Media meddling and Actors’ annoyance

Well, press freedom is very important. Even if they represent and promote the ‘popular’ culture; or for manufacturing consent; even in the case of embedded journalism. Freedom of this rustic pillar has to be protected. The recent protest by the journalists, holding up traffic on the busy Kamarajar Salai in Chennai (down the Marina Beach for those who know Chennai that way) against the arrest of Mr. Lenin (charged under sections of the Prevention of Women Harassment Act was a case in point.

The story goes like this. Ms Bhuvaneswari, a small time actress was arrested by the police on charges of prostitution. It was reported that she was running a brothel in one of the prestigious localities in Chennai. She not only confessed to the crime, but also gave a list of actors who, according to her, are involved in the world’s oldest profession. Dinamalar, a Tamil daily, published the news and that provoked the film fraternity. They in turn barged into the city police commissioner’s office to register their protest. Apparently, some of the actors, whose names were mentioned in the report, are happily married and obviously, the allegations made them very upset. It seems that some of them were in tears (of course, without having to pour glycerine).

In Tamil Nadu, films and governance, always, coexisted. Our Chief Minister, ex Chief Minister, few ministers and MPs are actively connected to the film industry. Hence the complainants went to the court of the CM and that ultimately led to the arrest of the news editor of the daily. When the State wants something; it will happen. In Gujarat the police was silent spectators when men and children were killed and women raped and killed by thugs in February-March 2002; and in the Meerut violence witnessed in 1981, the police were the perpetrators. The political masters, in those places, wanted it that way at that time.

“Emotions ran high” and mind it, 250 journalists met up to “chalk out the future course of action” and declared it as “black day”. They demonstrated in the busy road leading to the State Secretariat from the Press Club (wherethey assembled that morning) and demanded the arrest of few actors who were involved in the maligning the media professionals. They denounced the police action as undemocratic and unjustified and asked for the release of the fellow journalist immediately.

There are two sides to this story. To begin with, the media sensitivity to the police atrocities- A few months ago, when the police entered the high court premises and lathi charged many lawyers, litigants and even a judge and destroyed property, most of the media justified the police action. Whether the lawyers are straight forward or crooks is a different question. How do you justify such an action? In what way was it different from police entering a new paper office and arresting somebody without a proper warning? In fact, the police entering someone’s premises is sanctioned for in the law whereas the force that was used in the High Court premises was without a legitimate authority.

Another aspect is that some of the Tamil news papers are notorious for publishing the pictures of the sex workers who are “caught in the police” net, invariably with a disgusting title ‘prostitute beauties’ (vibhachara azhagigal). These are the small time sex workers who fix their business on the busy streets of T Nagar or Parrys or elsewhere for a paltry Rs.50 to 100. I was part of a study team, commissioned by NHRC, on the trafficking of women and children sometimes ago and had interviewed many sex workers. They used to tell us that the policemen arrested them even when they went to leave their children at the school; just to fill their quota of arrests for that particular month. They also said that some policemen demanded free sex. They had no choice but to oblige. Once arrested, these dailies published their photographs, though there is a law preventing that. It is obvious that they get the photographs from the police only. A clear case of Police Press nexus!

And about the film stars’ protest and their grievance: Aren’t they aware of the fate of the many young girls, in the age group of 15 to 20 years, who are trafficked to the film industry and pushed into prostitution? Many in the industry demand sexual favours from these young girls to get them some work to get going. I am sure the so called leaders of the film industry are not so naïve not to know about these happenings. But hardly any intervention on the matter. Of course, STARS are different from ‘extras’ as far as the human rights are concerned.

Well, I did not want to mix so many things; but these are so interrelated – so I couldn’t help it