Journalism of Courage
After the K letter,movie stars (particularly those on TV) appear to favour snakes for luck!
Khatron Ke Khiladi -Season 3,among my favourite reality shows on television,flagged off this week. Any apprehensions about the show with Priyanka Chopra assigning suitable boys hazardous tasks not reworking its magic can safely be put to rest. But whats this passion for reptilian co-habitants?
The promos on air more often than not had Chopra letting a snake out of her designer bag! Several viewers,not counting PETA and other animal group activists,I suppose,would have been happier as long as the snake in question is not a belt or a bag or a boot trimming,but I am beginning to come around to the view that there may be something to them as publicity tools!
Even Akshay Kumar,at the first press congregation held by the channel to announce details of the show,had a pretty yellow snake for accessory around his neck. Several scribes present on the occasion squirmed in their seats when presented with the sight of Khiladi Kumar and the serpent,which,fortunately,was kept away from the gathering.
Mallika Sherawat,who came into town recently,had taken love for pythons to a whole new level when she squarely planted a kiss on a pythons head in full glare of the cameras while at Cannes! The kiss,according to reports in the media,worked a whole lot better than the 17-kisses-in-a-movie as a publicity gimmick.
Chopra could have been inspired by either of the aforementioned duo,but what remains to be seen is whether the poor dears being tossed around as eye-candy will get Hisss and KKK-3 the necessary eyeballs.
The big fight
Meanwhile,an interesting debate was brewing between the political brigade in New Delhi about regulation of television content. Interesting because,clearly,television with its unmatchable reach,even beats films as a means of mass communication. At India International Centre,the politicos raised the issue of the transparency of the media,especially with regards to paid news on television,which they said could mislead the aam aadmi. JDU chief Sharad Yadav also pointed out that the regressive ideas and superstitions encouraged through the medium by devoting precious time to astrologers,numerologists and the like. In a cheeky reference to the trivialisation of news,he said Dhoni ki shaadi mein aap logon ne Dhoni se zyada uski ghodi ko dikhaya!
While this criticism was greeted with laughter,other matters at hand like co-regulation,digitisation and better legislation were talked about at length during the session.
From the media moghuls side,it would have to be Rajdeep Sardesai who saved the day. He made an impassioned plea to the I & B Minister to protect news channels from the wrath of politico-cable owners cartels known to pull channels off air for news that exposed them! Just for a few seconds,the politicos were speechless.
An exclusive and detailed coverage follows in our television section.
