Why are celebrities vulnerable

Why is it that every time Bollywood celebrities, mostly the three Khans, comment on any serious issue, it’s always blown out of proportion and they are hounded like crazy by the media and the cyber citizens as if they had done blasphemy?

In a star crazy nation like India where people are interested in knowing everything about their favourite stars, the media seizes the opportunity to raise their ratings and circulation. On the other hand, the general people go hammer and tongs against them on the social media, some questioning their integrity and patriotism and others simply posting distasteful comments.

While everybody has a right to make a comment or feeling publicly as guaranteed by our constitution, why is it that actors are targeted? Nobody has any issue when they talk about their affairs or rivalry with other actors. Is it simply because they are vulnerable and cannot strike back hard as they cannot afford to lose their fan following or antagonise the media on which they are heavily dependent for publicity?

The latest on the target list is Aamir Khan after his comment on the intolerance issue, “As an individual, as a citizen I have also been alarmed, I can’t deny it, by a number of incidents…for the first time Kiran said should we move out of India. That’s a disastrous and big statement for her to make.”

It became a front page headline and there were comments all over social media. Some defended him, arguing that he never said that he would leave India. Others slammed him, saying how could he make such comments for India which made him a star. There were heavy security outside his house and the media was after him for a reaction. Shiv Sena announced a reward for slapping him.

Anupam Kher was critical in his tweet, Dear @aamir_khan. Did you ask Kiran which country would she like to move out to? Did you tell her that this country has made you… But Ram Gopal Verma tweeted positively, “If Aamir, Sharuk and Salman the three biggest stars of the Hindu country “India” are Muslims, I don’t understand where the intolerance is.”  

This is not the first time Aamir came under the media’s scanner. He came under the spotlight when he commented after the Vadodara riots, “I want the people of India to see that here is a political party that does not believe in democracy…”

He also came into focus when he joined the Narmada dam issue with Medha Patkar who was on a hunger strike in Delhi. Though he had not made any political comment and just met her at the venue, the media and many people had dismissed it as a publicity stunt. He also came under attack from doctors after he highlighted malpractice in the medical profession in his programme Satyameva Jayate.

Aamir Khan is not alone to be targeted. Earlier also on several occasions, celebrities had to apologise or take back their comments. Before Aamir, Shah Rukh Khan added his voice to the protest against the 'climate of intolerance' and said that there was "extreme intolerance" in the country, hitting the headline. Then followed the same cycle -- media hounding, social media leaving everything aside to target him and protests by political elements.

BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya had painted the actor as "anti-nationalist" and said his "soul" is in Pakistan though he lives in India. He, however, withdrew his controversial remarks but he refused to apologise. Several others follow suit. But this time the otherwise vociferous Shiv Sena, came out in full support of the Bollywood actor and said the superstar should not be targeted only because he is a Muslim and that the minority community in India is "tolerant".

Shah Rukh Khan had earlier entered into a controversy when he said, “I sometimes become the inadvertent object of political leaders who choose to make me a symbol of all that they think is wrong and unpatriotic about Muslims in India. … Rallies have been held where leaders have exhorted me to leave my home and return to what they refer to as my ‘original homeland.”

In another instance, Shahrukh Khan's mention of the Prophet in a quote led to a huge backlash from the Muslim clergy. When he was asked by a magazine, “According to you who is the most impressive figure in history?” he replied, “There are lots of them, some negative ones like Hitler, Napoleon, Winston Churchill and if I can call it history, then Prophet Mohammed and from recent time Nelson Mandela.” “And there are nice ones like Gandhiji and Mother Teresa.”

Later he said, “Obviously, I think there is no figure in history more important than Prophet Mohammed. Also, being a Muslim and standing up for the tenets of Islam is my most important agenda… and if they have seen my interviews, etc on TV about Islam, then the people who are objecting, should realise that what has appeared is a writing error not a thought or view that I believe in. Prophet Mohammed is the most important positive figure in Islam… and anyone who questions my view on that, is doing it just to create a controversy.”

Salman Khan is the media’s favourite because of his court cases. He is also infamous for his controversial comments. On the 26/11 attack in Mumbai, he had commented, “Everybody knows that the Pakistan government was not behind 26/11 attack and it was a terrorist attack.” Later when hell broke loose on his comment all over the media, he said, “Next time main apne sab interview khud bhi record karunga… taki yeh sab controversies na ho…”

Salman Khan also got into trouble when he commented after Yakub Menon’s conviction, “Get tiger (Tiger Memon), hang him. Parade him not his brother. Later he apologised, “I would like to unconditionally apologise for any misunderstanding.” Even his father Salim Khan spoke against him, fearing the ‘anti-national’ backlash. “Whatever Salman has written is ridiculous and meaningless. Salman is ignorant of the issue and people should not take him seriously.”

Salman Khan even faced flak for flying kite with Narendra Modi when he was still campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls and for his association with Sri Lanka’s Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Even Saif Ali Khan had miffed quite a few in Pakistan with his statement, “I have lost faith in Pakistan”. This he said after his film ‘Phantom’ had been banned in the Islamic Republic, following its controversial trailer depicting Pakistan as a hub for terrorists had been released. Some years ago, actress Khushboo came under attack from religious groups and activists over her comments on pre-martial sex, forcing her to issue a clarification. 

While there can be a healthy debate on what they said is right or wrong, what they said cannot surely become news of the day or take half of front pages and prime time slots on TV just because they are celebrities. And nobody for that matter should be shocked when they comment on a serious matter. They are all flesh and blood like us and have every right to make their feelings public. After all the beauty of Indian democracy is that it allows us all to speak aloud. But personal and press liberty shouldn’t become go to the extent that it becomes a vilifying or smear campaign. 

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#Peepli Live redux --- Published in #The Hoot

http://www.thehoot.org/media-watch/media-practice/peepli-live-redux-8973

The media blame politicians for exploiting social issues for political mileage but are the media any different with their feeding frenzies around tragedies, as the Dadri coverage showed?

KAKOLI THAKUR reports.

Remember Peepli Live, the acclaimed film about a poor farmer in a drought-hit area who unwittingly became the centre of controversy and how he was caught in a battle between media houses for TRPs and politicians for political mileage?
That was a movie but don’t we have Peepli Lives playing out almost every day, whether it’s over a minor topic or a major issue? In the form of 24/7 running commentary in print, online and television media? In netas cashing in on any controversy? In the reckless and uncontrolled social media where radicalised minds spread poison and tend to trivialise the most important news?
The Dadri tragedy shows once again how the media are feeding off tragedies and from dubious motives. Is it because they really believe the news to be important or is it because a mob lynching lends itself to hysterical reporting and shrill debates which is what they need for their ratings? The same applies to politicians: is that they really care about Akhlaq and the issues the lynching threw up or are they exploiting the murder for their votebanks?
In Peepli Live, politicians and journalists competed for TRPs. They were there again at Dadri. This time we had the social media to give them company. The media were quick to accuse politicians of being vultures but were they any different?
Controversial BJP politicians and leaders from other parties lined up at the village to make provocative statements in their attempts to polarise ordinary people and politicise the issue in a bid to grab the headlines.
These politicians and journalists hung around for so long after the incident that the villagers stopped anyone else from entering because they were so angry at being exploited. The media failed to learn a lesson.
Is it possible that the media and the political class are making a bad situation even worse with their behaviour, that they are exacerbating social tensions because of their insanely aggressive conduct at such times?  If the villagers had been left alone after the gruesome murder and after the initial reporting, it’s possible that the social fabric of the village might have been only slightly, or temporarily, damaged and Hindus and Muslims might have been able to resume living together as they had earlier. Instead, as the days passed, differences hardened.
For Akhlaq’s family, the continuous glare of cameras was certainly not something they wanted at this moment of grief when Danish was still in hospital. Surely the media can show more sensitivity and judgement on such occasions and balance the insatiable need of the beast for news and updates with some  consideration for the family’s need? Instead, the headlines kept coming:
Mohammad Akhlaq's Son Shifted to Delhi Army Hospital -  NDTV
Mohammad Akhlaq's family moves to New Delhi - India Today
Akhlaq’s brother says family will not leave the village — firstpost.com
Kin return to village one last time – Times of India
‘Danish doesn’t want to remember that night’ - Hindustan Times
The cameras continued to chase the family for a byte or two even when Sartaj, the victim’s elder son, visited the village for the first time after the incident.
Negative, positive, analytical, sensational, the issue hogged the headlines for a good two weeks:
Right-wing groups behind Akhlaq killing: Cong - Times of India.
Dadri lynching: Akhlaq's last call was to his Hindu childhood friend for help -  Times of India
'I'll become Hindu, but don't hurt my family': Dadri Muslim - catchnews.com
 ‘Bisada has become a dangerous word’ - Indian Express’
Dadri: Not just another issue, Bhainsko danda? - edit page, Times of India
Was the Dadri lynching really about eating beef - Reddif.com
Dadri incident a well-planned conspiracy - The Hindu
The Dadri effect: Killing beef-eaters will not win elections - Times of India
'Grand Alliance' Trying to Divert Attention by Raising Dadri Incident: Venkaiah Naidu - NDTV
Dadri incident being used for gains in Bihar polls: Sanjay Raut - CNN -IBN
Adding to the pandemonium was the social media, which has become a loose cannon of sorts. It behaved very irresponsibly with people posting hate comments and inflammatory pictures. A photo of raw flesh was circulated with the claim that it was the beef found in Akhlaq’s house. The police haven’t been able to trace the people who started these chain messages. However, the  ‘once-bitten, twice-shy’ UP police quickly managed to zero in on a Facebook user for posting videos of a Dalit couple who stripped at a police station in nearby Dankaur.
After the Dadri incident, there was a string of rumours over ‘cow carcasses being found all over UP’. In Mainpuri, two butchers were beaten up over rumours of cow slaughter. Even in Bisada, the carcass of an animal led to fresh tension days after the lynching. Hate messages spread on the social media and messaging apps were largely responsible for such incidents.
And now politics has started over the decision of many writers to return their Sahitya Akademi awards to protest against the growing intolerance in the country. The government has termed it a ‘manufactured’ protest and the opposition has taken the government head-on. Here we go again..yet another controversy, yet another high-decibel ruckus. Where will it end? The mind boggles.