During the frightening corona pandemic’s peak rampage, one Sushant Singh Rajput killed himself because he was obviously a headless fellow who couldn’t manage his personal life nor his quickly acquired fame and money as he had no exposure to quality skill or knowledge. Nearly the entire youth community of India went into mourning more intensely than they would have done for a dear kin having lost life all on a sudden. The simplest observation indicated that the electronic media particularly TV news channels did the damage. They merrily ignored the critical national affairs, sacrificing soldiers along the border and elsewhere around the country, the incredibly wise statesmen, social thinkers and reformers who were relentlessly busy shaping the nation to attain a joyful environment for all. The competitive channels pushed all their reporters around Sushant Singh, his controversial girlfriends, his family members vociferously blaming some woman or the other that came in the life of the deceased and terming the police useless and corrupt. The mad fans of the 34-year old Rajput were in a frenzy as he was their most-loved matinee idol, no matter if he had messed up his life. During the whole month of June 2020 when corona had brought the entire human world to an eerie standstill, freshly late Rajput dispelled the corona fear and put the young Indians on the overdrive mode. As mindless television channels were competing with one another for news-breaking lousy, trivial issues about what could have happened to Sushant Rajput, the nation went a step backward in planning strategic battle plans to contain the corona virus. Now that Rajput has gone out of mind with the dread for corona, Indian youth at large is sighing in relief and also regret.
Come 2022 July. Corona vaccines have come and done their wonder job. Other strange emerging diseases do not put any scare among the human race anymore as corona has evidently finished the fear quota for long. But when the eastern State of Odisha headed by a five-term popular Chief Minister is keeping the people happy with a rare magic wand, some goddamn actor has shaken up the electronic media so horrendously that the news channels have turned oblivious of all important issues and affairs that affect or influence the quality of life of the masses only to chase the actor and his alleged out-of-marriage sweetheart for some private issues that have certainly nothing to do with people. The married boy ignoredhis sane wife to spend time with an unmarried co-actor girl, who allegedly supplied alcohol and ganja to the actor to keep him tame with her under hypnotic tricks. The actor in question and trouble seems to be rather wayward. The difficult girl blamed by his wife for stealing her husband is not easy to asses or evaluate on attributes. But for sure, the actor is to blame. No matter how wayward the girl is, if at all, she cannot be blamed for the irresponsible behaviour of the married actor, whom the local media colours as a star.
The Odia film industry is just too tiny and in perpetual infancy after the classic era has been over in the late 1960s.Most of these brash, half-educated or nearly illiterate Odisha movie figures of today are not even quality actors, let alone stars. What the irresponsible media with uneducated reporters at work do not know is that a matinee idol whose name sells like mad and ensures money back in multiple folds of investment is a ‘star’. Salman, Shahrukh, Akshay Kumar, Aamir, Hrithik Roshan et al are stars whose mere‘yes’ to act in a movie is enough for the producer to make harvest and reap profits even before going on the floor. But actors likeAnubhav, Babushaan and others in the similar genre are strugglers even today. They make a little money from local product endorsements and dance on stage or at wedding events of the wealthy.
There is a saying in most cultured Indian communities that naming kids fancifully causes woes in adult life, the same way as craving for gold brings bad luck to homes by way of family discord and loss of peace.
The Odisha media has even underplayed the iconic DroupadiMurmu, the least expected figure from the tribal community of Odisha who became President of the most colossal democracy on the planet. The insane media stopped short after her oath ceremony. Media housesdidn’t carry the poignant tale of poverty and want of her childhood days or how from the original Santhal name of ‘PutiTuddu’ she became a Hindu ‘Draupadi’.
The local print media is adequately sane, sound and responsible in choosing topics of human importance. It’s the television channels that are boring viewers to the bone-marrow by repeating the same meaninglessly horrific scenes and events throughout days. The social media, yet another scariest menace, takes cue easily and intensifies the rumour-spreading spree.
Chief Justice of India NV Ramanajust a week ago expressed huge distress saying mixing news with views is a dangerous cocktail as nothing can be more lethal to democracy than the deadly combination of confrontational polity and competitive journalism. Though he meant more about how media trials through debates are badly influencing, nay, confusing justice delivery, it is absolutely true that TV channels be put under control to prevent worthless issues being shown as big news. An issue ceases to be news unless it has ingredients to affect people’s lives favourably or otherwise, particularly through making clear what moves of the state or nonstate entities helps nation building. Although CJI Ramanna’s fears are partly misplaced and misconceived, the whole anxiety expressed by him holds some critical logic.