NL Hafta

Abhinandan and Rajyasree discuss the latest biopic in town, Sanju, with Samar Khan from Mumbai. Khan, who is a former journalist, says, “It is a well-made film. It follows Rajkumar Hirani's theory, where he finds good in everything that is bad with the world."Rajyasree is not as much a fan of the film and says, “I thought the film was quite badly made. It is not a fictional film, considering all of Rajkumar’s films have been fictional films. This is a biopic, that has been promoted as a biopic. I understand if you present some facts, especially about a person you have worked with successfully, with a rose-tinted view. This entire thing about hoisting all responsibility of all of Sanjay Dutt’s actions on other people, he took drugs because of someone else who tricked him into it." In response to Rajyasree's comments, Abhinandan says, “In a biopic, you see shades of grey in everybody. However, in this case, he just came across as a caricature villain from a fictional film.” Talking about Anushka Sharma’s character, he says, “I don’t know if there is one such writer who starts crying every time Sanjay Dutt tells a story. It was a completely ridiculous character.”Sen also discusses the criticism of Karan Johar for trying to remake Sairat. “There has been a lot of criticism for Karan Johar because he is making this film called Dhadak, which is starring Sridevi’s daughter and Ishaan Khatar, and I could not understand why he is getting trashed because when I saw the trailer and then the promos and songs, it looks like a Karan Johar film.”Talking about the nature of biopics, Abhinandan says, “After you watch a biopic, it says based on true events, but the next line is that similarities are coincidental. I don’t understand that. If you are making a biopic, then every character and every event should be true in that. Now, there is this new convention that the central character will be real, the rest we’ll make shit up as we go along.”Talking about another film based on a real person, Rajyasree says, “Soorma is the story of this hockey player called Sandeep Singh who made a comeback after he gets shot and he’s put in a wheelchair and how he makes a comeback. I quite liked the trailer, and I quite liked Daljit Dosanjh." In response, Abhinandan says, “Daljit looks the part, but the thing that is of concern to me is the whole ‘based on true events’. That means that probably one event was true, but the rest will be nonsense. These are the kinds of things that piss me off. Either you say that the film is a figment of my imagination and I’ll enjoy it."Rajyasree also discusses Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3 by saying, “Tigmanshu Dhulia is directing it for the third time. I felt the trailer was like the first two films. I can’t make out the difference. And Jimmy Shergill has to stop playing a villain. Even he has to be tired of it.” And then there’s the new biopic of Jaggi Vasudev which will be directed by Shashank Ghosh and produced by Rhea Kapoor, and of course, approved by Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation.Abhinandan closes by talking about an Everest Masala ad with Amitabh Bachchan. “It has this little boy and his mother…I thought that ad was really good.” There’s this and more. Listen up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

भाजपा अध्यक्ष अमित शाह का वंदे मातरम को लेकर कांग्रेस पर तुष्टिकरण और बंटवारे का आरोप, आपातकाल की वर्षगांठ, मीडिया संस्थानों से नोटबंदी के दौरान एक सहकारिता बैंक (जिसके निदेशक अमित शाह थे) में पांच दिनों के अंदर 745 करोड़ रूपए जमा होने की खबर का हटाया जाना, झारखंड के खूंटी में पत्थलगड़ी आंदोलन, स्विस बैंकों में पैसे जमा होने की गति बढ़ना व अन्य मुद्दे इस हफ्ते न्यूज़लॉन्ड्री चर्चा के मुख्य विषय रहे.मीडिया विजिल के संस्थापक व वरिष्ठ पत्रकार पंकज श्रीवास्तव चर्चा के विशिष्ट अतिथि थे. उनके साथ पैनल में मौजूद थे न्यूज़लॉन्ड्री संवाददाता अमित भारद्वाज. न्यूज़लॉन्ड्री के कार्यकारी संपादक अतुल चौरसिया ने चर्चा का संचालन किया. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s NL Hafta, the panel consists of Abhinandan, Manisha and Anand. Revati Laul, a renowned independent journalist and filmmaker joined as a guest.The discussion kicks off with Saifuddin Soz, a senior Congress party leader in Kashmir, who recently launched his book titled, Kashmir: Glimpses of History and the Story of Struggle. Saifuddin Soz had also made a statement earlier which said that Kashmiris want Azadi. Commenting on Saifuddin Soz, Anand says, “As a political leader of a nation state, he should be more careful of what he’s saying.” Manisha says, “I think he’s making those comments more as an author.” She adds, “I think he has to keep in mind that he’s a politician but then he’s also speaking from the point of view of his book.”The discussion moves on to the ‘much-advertised’ 43rd anniversary of the Emergency imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Manisha thinks that it is a ‘hyperbole’. She says, "But, of course, 2019 (elections)...I guess that’s the one thing that they (BJP) can whip them (Congress) with.” Commenting on a notion that has surfaced, Anand observes, “I think the fiction of undeclared Emergency is rooted in a sense of deprivation among journalists who don’t have anti-establishment tales to tell in their 60s. And those who are already in their 60s, already know that they’re lying.” He adds, “Advertisements by their very nature are exaggerations.”Revati compares the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi to the current situation of Indian politics. Abhinandan says, “Human nature is displaying certain levels of servility that were displayed during the Emergency...And I think that is unique whenever you get a strong leader.”The panel discusses the letter written by Vijay Mallya to Prime Minister Narendra Modi which explained how he’s being made a ‘scapegoat’ despite his willingness to settle his dues. Abhinandan says, “I definitely think that he thought he could get away with it and now that he has not, he’s saying I can do all this...You could’ve done it earlier also.”Anand says, “Ignominy has also been earned by the flamboyant lifestyle he had.”Abhinandan asks the panel about the Chief Economic Adviser's role in policy making, in the context of Arvind Subramanian who recently quit from the position. Anand says, “Having a macro picture of how the economy is moving, what adjustment it needs... So it’s a kind of an advisory role...Most of the political heads don’t have that expertise to go into those details, so they help in that.”The panel discusses an Amit Shah-related news story that was pulled down by several media houses. The RTI reply stated, the primary basis of the story, that a huge amount of money was deposited in a bank headed by Amit Shah, post-demonetisation. Abhinandan believes that this circles back to the debate around the ‘Emergency’.Manisha speaks about the coverage of a crime incident in which an Army officer had killed the wife of another officer. She says, “Both ABP and Aaj Tak...ran this headline Do major ek mehbooba... They turned it into these rangeela-type websites.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NL Hafta has gone behind the paywall, but we love our listeners. So, here's a little sneak peek into the complete episode where we discuss Saifuddin Soz's remarks, #Emergency, Vijay Mallya's letter to the Prime Minister and more.You can listen to the full Hafta here (https://www.newslaundry.com/2018/06/29/hafta-178-saifuddin-soz-emergency-vijay-mallyas-letter-to-the-prime-minister-and-more). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Reporters Without Orders is celebrating its 25th episode. Our host Cherry Agarwal is joined by in-house reporter Amit Bhardwaj and Campus Politik editor Sumedha Pal, along with Sidhartha Dutta, Principal Correspondent, Indo-Asian News Service.The media coverage of Hapur lynching case is debated by the panel. Amit feels the “story developed slowly” but “got enough coverage”. He referred to the incident as “one of the slow-burn stories” that gain momentum in the media over a period of time. Cherry asks, “Why do you think this got coverage only after it developed to a certain stage?”Sidhartha talks about the incident being referred to as a case of road rage even though the evidence suggested otherwise. He adds, "I find it really alarming." Amit, following the meeting with the victim’s family, mentions the “the kind of horror they had gone through” and also shares other details of the incident. Sidhartha confesses, “Maybe so much of detail, I wouldn't have known had you not told me,” in support of his argument that the incident was not covered enough.Turning the conversation to another aspect of media criticism, Cherry asks, “We make comparisons to other events…do you think these comparisons are fair?” To which, Sumedha adds, “Such questions need a lot of self-reflection."Meanwhile, Amit impresses upon the prioritisation of stories in terms of media coverage. He says, “It depends upon news development on that particular day."As an agency reporter covering All India Congress Committee, Siddharth talks about Congress party’s relationship with the media. Sidhartha says, “It is imperative for reporters to always get the reaction of a principal Opposition party." Meaning to say that Congress' "position as the principal Opposition” is a probable reason for the party getting wider media coverage.Sumedha speaks about her report on sexual harassment allegations levelled against the NSUI national president by a former female party worker. She says, “Often stories of sexual harassment either end up becoming sensationalised or they are reduced to nothing." Amit says, “I am not drawing any conclusion about Fairoz Khan’s case”. He also mentions about the complexities of the case and the need for a thorough inspection into allegations. He also talks about media's possible reaction “had it been any ABVP member, from even a district member of the committee…Social media narrative would have been made by left-liberals,” he adds.For a third consecutive week, Amit says, stories from Jharkhand has been under-reported by the Big Media. For more details, listen up! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s Awful and Awesome is loaded with reviews from all spheres of entertainment. As a die-hard fan of horror movies, Rajyasree talks about her spooky weekend screening -- Hereditary and Under the Show, which is also available on Netflix. Abhinandan shares his love for animated films and talks about The Incredibles 2. India Today’s “new celebrity interview series” along with Times Network’s campaign are discussed. Netflix special Nanette has got everyone talking about Hannah Gadsby so why should our hosts be left behind?Rajyasree talks about Hereditary for which she had heard grand reviews claiming it to be the “scariest movie of the year”. The Ari Aster-directed movie left Rajyasree very disappointed. She says, “The first 2o minutes held a lot of promise." However, she adds, “There is no way this film can scare you." Abhinandan mentions, “I found Sixth Sense very spooky”.Under the Shadow, a Persian film set during the Iran-Iraq war also claimed to be “one of the scariest films”. Rajyasree confesses, “The film had some moments though, I have to say.” Even though it didn't really live up to its expectations of being a scary-enough horror film, she adds.Abhinandan gushes a little over his love for “animation films and children” and how that prompted him to watch The Incredibles 2. However, he doesn't seem very happy with his decision. He says, “I was disappointed." He mentions, “The plot is that superheroes have been made illegal…and how this family of superheroes does not know what do." He goes onto talk about the importance of political correctness in animation films. He disapprovingly adds, “I really struggled through it.”Netflix original Lust Stories featuring movies directed by four big names in the Bollywood received its share of criticism from Lata Mangeshkar’s family. Rajyasree informs about a scene in the movie which shows “a woman using a vibrator in front of her family” with the backdrop of Lataji’s voice. The ‘inappropriate usage’ of the such a prestigious voice has got Lata Mangeshkar’s family very upset. Rajyasree makes a rational argument while talking about the ownership of the song. Abhinandan talks about the orthodox thinking amongst their family and adds, “I don't think they know we are in 2018.”Rajyasree is thoroughly “surprised” by Senator Ted Cruz’s sense of humour. She talks about the twitter spite between Jimmy Kimmel, a popular talk show host,  and Cruz where Kimmel has trashed the Senator for his weight and his unwarranted loyalty to Donald Trump. She adds, “Ted Cruz took it really sportingly." Abhinandan disagrees and says, “I wouldn't be so charitable towards him…he’s such a slimy miserable man." The crux of the matter is well condensed by Rajyasree who uses this example to convey to people to “just be a sport about things” instead of taking every comment personally and offensively.AirBnB’s new commercial starring Rajyasree’s favourite, Saif Ali Khan and Karishma Kapoor, has left Abhinandan disappointed. He says, “It's an ainvayi commercial”. Rajyasree maintains her loyalty to Saif and adds, “I really like Saif so I think most of what he does is wonderful."Times Network launched a new campaign in an ‘attempt’ to promote the importance of female news anchors. Rajyasree expresses her cynicism towards the campaign and mentions, “The copywriter has blown my mind…good job Times Network, as usual." Indian Today TV has started a new series called India Today, India tomorrow. The show is being hosted by Rajdeep Sardesai and has celebrities from two different generations come together. Rajyasree informs “they've said it's a new this thing,” in terms of the concept of the show. She informs the series debuted with Gulzar and Meghna Gulzar (his daughter). Abhinandan feels, “Rajdeep is one of the poorest...as an anchor, he is just the worst." Rajyasree brushes off the topic by adding, “it wasn't bad”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

बीते मंगलवार को जम्मू-कश्मीर में भाजपा का पीडीपी से गठबंधन खत्म कर राज्य में राष्ट्रपति शासन लगाया जाना, हापुड़ में गोकशी के नाम पर भीड़ द्वारा कासिम की हत्या, एयरटेल द्वारा पूजा सिंह नाम की युवती की आपत्ति के बाद मुस्लिम धर्म के कस्टमर केयर एग्जेक्यूटिव की जगह हिंदू कस्टमर केयर एग्जेक्यूटिव मुहैया करवाया जाना, जज लोया की स्टोरी करने वाले पत्रकार निरंजन टाकले का करीब आठ महीने से बेरोजगार होना व अन्य मुद्दे रहे इस हफ्ते चर्चा के मुख्य विषय.चर्चा के मुख्य अतिथि रहे बचपन बचाओ आंदोलन से जुड़े अनिल पाण्डेय, न्यूज़लॉन्ड्री संवाददाता अमित भारद्वाज और उपसंपादक रोहिण कुमार. चर्चा का संचालन न्यूज़लॉन्ड्री के कार्यकारी संपादक अतुल चौरसिया ने किया. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NL Hafta has gone behind the paywall, but we love our listeners. So, here's a little sneak peek into the complete episode where we discuss the BJP-PDP breakup, Shujaat Bukhari's murder, the Airtel row and more.You can listen to the full Hafta here (https://bit.ly/2tlmrFf). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s Hafta, Rituparna Chatterjee, Consulting Editor, Reader's Digest and India Today magazine, joins Abhinandan Sekhri who was missing from last week's podcast. Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal and Anand Vardhan are also on the panel.The fallout between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the People’s Democratic Party, in addition to Arvind Kejriwal’s nine-day-long protest, is discussed in depth by the panel. The Airtel controversy over a customer refusing services from a Muslim customer care executive is also debated upon. The killing of Rising Kashmir editor-in-chief Shujaat Bukhari has left our panel in complete dismay. The suicide of Rohit Vemula is revisited as well.Abhinandan begins the discussion with the murder of Shujaat Bukhari and asks, “Why is this getting so much traction and not other murders?” Raman talks about the incident taking place in a conflicted area like Kashmir. He says, "He is confounded about “what really triggered his killing?”Rituparna quotes Shujaat from his interview in 2006, “You don't know anymore who your enemies are” and talks about the reality of this statement in today’s times. Manisha talks about the tendency of being “labelled as an India sympathiser” if one is a moderate or reports against the militants in Jammu and Kashmir.Rituparna moves on to discuss the BJP pulling out of an “unlikely alliance” with People's Democratic Party. Anand refers to this move as a “standard tool for coming out of any confusion when you are in a coalition”. Abhinandan questions the timing of this decision. Raman states, “Almost the entire youth of Kashmir have been radicalised,” adding, “withdrawing from the PDP has more to do with politics."The “tussle” between the Delhi state government and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi has received varied responses from the panel. Abhinandan asks, “What do you make of what happened and where we are?”Anand observes, “I think the AAP was in it for retrieving political capital of a contrarian party...the moral capital which had suffered substantial erosion with its apologies, with giving tickets to people who in public perception were not deserving of Rajya Sabha seats...” He adds, “The AAP also went on an obfuscation because the blocking of ministerial work is an afterthought. It still didn’t address the original allegation of (alleged) violence against the topmost bureaucrat of Delhi.”Rituparna says that the Congress has yet again ‘missed the bus’.  She points out that the coalition drive of the Congress cannot work in Delhi with the AAP because it’s a ‘natural rival’.Raman says, “I found IAS officers -- former and the serving -- all of them were trying to explain that we’re not on a strike.”Abhinandan comments, “AAP’s whole template is to make an event a talking point and then that goes viral...” He adds, “They (AAP) have been unable to create[turn] any event [into a talking point] since they’ve formed the government.”The panel discusses a recent Twitter row that involved Airtel and a customer. The customer denied the services of a particular customer support executive since the Airtel personnel interacting with her was a Muslim. Rituparna says, “Brands need to immediately hire people to handle a crisis of this sort...because the crisis of this sort is only going to increase.”The panel also discusses Rohit Vemula’s mother's case who was allegedly offered money to speak against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rahul Puri and Samar Khan bring you the first podcast since the FIFA World Cup 2018 kick-off. Samar begins with a remark, “It has been a crazy kind of a World Cup. It has been different from the others, it has been a li'l bit of a wake-up time for the big boys?!”Rahul agrees, “I don’t think anybody would’ve even picked the results that happened in the first round of matches. Argentina being held to a draw. Brazil being held to a draw. Germany losing to Mexico being the big shock in the World Cup...”Rahul observes that it has been a World Cup of penalties (fouls). Samar says, “The amount of penalties that have been given -- in a way it’s a good thing...in a way it’s a bad cup.” Rahul says, “It has been a fairly clean World Cup. The referees have been reluctant to hand out cards. We’ve only had one red card. Let’s face it, it was a stone-cold red.”The duo debates the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system that has seen differing opinions across the football spectrum. Comparing with the review system in cricket, Samar says, “In cricket, the team can ask for a review. Over here, the VAR is still pretty much in the grey area.” Rahul replies, “I, at the moment, can’t see how the system does anything to help the match.” He says, “The big problem with VAR is that I don’t think anybody quite knows how VAR can be used.” He also questions the use of VAR as the lack in clarity of assessing a situation whether it qualifies for it or not. Samar says, “The people who are monitoring the VAR are supposed to be referees. Now, if they are referees, then they should have the same rights as the on-field referee.”The duo proceeds to examine the performances of various teams and their key players. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.