What went wrong with Satyamev Jayate's third episode?

May 23, 2012

aamirkhan-may23

Ever since Satyamev Jayate premiered on national television on May 6, it has received tremendous appreciation from politicians, celebrities and society alike. But as the show is progressing, the interest in the social issues covered is slowly taking a downward spiral. The host Aamir Khan’s dialogue too seem scripted.


Take, for instance, the first episode which covered the despicable reality of female foeticide in India, throwing light on how female foeticide prevails not just in rural areas, but in urban cities as well. While Aamir Khan pondered over this gender bias, the nation remained glued to their televisions in agreement, anger and silent knowledge of the depths at which this phenomenon has seeped into Indian culture.


It made people question themselves about the world they live in and whether education is the only key to deal with this issue. Aamir Khan’s occasional breakdowns were a heart-rending prelude to the next episodes in store for the nation.

The second episode’s emphasis on child sex abuse showcased some tear-jerking moments among the audience and the host. Cinderella Prakash’s horrific nightmare of assault which haunted her for several years, and Harish Iyer’s journey of repeated molestation for almost a decade, finally resulting in the power to say ‘NO’, once again alerted society on the harsh realities which children have faced and continue to face, serving as a reality-check for several others who were completely unaware of how prevalent this issue is.


The anguish of their parents who now wish they could turn back time and erase the painful memories was a warning signal to parents in the country, who now understand how important communication, education and awareness is for their children. Well received once again.


Episode 3 however failed to instill the same sense of anger and rage in the minds of the viewers, despite several hearts bleeding for the victims of dowry torture and suicide. Take Paramjeet Kaur’s marriage which ended in betrayal, of a husband who amassed lakhs of rupees from her family to settle in Australia and abandoned her, who was left with no choice but to return to her family upon being tortured by her in-laws in Jalandhar. Delhi girl Komal Sethi’s parents spent almost sixty lakhs on her wedding, only resulting in having to adjust to an abusive husband who forced her into starvation and despair, and Madurai-based lecturer Nishana’s suicide, who crumbled under the pressure for dowry demands in the hands of her husband and in-laws.


Then the somewhat ridiculous case, received quite ludicrously by the audience, of Santosh Kumar’s ‘pakadwa byaah’, where he was forced to get married in the quest of escaping the payment of dowry. Worth a mention is the Madhya Pradesh-based ‘Tanzeem Khuddam E Millat’ which abandons weddings in the community which do not adhere to the regulation of keeping weddings a low-cost affair to avoid burdening the girl’s family. And finally, Rani Tripathi’s brave sting operation which exposed the greedy demands of her fiancé and his family, which resulted in several proposals and a happily ever after with someone else.


But what was so disappointing about the episode this time? Was it the attitude of the parents of these victims, and many others in the country, who have mentally conditioned themselves to save every rupee for the assumed gift-giving under the veil of dowry, or the sheer desire to spend beyond their means to make their daughter’s wedding a festive occasion? In retrospect, these parents, no matter how well-educated, were the same people who urged their daughters to adjust to their news homes while their daughters continues to face atrocities and struggle each day. This brings to sight that even education has not been enough to prevent these atrocities.


Many questions arise here. Why does child sex abuse and female foeticide appall parents and the society so much when there are many other burning issues which deserve equal attention, like dowry demands? Why does the unceasing existence of dowry not evoke the same emotion? Did this subject truly bring forth the reality of this social issue? Aamir Khan breaking into tears as the women shared their grief, now seems to be following a definitive script, where his reactions are almost predictable. As the show is progressing, the interest it is evoking among the audience is slowly dipping.


Social issues witnessed not just in mere fragments of society, but society in general, is what everyone needs to be alerted about. A show which began with the promise of spreading awareness is slowly becoming just another show which came with a bang, with an impact which is slowly dying out.



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May 2,2020

Washington, May 2: American singer Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber have teamed up to help others in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grande and Bieber announced on Friday(local time) that they are working on a song, 'Stuck With U,' which will drop next week with all proceeds slated to go to coronavirus relief.

The 26-year-old songstress Ariana tweeted on Friday, "Stuck with u by me and @justinbieber out May 8th. head to my Instagram for more info. thank u to @1strcf and @sb_projects for making this possible."

Grande also announced the news on Instagram, and wrote, "Grateful to announce that my friend and i have partnered with @1strcf and @sb_projects on this release. proceeds from the streams and sales of #stuckwithu will be donated to first responders children's foundation to fund grants and scholarships for children of healthcare workers, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics, police officers and firefighters serving at the front lines during the global pandemic."

The 26-year-old pop-star Bieber, also added in a statement, "More than ever we are seeing the selfless, tireless and amazing work that doctors, nurses and healthcare providers give to the world every day. It is our hope we can lend our voices to raise awareness and give much-needed support for them and their families. It's my honour to come together with my friend Ariana and our SB Projects family to try and do some good."

The two music superstars have also independently been helping people in need. According to sources to Page Six, Grande, who has been communicating her longing to make music during the quarantine, has sent fans between 500 and 1,000 USD using the Venmo app.

One of the Ariana fans told Page Six that the 'Senorita' singer "took care of my salary for the month." She has helped more than 20 fans, said the outlet.

The '7 rings' singer also joined the Disney family singalong in April and sang 'I Won't Say I'm In Love' the animated film 'Hercules.'

Back in February, Bieber cantered his efforts on China, saying at the time that he "couldn't imagine how scary it would be if a new disease was effecting my wife and my family and friends."

The 'Yummy' singer said he made a donation to the country and urged his followers to join in on the conversation.

Bieber also accepted the #AllInChallenge to raise money for COVID relief. The singer said he will fly to your house for a private concert and sing 'One Less Lonely Girl.'

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News Network
January 7,2020

Mumbai, Jan 7: Actor Anil Kapoor, who next will be seen onscreen in Malang, revealed that he always tells superstar Aamir Khan not to stop working with filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani.

Kapoor was interacting with the media at the trailer launch of Malang along with his co-actors Adtiya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani, Elli AvRam, film's director Mohit Suri and producers Luv Ranjan, Bhushan Kumar, Ankur Garg and Jay Shewakraman on Monday in Mumbai.

Anil Kapoor has worked with many directors and producers in his 40-year acting career.

Talking about camp culture in the Hindi film industry and praising makers of Malang, Kapoor said, "I feel we need producers like Ankur (Garg) and Luv (Ranjan). I have told Mohit (Suri) to continue doing films with them. I always tell Aamir Khan by calling him on the phone to say that you should not leave Raju Hirani (Rajkumar Hirani). Whenever I see films of both of them, I tell Aamir not to leave him."

He continued, "I feel whenever you make a good team then you should hold on to it. Team is very important and there are certain stars that come together to make something interesting and exciting."

Kapoor gave an example of Hollywood actors and filmmakers while backing his viewpoint.

"If you see Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio they do so many films together. They can work with others, too, but they keep working with each other. There is some magic, obviously. You have to go with the casting but somewhere I feel teams should stand by each other," the actor added.

Malang stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani, Anil Kapoor and Kunal Khemu in lead roles. It is scheduled to release on February 7.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 10: Eminent Carnatic vocalist and playback singer K J Yesudas, who has enthralled music aficionados across the world with his profound and mellifluous voice for the last six decades, turned 80 on Friday.

People from various walks of life, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and luminaries of music and film world besides socio-cultural personalities, wished the legendary singer, popularly called as 'gana gandharvan' (the celestial singer) by his fans, on his birthday.

Regional newspapers came out with special pages and television channels with exclusive programmes as a tribute to the singer, who has recorded over 80,000 songs in various genres in almost all languages of India including about 25,000 film songs, Carnatic bhajans and devotional songs.

Besides Indian languages like Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Bengali, Odia, his voice gave life to songs in Arabic, English, Latin, and Russian during a career spanning over six decades.

Yesudas, whom the country had honoured with Padma Vibhushan in 2017, is the recipient of eight national awards, 25 Kerala state awards, five state awards of Tamil Nadu and four of Andhra Pradesh.

"On the special occasion of his 80th birthday, greetings to the versatile K J Yesudas Ji. His melodious music and soulful renditions have made him popular across all age groups. He has made valuable contributions to Indian culture. Wishing him a long and healthy life," Modi tweeted.

The Left veteran also shared a photo of the veteran singer along with the tweet.

Meanwhile, Yesudas this morning visited the Mookambika Temple at Kollur in Udupi district of Karnataka along with his family, a practice he has been following for the last four decades.

Draped in the traditional Kerala style kasavu mundu and shawl, 'dasettan', as he is known among his hardcore fans cutting across ages, Yesudas offered prayers along with his wife Prabha and sons and performed special poojas at the Goddess Saraswathi temple.

Hundreds of music buffs gathered at the shrine to wish the octogenarian singer.

Considered as one of the best playback singers in the country, Yesudas had begun his music career in the tinsel town with the Malayalam song "Jathi bhedam matha dwesham" in the year 1961 and sang in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films among other languages.

Yesudas's foray into Bollywood saw him recording various memorable hits, including "Jab Deep Jale Aana" and "Gori Tera Gaon Bada Pyara".

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