Subhash Chandra Bose Birthday today

Today India is celebrating his 113rd birthday and remembering his contributions for this country. Thats why on this eve, India celebrates “Desh Prem Diwas” on occasion of Netaji Birthday.Subhash Chandra is mostly remembered by his words – Give me blood and i will give you freedom . In Hindi, “tum mujhe khoon do , mai tumhe aazadi dunga”.

DID MEDIA AND CINEMA FALL APART IN 2009?

Cinema and media share a symbiotic relationship. Without cinema providing the news and much more, the media would have to totally scrap Page 3. There wouldn’t be a section called ‘entertainment news’ which seems to be one of the most popular segments with the readers at present. Similarly, cinema would be hard pressed for publicity without the wide reach that the media has. Both cinema and media need each other. But, 2009 had a few unsavory incidents which threatened to disrupt the harmony between the cinema and media. They could have been or should have been avoided or handled in a far more better and mature manner. The relation between cinema and media is very delicate, much like marriage. It is built on mutual trust and understanding. Once there is a breach of trust from any one side, the relationship will never be the same again. It is like a wound that is difficult to heal or a flame whose embers never die down. From then on, even the slightest issues can take on big proportions, like a mountain being made out of a molehill. The necessity is to maintain the all important trust which nurtures the relationship. What is it in 2009 that has threatened to disrupt the relationship between cinema and media? Two incidents in particular can be pointed out as ones that stood out like sores in an otherwise smooth year. There is an unwritten rule which governs the cinema-media symbiosis. An invisible line of control exists which defines the limits of freedom that both enjoy with each other. Anything beyond that line tends to leave a bad taste.

Media reports about cinema. Well, that is fine. But, reporting about cinema is sometimes misconstrued as reporting about film personalities, especially stars. That too is fine when a certain level of decorum is maintained in the way reports are rolled out. But, there are times when reporting about film personalities gets a bit too personal for anybody’s comfort. Gossip is what this form of reporting is called. But, things can sometimes get a bit more serious than gossip, which is perhaps too mild a term to describe things that are sometimes said. You might have guessed at least one of the two incidents which are being referred here. The first was that of a supposed marriage that took place between a leading actress and an actor turned director. The second was even more serious which accused some of the very familiar names in the industry of being involved in certain illegal activities. The rather unsavory nature of this report prevents any further details from being discussed. But, chances are that you might have read or heard about this scandal from one source or the other. Now there is no need to discuss the genuineness of these reports. We know for sure that both of them involved a more than acceptable use of imagination and improvisation than is permissible for a news item that could carry very serious implication, which could involve character assassination. So, it is understandable that the film fraternity was up in arms against the media in a flash. Their reaction was completely understandable, keeping in mind the seriousness of the reports. But, it has to be said that a few reactions could have been more measured, keeping in mind the nature of the relationship between cinema and media. The thing to be noted here is that, in both the above mentioned reports, it was only one particular publication or source that was supposed to be at fault. But, media on the whole is much bigger than just a singular source. Many of the reactions that came in from the film fraternity regarding the reports that were carried were sweeping and scathing statements about the entire media. Ironically, even these reactions had to be reported only by the media, which was the antagonist of the incidents in question. The idea is to keep the unwritten rule in mind. To remember not to cross the line so that the cinema-media relationship can remain cordial and complementary. Both need each other. Cinema cannot afford to go back to the 80s era of posters and word of mouth publicity when budgets are touching unheard figures, neither can media go back to the black and white era which contained very little entertainment news.