Friday, 14 September 2018
Wednesday, 5 September 2018
Should Mohanlal fight Shashi Tharoor?
Dear Laletta,
You have legions of fans across India. They come from all walks of life; they come from several religions - yes they include Muslims too; most of them are Mammootty ‘haters’ -- they hate him just because they are your fans; many of them are converts from Mammootty fans -- for instance, I am one of them. So if and when you join politics, it as an event of earth shattering magnitude.
Imagine the kind of headlines Malayalam newspapers would carry. Just the thought is mouth watering.
‘Rashtreeyathil Lalettante Savari Giri Giri’ (രാഷ്ട്രീയത്തിൽ ലാലേട്ടന്റെ സവാരിഗിരിഗിരി )
‘Pulimurugan vettakkorungi’(പുലിമുരുഗൻ വേട്ടക്കൊരുങ്ങി)
‘Narasimahavatharam’ (നരസിംഹാവതാരം )
‘Kireedam thedi Araan Thamburan’ (കിരീടം തേടി ആറാം തമ്പുരാൻ)
‘Assembliyil mondoori thallaaan Aadu Thoma’ (അസ്സെംബിയിൽ മുണ്ടൂരി തല്ലാൻ ആട് തോമ)
‘Saffron Salaam’ (സാഫ്രൺ സലാം)
The list could go on and on.
Your meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given new life to rumours, which were already doing rounds in Thiruvananthapuram, that you would fight on BJP ticket against Shashi Tharoor.
It’s been more than 24 hours since some national television channels, one of them you were associated with as a jury member for their award events, and some newspapers ran the story. And all that has come as reaction from you is a terse comment to Malayala Manorama: “I didn’t know I was contesting from Thiruvananthapuram, so I won’t react.”
A clever response which is not an outright denial. What do we make of it? For one, it is clear the thought struck you and you are probably weighing the scales.
But then why would you do that?
After 30 years in public life, it is quite natural to want to do more. As a citizen of the country, you may not be happy with whatever is happening around you. You might feel you can do more and do it better. You may be thinking, as many of us are, the floods probably could have been avoided. You may be thinking, I certainly do believe, that right to food must include right to one bottle rum at least every month.
Important things first. To join politics, you need a party. Your choice of party will reveal more about you than a hundred films you did in the 30 years.
For instance if you join the BJP, you stand for everything that party and its members stand for. For instance they have no problems with lynchings, they promote hate for Muslims, they promote hate for Christians, they promote hate for beef eaters, they promote hate for Kashmiris…. Of course it is your choice.
Till now we don’t know your views about any of the issues listed above. But we do know you have strong feelings about freedom of expression. You had famously said, during the JNU controversy, “People are debating free speech when soldiers are dying on the border.” The statement pretty much proved you don’t believe in free speech.
Do you have any idea how suffocating a world without right to speak your mind would be? Imagine you didn’t like the sambaar your wife cooked but you are barred from telling her that. That is how bad it will be. I could have written more, but you can read my views on this very serious issue in this blog on sedition.
A few months ago a former cricketer tweeted his views about a Hindu-Muslim issue. It was a disgusting tweet. He himself doesn’t tweet those hate mongering stuff, but his PR professionals do. A journalist asked him if he would say the same to the Muslim teammates he shared dressing room with in his playing days. It needed a shove but the cricketer deleted that tweet. But the tweet left a bitter aftertaste, we fans got to know our idol for what he is worth.
Lalettaa, please don’t do that to us.
ലാലേട്ടൻ എന്ന് വിളിച്ച നാവു കൊണ്ട് സംഘി എന്ന് വിളിപ്പിക്കല്ലേ പ്ളീസ്
With best wishes
Jasoos Narayanan Kutty
You have legions of fans across India. They come from all walks of life; they come from several religions - yes they include Muslims too; most of them are Mammootty ‘haters’ -- they hate him just because they are your fans; many of them are converts from Mammootty fans -- for instance, I am one of them. So if and when you join politics, it as an event of earth shattering magnitude.
Imagine the kind of headlines Malayalam newspapers would carry. Just the thought is mouth watering.
‘Rashtreeyathil Lalettante Savari Giri Giri’ (രാഷ്ട്രീയത്തിൽ ലാലേട്ടന്റെ സവാരിഗിരിഗിരി )
‘Pulimurugan vettakkorungi’(പുലിമുരുഗൻ വേട്ടക്കൊരുങ്ങി)
‘Narasimahavatharam’ (നരസിംഹാവതാരം )
‘Kireedam thedi Araan Thamburan’ (കിരീടം തേടി ആറാം തമ്പുരാൻ)
‘Assembliyil mondoori thallaaan Aadu Thoma’ (അസ്സെംബിയിൽ മുണ്ടൂരി തല്ലാൻ ആട് തോമ)
‘Saffron Salaam’ (സാഫ്രൺ സലാം)
The list could go on and on.
Your meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given new life to rumours, which were already doing rounds in Thiruvananthapuram, that you would fight on BJP ticket against Shashi Tharoor.
It’s been more than 24 hours since some national television channels, one of them you were associated with as a jury member for their award events, and some newspapers ran the story. And all that has come as reaction from you is a terse comment to Malayala Manorama: “I didn’t know I was contesting from Thiruvananthapuram, so I won’t react.”
A clever response which is not an outright denial. What do we make of it? For one, it is clear the thought struck you and you are probably weighing the scales.
But then why would you do that?
After 30 years in public life, it is quite natural to want to do more. As a citizen of the country, you may not be happy with whatever is happening around you. You might feel you can do more and do it better. You may be thinking, as many of us are, the floods probably could have been avoided. You may be thinking, I certainly do believe, that right to food must include right to one bottle rum at least every month.
Important things first. To join politics, you need a party. Your choice of party will reveal more about you than a hundred films you did in the 30 years.
For instance if you join the BJP, you stand for everything that party and its members stand for. For instance they have no problems with lynchings, they promote hate for Muslims, they promote hate for Christians, they promote hate for beef eaters, they promote hate for Kashmiris…. Of course it is your choice.
Till now we don’t know your views about any of the issues listed above. But we do know you have strong feelings about freedom of expression. You had famously said, during the JNU controversy, “People are debating free speech when soldiers are dying on the border.” The statement pretty much proved you don’t believe in free speech.
Do you have any idea how suffocating a world without right to speak your mind would be? Imagine you didn’t like the sambaar your wife cooked but you are barred from telling her that. That is how bad it will be. I could have written more, but you can read my views on this very serious issue in this blog on sedition.
A few months ago a former cricketer tweeted his views about a Hindu-Muslim issue. It was a disgusting tweet. He himself doesn’t tweet those hate mongering stuff, but his PR professionals do. A journalist asked him if he would say the same to the Muslim teammates he shared dressing room with in his playing days. It needed a shove but the cricketer deleted that tweet. But the tweet left a bitter aftertaste, we fans got to know our idol for what he is worth.
Lalettaa, please don’t do that to us.
ലാലേട്ടൻ എന്ന് വിളിച്ച നാവു കൊണ്ട് സംഘി എന്ന് വിളിപ്പിക്കല്ലേ പ്ളീസ്
With best wishes
Jasoos Narayanan Kutty
Tuesday, 4 September 2018
Monday, 20 August 2018
Friday, 10 August 2018
Kerala floods: What Arnabs of the world can learn from Malayalam media
The day after Nipah virus outbreak was confirmed, the Malayala Manorama reported it on the frontpage, and set aside an inside page for the dos and don’ts. Sitting in Delhi, I felt the coverage wasn’t enough, felt I needed to know more. I was anxious about my relatives and friends in Kerala. Should they be wearing masks, should they stop eating fruits altogether or just mangoes. The coverage felt incomplete and I tweeted my disappointment.
Weeks later, the virus was contained, the casualty too was minimum. The role of the media was commended by the state government, it didn’t whip up hysteria. A friend here told me, had it been Delhi-based newspapers and TV channels, we would have seen huge photos of bats dripping blood, journalists wearing safety suits reporting kilometres away, yet claim to be the first channel on ground zero, graveyards recreated, etc, etc.
Malayalam TV channels which are normally fond of drama surprisingly pipe down when such grim news breaks.
Take for example the floods in Kerala. For weeks media was speculating on when the Idukki dam shutters would open, many had camped outside the dam 24/7. Trolls had a field day. Nearly one week after the vigil began, one of the trolls commented “If the govt doesn’t open the shutters, the journalists will.”
A Manorama TV anchor was trolled for showing where all Periyar flows through before reaching the Arabian Sea on Google map. This time the trolls said, “Periyar will decide its course after checking with Manorama office.”
And when the shutters were finally opened on Thursday, gone was the exuberance. Reporting has been factual, no one is creating panic, there might be odd incidents, nobody can be perfect all the time.
My family in Delhi is surfing Malayalam channels, many of our relatives live in areas prone to flooding, but I haven’t called anyone in Kerala even once. The coverage of the floods in Kerala has been reassuring, why panic when there is no need to. Yes, it’s a disaster, the government, political leaders and citizens are dealing with it the way it should be. Be patient, this too will pass.
How would Delhi-based channels and newspapers cover the news if this were to happen in the Capital. No, my lips are sealed. I don’t want my friends in Malayalam media to get any ideas.
Weeks later, the virus was contained, the casualty too was minimum. The role of the media was commended by the state government, it didn’t whip up hysteria. A friend here told me, had it been Delhi-based newspapers and TV channels, we would have seen huge photos of bats dripping blood, journalists wearing safety suits reporting kilometres away, yet claim to be the first channel on ground zero, graveyards recreated, etc, etc.
Malayalam TV channels which are normally fond of drama surprisingly pipe down when such grim news breaks.
Take for example the floods in Kerala. For weeks media was speculating on when the Idukki dam shutters would open, many had camped outside the dam 24/7. Trolls had a field day. Nearly one week after the vigil began, one of the trolls commented “If the govt doesn’t open the shutters, the journalists will.”
A Manorama TV anchor was trolled for showing where all Periyar flows through before reaching the Arabian Sea on Google map. This time the trolls said, “Periyar will decide its course after checking with Manorama office.”
And when the shutters were finally opened on Thursday, gone was the exuberance. Reporting has been factual, no one is creating panic, there might be odd incidents, nobody can be perfect all the time.
My family in Delhi is surfing Malayalam channels, many of our relatives live in areas prone to flooding, but I haven’t called anyone in Kerala even once. The coverage of the floods in Kerala has been reassuring, why panic when there is no need to. Yes, it’s a disaster, the government, political leaders and citizens are dealing with it the way it should be. Be patient, this too will pass.
How would Delhi-based channels and newspapers cover the news if this were to happen in the Capital. No, my lips are sealed. I don’t want my friends in Malayalam media to get any ideas.
Friday, 3 August 2018
Wednesday, 1 August 2018
Stand by Meesha, or else shave your meesha
This week I got a whatsapp forward. The local unit of the Nair Service Society (NSS), a body that represents Nairs, an upper caste in Kerala, calling upon all community members to boycott Mathrubhumi newspaper till it apologises for publishing S. Hareesh’s novel Meesha (Moustache).
Then I got another forward, this one called the NSS resolution an interference in personal space and attack on individual rights. This message also warned that a boycott of Mathrubhumi will invariably help Malayala Manorama, owned by a Christian. But it didn’t question the assault on free speech.
Here is the excerpt from the novel which they are objecting to:
It’s obvious the chivalrous Nair men, or the Sangh Parivar elements they are backing, can’t have any of it. But we are yet to hear from any women about this, all the whatsapp messages circulating are valiant men pledging to save their sundar-susheel sisters.
Even these moral cops would admit that long before we got shopping malls, temples were where we wooed our girls. Where we schemed chance meetings to get the sandalwood tika on our foreheads by them. Many a love affair has taken root and blossomed in temples or ulsavapparambu.
Now, take the ban on women visiting temples during menstruation: it is not enforced the way it is in Kerala anywhere else in India. The character in the novel in his own way is giving a reasoning for a subject which is now being debated by no less than the Supreme Court.
If art, literature and films were to follow the Hindutva cowboys’ newly drafted moral code, we would have villains in films seeking the permission of women before a rape scene, drunkards reading out the ‘alcohol is injurious to health’ warnings before every sip of brandy and ‘shwaasakosam’ warning before every puff.
DC Books’ decision to publish Meesha is laudable. Such nonsense should be called out right from the beginning, and any attempt to censor must be nipped in the bud. If we don’t do it, we might as well shave our moustache and pretend it never was there.
Then I got another forward, this one called the NSS resolution an interference in personal space and attack on individual rights. This message also warned that a boycott of Mathrubhumi will invariably help Malayala Manorama, owned by a Christian. But it didn’t question the assault on free speech.
Here is the excerpt from the novel which they are objecting to:
Why do girls take bath and go to temples all decked-up? A friend who used to accompany my walks till six months ago asked me once.
"To pray," I said.
"No, give a closer look. Why put on your best and doll up to pray? They are sub-consciously conveying their readiness for sex."
I laughed.
"If not why do they fail to turn up at temples four or five days a month? To let others know they are not ready, especially the temple priests. You know, they were the real playboys those days."
It’s obvious the chivalrous Nair men, or the Sangh Parivar elements they are backing, can’t have any of it. But we are yet to hear from any women about this, all the whatsapp messages circulating are valiant men pledging to save their sundar-susheel sisters.
Even these moral cops would admit that long before we got shopping malls, temples were where we wooed our girls. Where we schemed chance meetings to get the sandalwood tika on our foreheads by them. Many a love affair has taken root and blossomed in temples or ulsavapparambu.
Now, take the ban on women visiting temples during menstruation: it is not enforced the way it is in Kerala anywhere else in India. The character in the novel in his own way is giving a reasoning for a subject which is now being debated by no less than the Supreme Court.
If art, literature and films were to follow the Hindutva cowboys’ newly drafted moral code, we would have villains in films seeking the permission of women before a rape scene, drunkards reading out the ‘alcohol is injurious to health’ warnings before every sip of brandy and ‘shwaasakosam’ warning before every puff.
DC Books’ decision to publish Meesha is laudable. Such nonsense should be called out right from the beginning, and any attempt to censor must be nipped in the bud. If we don’t do it, we might as well shave our moustache and pretend it never was there.
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