी तरफ अतरंगी सा फिरंगी मल्लाह है जो पैसों के लिए कुछ भी कर सकता है। दोनों की दिलचस्प तकरार जब परदे पर आएगी तो निश्चित रूप से बॉक्स-ऑफिस पर कमाई के नए कीर्तिमान स्थापित करेगी। ट्रेलर देखकर लगता है कि फिल्म के मुख्य आकर्षण आज़ाद की भूमिका निभा रहे अमिताभ बच्चन और फिरंगी के किरदार में नज़र आने वाले आमिर खान हैं।
अमिताभ बच्चन का अभिनय उम्र के साथ और निखरता जा रहा था और फिल्म दर फिल्म वो ये साबित करते जा रहे हैं कि बॉलीवुड में वो अद्वितीय हैं। खुदाबक्श के रूप में परदे पर जो ताज़गी का एहसास वो करवाते हैं और जिस अंदाज़ में उन्होंने डायलॉग बोले हैं ये तय है कि सिनेमाघरों में अमिताभ खूब सीटियां बटोरेंगे। दूसरी तरफ फिरंगी मल्लाह के किरदार को ‘जिस परफेक्शन’ के साथ आमिर खान निभाते नज़र आ रहे हैं उससे दर्शकों में फिल्म देखने का उत्साह और बढ़ जाता है।
अमिताभ की टोली में लड़ाकू महिला ठग ‘ज़फीरा’ के किरदार में नज़र आएंगी फातिमा सना शेख। ट्रेलर में उनके कोई संवाद तो नहीं दिखाए गए हैं लेकिन परदे पर उनकी हर झलक प्रभावित करती है। सुरैया के किरदार में नज़र आएंगी कैटरीना कैफ, जो ट्रेलर में गज़ब की खूबसूरत लग रही हैं और अमिताभ के डायलॉग के बाद यदि कोई सीटियां बटोरेगा तो वो है कैटरीना का डांस।
कैटरीना के किरदार के बारे में ट्रेलर ज़्यादा खुलासा नहीं करता है और ये निर्माताओं की सोची समझी स्ट्रैटेजी भी हो सकती है। शायद कैटरीना के किरदार को फिल्म में ‘गर्ल नेक्स्ट डोर’ की तरह पेश किया जायेगा, क्योंकि ज़्यादातर वो डांस करती नज़र आ रही हैं। एक सीन में वो एक्शन करते हुए भी नज़र आती हैं। ऐसे में ये तो फिल्म देखने के बाद ही पता चलेगा कि सुरैया कहानी में क्या उथल-पुथल मचाती हैं?
वैसे फिल्म के ट्रेलर को देखकर बहुत कुछ कहा जा रहा है, कोई इसकी तुलना हॉलीवुड की फिल्मों से कर रहा है तो कोई बाहुबली से इस फिल्म के सीन प्रेरित होने के आरोप लगा रहा है। एक बात साफ है कि पहले सभी किरदारों के टीज़र, पोस्टर ने दर्शको में उत्साह पैदा किए तो अब ट्रेलर ने उस उत्साह को और भी बढ़ा दिया है। दर्शकों के बीच ये उत्सुकता ही इस फिल्म को सफलता की ओर ले जाएगी।
उम्दा कलाकार, रोमांचित करने वाला संगीत, सीटियां बटोरने वाले डायलॉग्स एवं समां बांधने वाला बैकग्राउंड स्कोर फिल्म को ‘लार्जर देन दी लाइफ’ बनता है। फिल्म 8 नवंबर दीपावली पर रिलीज़ होगी और ये कहना बिलकुल गलत नहीं होगा कि यह फिल्म बॉक्स-ऑफिस पर अच्छी खासी कमाई करेगी। अब देखना ये होगा कि क्या आमिर-अमिताभ की जोड़ी, रणबीर कपूर की फिल्म ‘संजू’ के बॉक्स-ऑफिस रिकॉर्ड को तोड़ पायेगी?
Anurag Kashyap is undoubtedly the most interesting Bollywood filmmaker of present times. His films are gritty, realistic, thought-provoking, funny, and entertaining at the same time. However, his movies can also be frustrating at times as they appear overstuffed and could have been better in terms of quality.
But one thing which has always eluded Anurag and even best of his films is the box office success. Though he has a cult following among cinema lovers and some real worshippers as well (including me), his movies struggle to reach out to a wider audience. Let’s take the example of ‘Gulaal’, a multilayered tale of casteism, campus politics and greed. The film is considered to be one of the most accomplished works of Kashyap, but it also struggled to make any splash at the box office mainly because of a complex plot and lack of ‘star’ value. It was a challenging film for the general audience, and that’s why it failed at the box office. Other films like ‘Black Friday’ (Anurag’s personal favourite) also failed at Box office due to piracy and docu-drama style of making. Then comes his cinematic masterpiece ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ which made money. The second part of the movie could have made more money had Salman Khan-starrer ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ not released in the following week.
When Anurag tried to make something conventional (Bombay Velvet), he stumbled big time as it proved to be one of the biggest flops of Bollywood history. His recent releases ‘Mukkabaaz’ and ‘Manmarziyan’, (both released this year) impressed the audiences and critics but still couldn’t get a wider reach in terms of box office success. ‘Mukkabaaz’, his finest films in recent times, was also his most audience-friendly movie, while ‘Manmarziyan’, a typical Bollywood love triangle story with realistic characters was a great watch as well.
So why didn’t these films work commercially? The answer is simple. Even the simplest of Anurag’s movies (plot-wise) has something more profound on a character level which may alienate the audience as they may not relate with the characters and their actions. This is what happened with ‘Manmarziyan’ as from outside, and plot-wise it seemed like a regular love triangle, but it’s characters were not relatable at times and made choices which were not necessarily right. But this is how real people are. They are not always right, they make mistakes and sometimes instead of learning they repeat the mistakes. And also as mentioned earlier, Kashyap’s films overflow with interesting ideas but he struggles to end his films, and they end up being a bit overstretched and overlong at times.
But this is where Anurag Kashyap also scored his biggest victory. His Netflix series ‘Sacred Games’, turned out to be his biggest success. There was no need to hurry, no pressure of box office and complete creative freedom. Without compromising his voice, he delivered beautifully and also had the largest amount of audience watching his work (due credits to Vikram Aditya Motwane and Varun Grover who were the series creator, co-director and head writer respectively). Hope we see similar success for him at the cinemas as well.
तनुश्री दत्ता और नाना पाटेकर वाले केस में अमिताभ बच्चन से पूछा गया कि उनकी क्या राय है, तो उनका जवाब था कि ना तो उनका नाम तनुश्री है, ना ही नाना, तो उनकी राय क्यों पूछी जा रही है?
नाम तो अमिताभ का सलमान भी नहीं है लेकिन उस पर उनकी राय यह थी कि फिल्म इंडस्ट्री एक परिवार की तरह है तो हम परिवार के सदस्य के तौर पर सलमान के सपोर्ट में खड़े हैं।
सही है कि शब्द हों तो आप कुछ भी बोलकर अपना बचाव कर लेते हैं। मेरी राय यह है कि हर उद्योग को, हर समाज को वर्क स्पेस मोलेस्टेशन, फोर्स्ड सेक्स के खिलाफ बोलना चाहिए। ये बात बिलकुल सत्य है कि हर जगह स्त्रियों का शोषण होता है। अधिकांश मामलों में कोई व्यक्ति अपनी पोजिशन और सामने वाले की किसी भी मजबूरी का फायदा उठाता है।
यहां पर अमिताभ बच्चन का ‘नाम-नाम’ खेलना कोरी लफ्फाज़ी है। ये बड़े स्तर की बयानबाज़ी है जो कि हिन्दी और अंग्रेज़ी बोलने में दक्ष आदमी बोल जाता है और किसी पत्रकार की इस पर राय नहीं दिखती। खैर, पत्रकारिता उद्योग तो नारियों के शोषण में अगर सबसे ऊपर ना भी हो, तो दो से तीन नंबर पर तो होगा ही।
अब आते हैं तनुश्री के वीडियो पर। हो सकता है हरासमेंट हुआ हो लेकिन जहां तक बात हो इस मामले में बाकियों से एक्सपेक्टेशन की तो आखिर इसके बावजूद लोग नाना के साथ काम क्यों कर रहे हैं? तनुश्री के इल्ज़ाम को बाकी लोग सच क्यों मानें? क्या तनुश्री पुलिस के पास गईं? उस केस का क्या हुआ? इस बात पर वो शांत हैं। बाद में तनुश्री कहती हैं कि मैं सबका नाम नहीं लूंगी क्योंकि कही-सुनी बातें हैं। तो फिर आपकी बात को सही मानकर कोई किसी के साथ काम कैसे करना बंद कर दे? आप नाम लीजिए, बताइए कि किसने आपको किसके बारे में क्या कहा। बहुत विरोधाभास है उनकी बातों में।
ये बताना भी ज़रूरी है कि मोलेस्टेशन के मामलों को साबित करना आसान नहीं होता है। साथ ही, मोलेस्टेशन के इल्ज़ाम लगाना उसी असंभव के उलट बहुत आसान है। इसमें अधिकतर केस में बहुत देर हो चुकी होती है क्योंकि हमारा समाज आज भी सर्वाइवर शेमिंग में ही यकीन रखता है। यह एक सामाजिक समस्या है कि बलात्कार या मोलेस्टेशन सर्वाइवर के साथ बहुत कम लोग ही खड़े होते हैं।
कुल मिलाकर ये मामला उतना आसान नहीं है, ना तो सर्वाइवर के लिए, ना ही कोर्ट के लिए। कोर्ट कैसे फैसला देगी अगर इल्ज़ाम साबित नहीं हो पाता है तो? या तो कोई सर्वाइवर दोबारा उस व्यक्ति को फंसाने के लिए पूरी तैयारी के साथ जाए, या फिर तमाम ऑफिसों में हर केबिन में कैमरे और माइक्रोफोन लगाए जाएं। क्या यह संभव है? नहीं।
उन मामलों का क्या जहां बचपन में लगातार बच्चियों और बच्चों का यौन शोषण होता है? वो कैसे साबित होगा? ऐसे मामलों में तो बच्चे समझ ही नहीं पाते कि ये हो क्या रहा है। फिर इसका केस बनेगा कब और कैसे?
हैशटैग चलाने से और मी टू मूवमेंट से डरे हुए, पुराने सर्वाइवर्स को आवाज़ ज़रूर मिलती है पर साथ ही इस पितृसत्तात्मक समाज में उसके आगे बढ़ने के सारे दरवाज़े भी बंद हो जाते हैं। तनुश्री दत्ता को बॉलीवुड में ज़्यादा फिल्में नहीं मिल पाईं लेकिन अगर वो बॉलीवुड की कामयाब हीरोइन होतीं भी तो क्या अब अपनी आवाज़ उठाने के बाद उन्हें कोई फिल्म मिल पाती? मुझे संदेह है।
दूसरी बात यह भी है कि जो मीडिया संवेदनशील होकर तनुश्री दत्ता को बोलने के लिए बीस मिनट का समय देता है, उसी मीडिया के वही एंकर दो मिनट के ब्रेक के बाद मुस्कुराते हुए लेटेस्ट फैशन और स्टाइल के ऊपर बात करने लगते हैं। इस तरह के ट्रीटमेंट के बाद मीडिया अपने आपको इस मूवमेंट का स्टेकहोल्डर कैसे मान सकती है?
यहां पर सबका स्वार्थ दिखता है। अमिताभ नहीं बोलेंगे क्योंकि ये उनकी दोस्ती, पर्सनालिटी, ब्रॉन्ड आदि को सूट नहीं करता। उन्हें एक असफल अभिनेत्री के कथित शोषण पर बोलने के लिए ये देखना पड़ता है कि क्या उसने ‘अमिताभ’ बोला है या ‘नाना’ लेकिन सलमान पर बोलने के लिए उनके पास वक्त है, शब्द हैं, सबकुछ है।
इससे एक बात समझ में आती है कि ये लड़ाई नारीवाद और नारीवादियों की ही है। इसमें आप वैसे लोगों से आशाएं मत रखिए जिनके लिए हर चीज़ विशुद्ध व्यापार है। हॉलीवुड के सबसे बड़े सिनेमा प्रोड्यूसर्स में से एक हार्वी वाइनस्टीन की कम्पनी बंद हो गई क्योंकि वहां सारी महिलाओं और कुछ नारीवादी मर्दों ने इस विषय पर खुलकर अपने विचार रखें। वहां उन्होंने कदम उठाएं, जो इस बात पर गम्भीर थे क्योंकि अचानक से सारे सर्वाइवर्स ने बड़े नामों के बारे में बोलना शुरू कर दिया।
एक आदमी के खिलाफ एक आवाज़ आए तो उसे झूठा कहा जा सकता है लेकिन उसी के बारे में लगातार आवाज़ें, अलग-अलग मुंह से आएं, तो स्थिति की गम्भीरता का पता चलता है।
जो पावर में हैं, पोजिशन में है, वो तो इसलिए भी नहीं बोल पाते कि उन्हें डर होता है कि उनके बोलने पर कहीं उनके इसी तरह के शोषण के मामले बाहर ना आ जाएं। जहां ये सहमति से होता है, वहां समस्या नहीं है। ऐसा नहीं है कि वर्क प्लेस में रोमांस नहीं होता, सहकर्मियों के साथ शारीरिक संबंध नहीं बनते। ये सब होता है, प्रचलन में है लेकिन होता तो बहुत कुछ ज़बरदस्ती भी है, प्रचलन में भी है, सबको पता भी है लेकिन एक डर है जिसके कारण वो बातें सामने नहीं नहीं आ पातीं।
जब तक इस डर का समाधान नहीं होगा, आप मानकर चलिए कि आपके बगल में बैठी हर लड़की को इसके बुरे अनुभव से गुज़रना पड़ेगा।समाज ऐसा ही है, हमने इसे ऐसा बनाया है कि पहले तो अवसर कम होंगे और होंगे भी तो तुम्हें अपनी क्षमता के साथ-साथ शरीर से भी उसकी कीमत चुकानी होगी क्योंकि ये अवसर एक एहसान की तरह जताए जाते हैं।
When Mr. Amitabh Bachchan was asked to comment on actor Tanushree Dutta’s claim that Nana Patekar harassed her on the sets of a 2008 film, he replied, “My name is neither Tanushree Dutta nor Nana Patekar.”
Dear Mr. Bachchan,
As the crowd burst into applause after your statement, I could not help but glance at the two women sitting beside you.
And every time I subjected myself to replaying your response, I related increasingly with both their stoic faces. Faces that were cautious enough to hide any emotions to avoid public ridicule. Faces that were not surprised by you evading yet another important question. Faces that nevertheless, expected better from you.
Mr. Bachchan, two years ago you penned a letter to both your granddaughters. You spoke about the difficulties they will face in this society, as young women. But, when you were asked a hard-hitting question, you had the chance to form a minuscule dent in this absurd system. And you refused to take it.
I have watched “Pink” seven times. I was enamoured by the way it stressed on the importance of consent. A concept which is lost on some people. But, you proved today, that ‘superheroes’ like Deepak Sehgal exist only on screen. As with that tough question, you had the chance to emphasise the importance of believing a sexual assault victim in the real world. And you refused to take it.
I have heard you speak up for women empowerment, and I have seen you as the face of an important government campaign. But, if you had gathered enough courage to answer that question, today, you would have had the chance to empower at least one woman. And consequently, countless others. But you refused to take it.
Mr. Bachchan, my name is neither Tanushree Dutta nor Nana Patekar. But, I have the empathy to say I stand with her. To let her know that I do not find her claims absurd. That her voice is being heard, and that I hope she receives justice.
Mr. Bachchan, you have a far-reaching voice, literally. With all due respect, please put it to good use.
आजकल भोजपुरी फिल्मों और एलबमों में एक कंटेंट की समानता दिखाई दे रही है और वो कंटेंट है “राम मंदिर”। चाहे वो भोजपुरी में निकलने वाले एलबम हों, जिसमें गायक राम मंदिर को बनाने को लेकर गाने गाते हैं या भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री जहां आजकल “मंदिर वहीं बनाएंगे” जैसी फिल्में बनायी जा रही हैं।
इस समय यूपी और बिहार में फिल्मों और गानों के माध्यम से राम मंदिर का मुद्दा उठाना क्या किसी खास चीज़ की तरफ इशारा नहीं कर रहा है? जिस तरीके से ये एक फिल्म “मंदिर वहीं बनाएंगे” या फिर “कब बनेगा राम मंदिर” जैसे तमाम गाने एक सिलसिलेवार ढंग से भोजपुरी इंडस्ट्री के माध्यम से आ रहे हैं, ये खास मकसद की तरफ इशारा कर रहे हैं और वो मकसद 2019 का चुनाव हो सकता है।
भाजपा जानती है कि यूपी और बिहार में जहां भोजपुरी बोली-समझी जाती है वहां लोकसभा की 120 सीटें हैं। पश्चिमी उत्तर प्रदेश को हटा भी दिया जाए तो भी 70-80 लोकसभा सीटें हैं जो केंद्र की सत्ता का निर्धारण करती हैं। भाजपा ये भली-भांति जानती है कि पिछले लोकसभा चुनाव जिसमें उनके गठबंधन को यूपी में 80 में से 72 सीटों पर जीत मिली थी और बिहार में उन्होंने 40 में से 31 सीटें जीती थी, उतनी सीटें 2019 के लोकसभा चुनाव में लाना असंभव है। इसलिए भाजपा इस क्षेत्र में अपना राम मंदिर का पुराना कार्ड खेल रही है।
भाजपा ये भी जानती है कि वर्तमान एससी-एसटी एक्ट के कारण सवर्ण समाज भी गुस्से में है। अतः भाजपा के पास इन सवर्ण समाज के लोगों को साधने के लिए भी सिर्फ एक ही हथियार बचता है और वो हथियार है राम मंदिर का हथियार और भाजपा ये हथियार बड़ी चालाकी से, बड़ी सावधानी से इस्तेमाल कर रही है। एक तरफ भाजपा एससी-एसटी एक्ट के ज़रिए दलित, पिछड़े वर्ग के वोटों में सेंध लगाने की सोच रही है तो दूसरी तरफ राम मंदिर निर्माण मुद्दे के माध्यम से वह अपने सवर्ण वोट बैंक को साधने की कोशिश कर रही है।
केंद्र में बैठी मोदी सरकार के पास पांच साल की उपलब्धियों को बताने के लिए कुछ विशेष है ही नहीं। मोदी सरकार हर मोर्चे पर फेल रही है।चाहे वो भुखमरी का मुद्दा हो, चाहे बेरोज़गारी का, चाहे स्वास्थ्य का मुद्दा हो चाहे शिक्षा का। चाहे किसानों का मुद्दा हो, चाहें महिलाओं का, चाहे दलितों का मुद्दा हो या फिर वंचितों, शोषितों का मोदी सरकार हर मोर्चे पर उस उम्मीद पर तो खरी नहीं पाई है जो मोदी जी ने देश की जनता को दी थी।
नोटबंदी ने सैकड़ों लोगों की जान ली और बाद में पता चला कि 99.3 प्रतिशत पैसे बैंकिंग सिस्टम में वापस आ गए हैं। फिर जीएसटी से छोटे दुकानदारों, छोटे लघु एवं कुटीर उद्योगों को भारी नुकसान हुआ इन सब सवालों का जवाब भी मोदी को 2019 के चुनाव में जनता को देना होगा।
क्या इन सवालों से बचने के लिए भाजपा द्वारा एक सोची समझी साज़िश के तहत भोजपुरी फिल्मों और एलबमों का सहारा लेकर समाज में नफरत के बीज बोए जा रहे हैं, जिसकी फसल 2019 के चुनाव से पहले एक दंगे के रूप में उभरेगी, जिसे मोदी चुनाव के समय काटेंगे।
फसल बोने का भी अपना एक ढंग होता है। जब फसल में खाद-पानी सही मात्रा में पड़ता है तो फसल बढ़िया होती है उसी प्रकार इस नफरत रूपी बीज को भाजपा जितना बढ़िया से खाद पानी देगी, नफरत की फसल उतनी बढ़िया होगी।
भाजपा इन उन्मादी गानों से समाजिक सौहार्द बिगाड़ना चाहती है, कहीं इसीलिए तो नहीं भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री का सहारा लिया जा रहा है?भोजपुरी इंडस्ट्री ही क्यों चुना गया तो इस सवाल का सबसे बढ़िया जवाब है भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री अभी एक छोटी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री है और ये बड़ी तेज़ी से बढ़ भी रही है।
एक बात और मनोज तिवारी जो कि इस वक्त दिल्ली भाजपा के अध्यक्ष हैं वो भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री से काफी करीब से जुड़े हैं और इस वक्त मौजूद सारे कलाकारों के सीनियर हैं और उन्हें भोजपुरी के दूसरे दौर का जन्मदाता भी कहा जाता है। हो सकता है कि इसका भी बड़ा भारी असर हो भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री पर।
इसके साथ ही भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री के अब तक के सबसे सफल गायकों में शुमार पवन सिंह हों या भोजपुरी के महानायक कहे जाने वाले रवि किशन, ये तमाम कलाकार भाजपा के सदस्य हैं। ऐसे में पूरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री में देखा जाए तो एक तरह से भाजपा का वर्चस्व है।
भोजपुरी गानों ने आज भी अपनी पकड़ यूपी, बिहार के लगभग हर घरों में बनाई हुई है और आज भी ऐसे गाने आते हैं जो समाज में हो रही वर्तमान घटनाओं, कुरीतियों को समाज के सामने रखते हैं। आज भी भोजपुरी में व्यास हैं जो ज़मीनी स्तर पर निर्गुण, चईता, फगुआ, पूर्वी गाते हैं और समाज का मनोरंजन करते हैं लेकिन वर्तमान समय में कुछ छोटे गायक जो विवादास्पद गाने गाकर हिट होना चाहते हैं वो लोग समाज में अश्लीलता और इस तरह के विवादित मुद्दों पर गाना गाकर समाज में विवाद को जन्म देते हैं जो समाजिक सौहार्द को बिगाड़ता है।
ऐसी परिस्थिति में लोगों को ऐसे कंटेंट से दूरी बनाकर अपने विवेक के अनुसार काम करना चाहिए और समाज में सामाजिक सौहार्द बनाए रखना चाहिए। इस तरह के विवादास्पद गाने या फिल्में जो इस समय भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री में बहुत तेज़ी से उठ रही हैं, फिल्म इंडस्ट्री के लिए भी नुकसानदायक हो सकती हैं। ऐसी फिल्मों और गानों से समाज का एक तबका जिसको निशाने पर लेकर ये फिल्में बनाई जा रही हैं वो इस फिल्म इंडस्ट्री से कट जाएगा। इसका भारी नुकसान फिल्म इंडस्ट्री को उठाना पड़ेगा और इस वक्त जिस तेज़ी से ये इंडस्ट्री विकास कर रही है तब इस तरह के विवादास्पद गाने या फिल्में भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री के लिए आत्मघाती भी साबित हो सकती हैं।
अतः भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री के लोगों को ऐसे साम्प्रदायिक सौहार्द बिगाड़ने वाले गानों या फिल्मों से दूरी बनानी चाहिए। भोजपुरी के कलाकारों, निर्माताओं, निर्देशकों के ऊपर ही भोजपुरी फिल्म इंडस्ट्री को बचाने की ज़िम्मेदारी है। अब इन लोगों को ये तय करना है कि ये कैसे अपनी भोजपुरी को आगे ले जाएंगे।
I was seven when “Rang De Basanti” was released. Unaware of the status it would attain in the context of my life in the years to come, I had watched the film in a cineplex with my parents and my sister. While the film was well received, for the most part, it left the audience perplexed. But it is one of those films that people have gradually, in a process that has been very profound, learned to love. It’s the same as “Tamasha” – whose impact was not felt instantly and like “Lakshya” which was unsuccessful on the silver screen, not because it was a terrible film but because Farhan Akhtar had a fairytale directorial debut with “Dil Chahta Hai”. While “Lakshya” stalled miserably at the theatres, it has been acknowledged as a good film, as people, especially the young minds, have watched and re-watched it in search of inspiration.
Sue McKinley, played by Alice Patten has a nine to five job that requires her to make documentaries for a living at ‘World Vision’. But one day she finds the diary of her grandfather James McKinley, an officer in the British army, only to become emotionally affected by the stories of the revolutionaries in the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. She makes up her mind to pack her bags and fly to India, depending on the only friend she has in the country, Sonia (Soha Ali Khan). She arrives in the national capital territory, to make a film, without any funds. She’s a little zealot in her own ways.
“Rang De Basanti” is undoubtedly a youth-film. Zestful at every step, it captures the spirit of the nation, which is young. Strictly going by the demographics, India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. India is a young nation, which is why this film continues to appeal. While the movie deals with a number of themes, the primary plotlines are the making of the documentary and the MiG fighter plane scam. There are times where the first one hour and forty-six minutes feel like a film on their own, which gives the movie the feel of a fragmented whole.
“Rang De Basanti” is a testament of university culture and the fact that the coolest film of the last decade highlights the existential angst of the postmodern times. Deejay (Aamir Khan) has sudden bouts of existential angst. In one such sequence in the film, Deejay explains to Sue that while he had acquired his degree some fives years ago, he could not convince himself to leave the campus for fear of obscurity. This is a sad reality for many students across the various campuses in India. Many students, while pursuing their post-graduation, settle for the comfort that the campus culture offers. Their university becomes a haven for them, which they find tough to leave for the outer world. It is the same existential angst that had occupied Shahid Kapoor’s character in “Kismat Konnection”. While there were many who’ve claimed that Aamir Khan was a miscast because he was way past the age acceptable for playing a varsity student, the director actually portrays ingenuity by casting Aamir and doing so by successfully weaving a storyline for him, in a film that otherwise had actors who do not work in the mainstream.
We see the film unfold through the eyes of Sue, who keeps thinking about the six friends on a cinematic plane and by the time we’ve arrived at the end of the first half, the actors have become their characters and the characters in the film have become their historical counterparts. We see the character of Aslam (Kunal Kapoor), who plays Ashfaqulla Khan in Sue’s documentary, facing the same conflict that his historical counterpart did. Aslam is not in agreement with the idea of not intermingling with the Hindu majority of the country, which was being propounded by his father and brother. Ashfaq too, right until his death in 1927, worked for Hindu-Muslim unity, the Independence of India and against the partisan forces in his own community. Aslam is shown to be the ideal Muslim. The treatment that the minority finds in this film tells us about the director’s idea of a minority, while the film is not fascist, certain elements in the film imply that the director also believes that there was a section within the minorities, that can be held responsible for the partition of India.
Sue, the outsider, has been used as a mouthpiece for important social commentary. For instance, she is quoted saying “I was so stupid to pack my bags and come to a place where people are looking for an excuse to kill each other”. While Sue speaks Hindi, during one of the scenes, the screenplay demands that she say “tumhara jawaab nahin, Sonia”. The proverbs in a language, lose their essence in translation. “Tumhara jawaab nahin”, is an expression and not a direct translation and there is no way that someone who is just learning to speak in a different tongue, would pick up its proverbs easily, this flaw is a result of poor writing. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is a fine director when he has been given a good screenplay and is not involved in the writing process himself. “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” is a brilliant piece of work whereas “Delhi 6” is a result of weak writing and so is “Aks”, which if I may state, very controversially is one of Amitabh Bachchan’s best work, acting-wise.
“Rang De Basanti” has the ability to move back and forth in time. The boys fight against the ruling party that is shown to be involved in high-level corruption just like their historical counterparts were engaged in a struggle against the British, which makes this film a huge allegory for the Indian Independence movement. A brilliant scene in the film, for instance, would be that of Scott’s assassination and how the film immediately cuts to present day and time after his murder and has the ensemble riding in a jeep as they smile mischievously. While the camera techniques could be old, this does not prevent “Rang De Basanti” from being visually appealing. The movie is said to be set in Delhi, but the Director’s and the Director of Photography’s eye for aesthetic has taken the film to various locations. This visual gem allowed Binod Pradhan, who was also the Director of Photography for “Devdas”, to win the Filmfare for best cinematography that year.
The music is an integral part of this film, the visuals in the songs are stunning and do not take away from the film’s storyline. The songs cannot be skipped because they’ve important sequences that advance the storyline, whether it be ‘tu bin bataye’, ‘luka chuppi’ or ‘khoon chala’. The film’s music cannot be seen separately from the movie itself. Serenity in ‘tu bin bataye’ and chaos in ‘khalbali’, is successfully conveyed through camera work, tension is conveyed through A.R. Rahman’s background score in flashback scenes.
The only song that did not have anything new to add to the film, would be the title track ‘rang de basanti’, this song sequence could be edited out without the audience being able to tell that something has gone missing from the film. Because unlike other songs, this song does not blend into the storyline of the film and looks like it has been edited in to showcase the village Olympics. So, for me, those five minutes of the title track are the most discountable, in the entire movie. As far as I can call to memory, the computer-generated aircrafts in ‘tu bin bataye’, did not exist in the theatrical release but were later added, when the movie was released on DVD.
The poem, Sarfaroshi Ki Tamannah, has been incorporated into the song ‘lalkaar’ but the movie wrongly ends up attributing the war cry, Sarfaroshi Ki Tamannah, penned by Bismil Azimabadi, a poet from Patna to the poet-revolutionary Ram Prasad Bismil. Though Ram Prasad Bismil immortalised this poem, it is not his creation. Also, in a scene that takes place between Ashfaqulla Khan and Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaq is advised by Bismil to flee to Afghanistan, where he could remain safe with those who shared his religious identity. One can doubt the historicity of such events because Shamsul Haq had discussed a similar incident in his book, “Muslims against partition”, where Frontier Gandhi was faced by embarrassment and dejection when Maulana Abul Kalam Azad had asked him to join the Muslim League, once the partition of India was announced. One wonders, whether such events in history were actually frequent or was this scene added to convey a sentiment but in the end distorts facts by shaping history in the public context.
While “Rang De Basanti” leaves us with several questions, looking back one can’t help, but wonder would the film still be as well-received had it been scheduled to release in today’s date and time, even with the country’s present political atmosphere?
“Mad in India – kyunki sapne dekhne wale paagal hote hain…”
This one statement says and holds a lot at the same time. Dreams are meant to turn into reality if one contains the drive to have all the support needed. But, what many fail to predict is the journey that makes it worthwhile. Sharat Katariya’s “Sui Dhaaga: Made In India” highlights this passage of a dream to a path of glory, in a distinct manner.
The film shares the story of Mauji (Varun Dhawan) and Mamta (Anushka Sharma). A married couple who are a part of an ordinary populace who stops thinking big after the tailoring business of Mauji’s grandfather Chajjulal fails miserably. Therefore, all he can now do to earn a livelihood for his financially weak family is run petty errands for others and fulfil the requests for futile entertainment from his bosses. Mamta, on the other hand, being a new addition to Mauji’s clan, feels embarrassed at all this along with her in-laws. She is also the one who carries the vision for ‘change’.
Unlike Mauji’s parents, who are fully occupied by the household chores and their health issues, Mamta recognises Chajjulal’s posterity in Mauji’s crafty hands. Mauji is good at freelance tailoring, however, in order to revoke his and his family’s dignity, Mamta motivates him to take his knack to the next level. At this juncture, the marital union between them gets sanctified as Mamta stands tall with Mauji, who finally sees his life through his wife’s lens.
Moreover, all she wishes is his happiness and the financial stability of her new home. The fact that Mamta is selfless enough to take on the struggle of keeping up with the household and travelling long distances with Mauji, all in one breath, is noteworthy. The journey does not go easy for them as they are pressured by the mercantile world to sell their tailoring ideas in return for some ready cash. The director manages to beautifully portray the strongest self an individual can assume in utmost adversity.
Mauji and Mamta breathe in all the problems only to carve out their best versions by somehow making everyone believe in their dedication and creating a brand of their own. They participate in a fashion contest along with their sceptics to realise that their art may not be enough to appease everyone. They are not professional designers hence, they cannot put out a good “show” which emphasizes the loopholes in a commercially-driven society. However, Mamta and Mauji and all of their turf go glued as one, which evokes hope and at last, victory.
Ergo, the film not just sells dreams on celluloid. It caricatures one’s emotions attached to them and how various relationships come into play in one’s urge for reaching the stars. Such revelation is brilliantly emoted by Anushka and Varun who de-glam themselves along with other crew to share a compulsive story of the few sensitive individuals who want to prove their vision is very much achievable. “Sui Dhaaga: Made in India” is a unique film which uses homely music to beautify its plot and it has no traces of high volt cinematic drama. Hence, it is definitely worth your time because “sab badhiya hai”!
India as a nation has always been heavily inclined towards music. Be it music as the medium of expression, a beat to groove to, or simply for leisure. It has contributed significantly to the cultural milieu of the country.
While India is familiar with many genres like Rock, Blues, R&B, Classical, Pop etc., Hip Hop as a genre is never endemically associated with it.
However, the genre has been adopted by a generation of bold and young musicians from Shillong to achieve a two-fold goal: to spread awareness regarding certain socio-political issues and to feed the growing culture of Hip Hop through vernacular.
Who Are These Musicians?
Contributing to a home-grown culture of indie music, these Hip Hop artists represent the voice of the youth.
Bands like Khasi Bloodz, Cryptographik Street Poets, Symphonic Movement and more recently, an up and coming crew like Kingdom Culture have become a fulcrum for the generation of a new culture of music.
Cryptographik Street Poets
Kingdom Culture adopts biblical themes and intertwines it with the socio-political context of Shillong, drawing direct inspiration from Khasi Bloodz.
“Our faith is the primary influence on our music,” says crew member of Kingdom Culture, Shanbook.
“Artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, 2Pac, J.Cole and others motivate us to continue improving our skills and move forward artistically and need to contribute our opinions about society, politics, religion and culture and inspire people around us,” he adds.
Member of Symphonic Movement Praiselyson Lyngskor says that “Through our music, we want to make an impact on young minds-by creating something that could make a change.”
Hip Hop As a Medium Of Expression
Apart from being an obvious source of entertainment, Hip Hop for these up and coming artists is much more than that. Much like traditional Hip Hop, it is essentially a medium of expression.
Majority of their themes deal with personal experiences and lived realities of the time. They express their disarray with the existing socio-political and economic situation through rap.
Themes like unemployment, poverty, moral policing, corruption, drug addiction etc., are strategically and intrinsically woven into the fabric of Meghalayan Hip Hop.
Hip Hop in the conventional sense does have a penchant for leaning towards misogyny and sexism within the realm of expressing dissent. However, they don’t form a part of the work of these rising stars.
Vernacular Vs English
Khasi Bloodz
While a lot of these bands rap and express themselves in English, some bands like Mawlai Emcees, rap in Khasi. “When we rap in Khasi, we’re making a statement,” says band-member Baniphira Karsanti.
“The language is already fading into oblivion, with more and more people speaking in English, and we want to preserve our language,” he further stated.
Hip Hop for these Meghalayan artists is not just a medium of expression but is also a vehicle to assert their regional identity. The whole idea of having an independent identity, contributes beautifully to the composite culture of India.
Greater Support For Hip Hop
Earlier, Shillong did not provide adequate support and space for these bands to thrive. However, over the years there is immense support pouring in for them.
There are many gigs happening in the town, and funky cafes and bars are often the watering holes that feed Meghalayan Hip-Hop junkies.
With immensely relatable content, they are attracting a generation of people who identify with them and are willing to come out and support the growing subculture of Hip Hop in Shillong.
