Saturday, January 17, 2009

congrats Star Ananda!!!

Nowadays, we frequently ask a question to ourselves: is media anymore ethical? Do they know what their responsibilities are? Even a couple of months ago we had a group discussion in our soft skill class. Where people discussed the terrorist attacks on Mumbai and media’s role in telecasting that.
This evening I stumbled upon Star Ananda, a popular Bengali news channel. They were broadcasting something exclusive. Something which nobody did in the last 3 decades. They finally managed to get a small video clip of Suchitra Sen. They finally found out how SHE looks now. And they broadcasted it.
Suchitra Sen, perhaps the most famous and glamorous heroine the Bengali film industry has ever seen. But SHE decided to be out of reach. That also increased her aura. How SHE has withdrawn herself only increased her charm.
I understood the importance of TRP. I have also seen the part that Star Ananda showed where they aired the comment of an expert who said that they can’t be sued as SHE has never imposed any ban on anyone telecasting her pictures. How does it matter that people think they are safe when they are inside their house.
So Star is safe. And they are probably now celebrating their success. But I beg to differ. I am not going to accept it as success. Couldn’t we respect someone’s personal choice? It’s a question media needs to answer.
The channel had a pole on their website today. Where they said that only they have HER photos. But she isn’t willing to come in front of public anymore. And are we interested to see those pics?
42% people said yes they want to see it. But 58% clicked on NO. It’s a rare instance when I’m delighted to be a part of a percentage. The 58%.