The Common Man Speaks

Reaction to Tanishq ad reveals THREAT to the very idea of India

by 4 Comments

The recent advertisement by Tanishq Jewelers gives a heartwarming message of unity in a country that is divided by various segments. In other words, it speaks about peace and harmony among two different communities.

So when the makers of the advertisement are forced to pull it down for this very reason, for showing the India penned in the Constitution, it speaks volumes about how ideas about secularism and religious harmony have come under serious threat in the last few years.

Just imagine – an ad is pulled down for giving the same message its constitution promotes… Let that sink in!

In this period, I have come across countless comments on social media where people mock secularism. Those who believe in it are looked down upon as criminals. To quote a couple of real examples, one Right Wing troll once asked me in a What’s App group whether I have improved or am I still secular.

Not so long ago, a friend faced ouster from his housing society’s What’s App group after being ‘accused’ of being secular. Let this sink in too!

These are the same people who always claim to be most patriotic. Either they don’t know or are pretending not to know that the very idea of India is based on secularism, which is promised by the Constitution of the country.

Tanishq

And since they are clearly not following the basic idea of India mentioned in the Constitution, how on earth can they proclaim to be deshbhakts?

It won’t be right to say that these are just paid or professional trolls who spend most of their time writing toxic posts and targeting people who don’t agree with their dangerous views. Unfortunately, such people are now found in our close friends, relatives or even in our homes.

I am sure all of you must have witnessed people from your close circles not only sharing communal posts in What’s App groups but also justifying them. There are a set of people who are paid to promote such stuff but there are many others, like our near and dear ones, who are doing it for free!

The ones who fall in the latter are more dangerous because they are not doing it for any monetary reward. They are doing it simply because they believe in such toxic ideas. It’s becoming more and more clear that education only makes you worthy of being employed. It doesn’t guarantee you not walking into the communal trap laid by the political class.

Also read: How Kangana’s comments exposed FAKE patriotism of these people… again

Therefore, the response to the Tanishq ad with such a pure message can’t be a co-incidence. It is a result of what all is transpiring in a lot of minds in recent years, including the educated class.

It just proves yet again how hatred and bigotry are slowly becoming the new normal.

But all such incidents have also made it clear that these toxic trolls get panic attacks at the very mention of secularism or harmony between two faiths. Hence, this should encourage us to do things that irk them the most.

Let’s keep sharing not only the Tanishq ad (see below) but also other videos and posts that promote what they fear the most – unity!

Jai Hind!

Additional reading:

‘Anti-nepotism’ brigade has created a TOXIC atmosphere online

You might be triggering DEPRESSION in someone without even knowing it

Forgotten innings: Lance Klusener’s 99 v/s Sri Lanka

by 2 Comments

South Africa’s Lance Klusener was one of the most exciting all-rounders to have played the game. Those who witnessed his start and rise in the 1990s would mostly agree that he deserved to play many more matches for the Proteas.

Although he was a good pace bowler, Klusener was mostly known as a batsman who can smash just about anyone when he is in form. This is more so since some of his best ODI (one-day international) innings came under pressure situations. It would come as a surprise to many that he batted at number 11 when he started his first-class career as a bowler.

Klusener became a star in no time after his debut in 1996. But his popularity increased after his antics with the bat in the 1999 World Cup, despite South Africa not lifting the cup.

Who can ever forget his histrionics in the semi-final of the WC against Australia where he almost took his side to their first World Cup Final ever? Even after more than 20 years, the result of the match continues to hurt me, although I am not a South African.

But maybe because his 1999 WC heroics are so popular that one of his best ODI innings is forgotten. It came in the final of Golden Jubilee Cup in Lahore in 1997. The series was organized in as part of the celebration of Pakistan’s 50 years of Independence and was also known as Pakistan’s Independence Cup.

Lance Klusener
Lance Klusener (File photo)

It was a quadrangular series between Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa and West Indies. It came as a surprise to me to not see India being a part of a ODI series taking place in Asia.

Sri Lanka and South Africa reached the final played on 8 November at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium as both the teams won three and two matches respectively in the league stage. Pakistan won one while West Indies lost all the three matches in the series.

Sri Lankans were a much bigger threat in that era but they could score only 209 for 7 in their 50 overs with not a single batsman going past the score of 32. South Africans were in great form in that series and it felt they would cruise to the target. But that wasn’t to be.

The Proteas were in a spot of concern when they were 71 for 3 [the idea of sending Pat Symcox as a pinch-hitter didn’t work] and 109 for 4. But Klusener, who came in at number 3, kept the innings alive for the South Africans when wickets were falling at the other hand. The other batsmen were getting starts but they weren’t able to capitalize on it.

Klusener batted one-down in the series to get some quick runs. It wasn’t different in the final as well. The left-hander started hitting boundaries as soon as he arrived. But when the team kept losing wickets, he changed his role and controlled his aggression to see his side home.

To see a hitter like him showing maturity and responsibility is what makes this knock a highly memorable one for me.

Also read: Forgotten Innings: Nayan Mongia’s historic feat v/s Australia

It is unfortunate for any player to get out at 99. I was disappointed when he was caught and bowled by Sanjeeva D’Silva on that score. But I remember him telling Ian Chappel in the post-match presentation that he was glad to see his side home in the final.

The video of his speech is not available. In fact, there’s only one 11-minute poor quality video of that match shared on YouTube (seen above). But it’s good enough to revisit, what in my opinion, is one of the best ODI innings by a South African.

Looking back at the Klusener of that era today, I can only imagine how destructive he would have been in the T20 version of the game today.

Additional reading:

One of Wasim Akram’s biggest achievements is forgotten

Forgotten Spells: Srinath’s match-winning 6 for 21 v/s South Africa

One of Wasim Akram’s biggest achievements is forgotten

by 8 Comments

Contrary to today’s times, the 1990s saw a battery of fast bowlers around the world that would trouble some of the best batsmen of that era and played for a long duration. The list of such bowlers would be incomplete without the mention of Pakistan’s great Wasim Akram.

Although there were the likes of Glenn McGrath, Counrtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Allan Donald, Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath, my personal favorite was always Akram. More than his pace, it was his skill of moving the ball on any surface that used to fascinate me. Who can forget his two wickets in two balls in the 1992 World Cup Final?

In 104 test matches, Akram took as many as 414 wickets at an average of just 23.62. He took a staggering 502 wickets in ODIs (one-day internationals) with a similar average of 23.52.

The bowler had plenty of memorable moments on the field in his career spanning around 17 years. But unfortunately one of his greatest achievements [if not the greatest] is forgotten. In fact, I haven’t heard about it in various cricket discussions I have had in my life, both offline and online.

Akram was one of the rare bowlers to take as many as four hat-tricks in his career. Two each in tests and ODIs. The only person above him is Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga who has taken five [all in white ball cricket].

(See the list of all test hat-tricks HERE)

Wasim Akram bowling

This article is about his test hat-tricks which are highly significant. Akram took his first test hat-trick versus Sri Lanka in 1999 at his home ground in Lahore when he dismissed Romesh Kaluwitharana, Niroshan Bandaratilleke and Pramodaya Wickramasinghe.

In the same year against the same team at Dhaka, Akram got another hat-trick when he sent Avishka Gunawardene, Chaminda Vaas and Mahela Jawavardene back to the pavilion in a matter of three balls.

Now, this is where it gets interesting. The two hat-tricks Akram took were in two consecutive test matches. Hence, he is the only bowler in the history of world cricket to take two hat-tricks in two matches back-to-back.

Watch both the hat-tricks in the video above

All of you who are reading must have had hundreds of cricket discussions in your life. How many times have you people discussed about this feat by Akram? This would be interesting to know.

As far as hat-tricks are concerned, the only bowler to have had a bigger achievement than Akram was Australia’s Jimmy Matthews. He took two hat-tricks in two innings of the same match against South Africa way back in 1912.

The two matches in which Akram took two hat-tricks were a part of the first Asian Test Championship. The Lahore tie was the league match while the final happened in Dhaka. The other team in the series was India, which couldn’t reach the finals.

Also read: Forgotten Cricket Moments: The real Lagaan match at Brabourne Stadium

Despite the first of its kind triangular test tournament, the Asian Test Championship isn’t remembered as a memorable series. The second Asian Test Championship of 2001 [played between Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh] is even less remembered with India not taking part in it.

Maybe because of the low key nature of the tournaments, Akram’s incredible feat has been forgotten over the years.

Additional reading:

Forgotten spells: When Srinath was on a hattrick THRICE in one innings

Forgotten innings: Nayan Mongia’s historic feat vs Australia

5 questions on the ongoing DRUGS probe in Sushant’s case

by Leave a Comment

The Sushant Singh Rajput death case was handed over to the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) after continuous demand for the same was raised by his family and a large section of the population.

But soon after that, the chaos in media and on social media have left many of us confused as to where is the whole thing headed. It makes me wonder whether all that is happening is actually related to Sushant’s death.

These 5 questions are lurking on my mind these days:

How SSR’s death probe got transformed into Bollywood drugs scandal?

It all started with the aim of giving justice to the late Sushant by handing over his death case to the CBI. So far so good. But as soon as the NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) got involved, the focus completely changed from #JusticeToSSR or #SSRMurder to exposing the drug racket in Bollywood.  

Those noisy news channels that were shouting murder just a fortnight ago are now only aiming at exposing the drug nexus in the film industry. In a latest update, Sushant’s family itself is unhappy with how the focus has changed ever since the drug angle cropped up.

Why only female actors being named?

It is strange to see only female actors’ names cropping up in the drug investigation. Are drugs taken only by leading ladies of the industry? What do the male stars use? Glucon D? None of the noisy news anchors are finding anything fishy in this.

Drugs probe in Sushant case

What is the final aim?

With the speed at which one actress after another is being called up for allegedly consuming drugs, it leaves us wondering as to what is the final aim of all this. If they continue reading private chats of actors, more names are expected to crop up, which will be a never-ending process. So where is it supposed to end?

How do these screenshots reach news channels?

A former director of the NCB said on a news channel that the anti-narcotics agency is expected to try and catch the main peddler from the names of film stars that come up in the investigation. But what they are actually doing is leaking chat screenshots to the news channels, so that they can carry out tamasha every night.

People don’t seem to be questioning how every screenshot, which is an evidence, is being handed over to the news channels. We can understand if they get leaked once or twice, but daily?

Also read: ‘Anti-nepotism’ brigade has created a TOXIC atmosphere online

Who exactly is on drugs?

In the last few days, we have regularly seen visuals of reporters banging the shut windows of various actresses’ cars and repeatedly asking if they consume drugs. They clearly know that their voice would be hardly audible and they won’t be able to hear anything in case they get an answer.

What took the cake though was one reporter screaming and forcing her driver to overtake Deepika Padukone’s car, whose windows are shut, and asking the actress in the highest pitch possible, “Kya drugs leti hain aap?”

Well, who appears to be on drugs here?

Additional reading:

SSR case: Why is KARNI Sena forgiven & shown respect?

Forgotten spells: When Srinath singlehandedly rattled South Africa

by 5 Comments

Indian cricket can’t boast of many fast bowlers who bowled really quick and played for a long duration. Javagal Srinath was an undisputed leader of India’s pace bowling for years. Cricket fans who started following the game in the 1990s have fond memories of him.

But somehow his best spell in test cricket hasn’t been discussed much and it seems as if it has been forgotten.

Srinath started his career in the early 1990s and made a mark in India’s tours to Australia and New Zealand during that period. He changed his bowling action a bit early in his career, making it not as high arm as it was earlier. But that didn’t affect his quality of bowling. He soon became India’s strike bowler.

One of Srinath’s impressive bowling spells during his initial years

Srinath was someone who enjoyed hitting the deck and using the bounce to full effect. Most of his deliveries came inside the right-handers which weren’t easy to handle. At times he used to fox the batsmen with balls that left the right-handers.

This particular feat of his came in the 1996-97 season. India was all set to play a three test series against South Africa. This was right after the Titan Cup which India won by defeating SA in the final. The first test was at Ahmedabad.

Javagal Srinath

It was a low scoring match where batsmen had to work hard. India batted first and scored only 223 with not a single batsman reaching 50. It looked as if SA would be bundled out on a score much lower but Fanie de Villiers had other plans as he scored a fighting 67 to take South Africa to 244.

India fared worse in the second innings and were 124 for 7 at one stage. But the debutant VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble showed some fight and helped the team reach 190.

This was the first proper test series I followed as a child. I wasn’t pleased with this ‘new player’ Laxman in the first innings. In that age I was quick to judge and said he has no future. But he made me eat my words in the second innings when he scored 51 in extreme pressure and I was glad.

South Africa were given a target of 170. As the Indian players went on to the field, not many would have thought that Srinath was all set to deliver the most defining moment of his career. Being a fourth-day pitch in India, it seemed the spinners will take the bulk of the wickets if India has to win.

But Srinath delivered from the word go. In the first over itself, he reduced SA to 0 for 2 when he got Andrew Hudson and Daryll Cullinan off successive balls. I remember going mad with excitement as those were my initial days in test cricket and I had never seen a side being 0 for 2. [As I write this, I remember England were 0 for 2 this week against Australia]

Srinath returned for his second spell when the opposition was 96 for 4. He reduced them to 96 for 6 as he again got two wickets [Dave Richardson and Jonty Rhodes] off two balls.

There was more to come though. In his third spell, he bowled Allan Donald and Paul Adams off successive deliveries to finish with tremendous figures of 6 wickets for just 21 runs. [See the whole scorecard HERE]

It is too rare to see a bowler being on a hattrick thrice in one innings. In other words, whenever Srinath got a wicket in this innings, he got another one in the next ball itself.

Forgotten innings: Nayan Mongia’s historic feat vs Australia

The rare feat coupled by the fact that he singlehandedly won the match for India makes me wonder why this effort isn’t spoken about much. In fact, I have never read posts about this spell in any of the cricket groups on Facebook and I wonder why.

Luckily, there is this little video below which has captured all his wickets in the innings.

Srinath’s career too has fared an almost similar fate in terms of remembrance. He hardly gets a mention in a discussion on the best Indian players. When he played his last test match in 2002, he was the second highest wicket taking fast bowler with Kapil Dev being the first.

Additional reading:

When Australia played against Australia in this World Series

Dhoni could have scored more 100s but…

Yuvraj Singh’s 3 heroic TEST innings that have been forgotten: See videos

How Kangana’s comments exposed FAKE patriotism of these people… again

by 1 Comment

One Bhakt was ill since last few days, so he hadn’t kept track of any news. Mr X decided to have some fun with him.

Mr X: You know, Aamir Khan compared Mumbai with Pakistan occupied Kashmir and Pakistan

Bhakt: WTF! Such a ba***rd! How dare he say such a thing for the city that gave him name and fame! I always felt these anti-nationals and traitors should be thrown out of India and be united with their ilk in Pakistan!

Mr X: Lol. Thoda masti kiya tere saath. Actually Kangana Ranaut gave this statement. See here (shows his mobile)

Bhakt (shocked): What!!!

Mr X: I will be sharing this conversation on Facebook. I will attribute your reaction to Kangana. Chalega na? (Starts typing on FB)

Bhakt (tensed): Arre wait!

***********************************

The above conversation is imaginary but it is based on the real ideologies of Bhakts, whose fake patriotism has once again got exposed. Last week, Kangana Ranaut compared Mumbai with Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and, later, with Pakistan. This triggered anger among the people from India and outside.

However, there was no outrage visible from Bhakts on social media. These are the same people who consider themselves more patriotic than anyone else. They slam any film star raising a voice on an issue India is facing left, right and centre and ask him or her to leave the country and migrate to Pakistan [their biggest fantasy].

Kangana Ranaut Bhakts

Compare Kangana’s comments with that of Aamir Khan where he quoted his wife Kiran Rao merely suggesting that India has become unsafe. All hell broke loose and the actor was lynched on social media for months to come. There was a demand from Bhakts to boycott every Aamir movie in the future.

But somehow they didn’t troll Kangana, whose comment was much more alarming than that of Aamir. The answer to this is simple – she is a die-hard fan of BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party]. Plus, the place she criticized is in the state which is not ruled by BJP.

Time and again we have seen Bhakts criticizing and being okay with criticizing a state which is not ruled by their favourite party. The biggest example is how they indulge in all types of name calling to Kerala, a state where their party has been struggling to find any landing.

But this isn’t the biggest hypocrisy of Bhakts. Their fake love for the country was exposed last year when BJP leader Pragya Thakur hailed the death of the late ATS (Anti-Terror Squad) Chief Hemant Karkare at the hands of terrorist Ajmal Kasab during the 26/11 attacks.

Also read: Kangana’s war against Shiv Sena v/s SRK’s: Similarities and dissimilarities

Here was a politician openly applauding a terrorist for killing an officer who laid down his life while fighting for the country. But she wasn’t trolled by Bhakts or their IT Cell or the loud-mouthed anchor who shoves the party’s ideology down your throat each night. The same anchor who is allergic to the very mention of Pakistan.

Somehow, the patriotism of Bhakts goes on a sick leave if a supporter of their favourite party gives a derogatory comment against India.

Remember this the next time they slam any famous personality for allegedly hurting their patriotic sentiments.

Additional reading:

SSR case: Why is KARNI Sena forgiven & shown respect?

Expecting MIRACLES from CBI in Sushant case isn’t smart

Forgotten innings: Nayan Mongia’s historic feat vs Australia

by 3 Comments

Perhaps Nayan Mongia might not feature in the list of best Indian wicketkeeper-batsmen when we have the likes of Budhi Kunderan, Syed Kirmani, Farokh Engineer, Mahendra Singh Dhoni etc. But for those who grew up watching cricket in the mid-1990s, Mongia’s name was synonymous with the word ‘wicketkeeper’.

The cricketer from Baroda played continuously for team India in both test matches and one-day internationals in this period and proved to be good enough. It was impossible to miss his presence whenever India was bowling. His constant chatter with the bowlers and his trademark expression ‘Aai ga!’ ensured he was always in the game.

Indians have just witnessed the entire career of the legend MS Dhoni. Hence, in front of him, Nayan Mongia, the batsman, won’t appear much impressive. But the chirpy cricketer did have one major achievement with the bat.

Unfortunately, his biggest feat as a batsman is something cricket fans seem to have forgotten. In all these years, I don’t remember that innings being discussed online and offline by anyone.

Nayan Mongia
Nayan Mongia during that innings. Photo courtesy: Cricketcountry.com

It came in the only test between India and Australia in Delhi in October 1996. This test was the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Apart from Mongia’s innings, another reason why this match is special for me is because this was the first time I properly followed a test match ever.

It was a good test for India as they easily defeated Australia by seven wickets. Mongia was India’s test opener in those days. He was considered competent but I don’t think anybody could have expected him to score as many as 152 runs.

Short highlights of the match

Mongia showed his patience as he batted for 366 balls and 497 minutes. He applied himself and got his eye in. He showed respect to good deliveries and in between took risks by playing few lofted shots. It was a high quality innings which played a major role in India winning the match.

Also read: Only time Tendulkar was NOT selected in team India, neither injured nor rested

Shane Warne was out injured during that Australia tour of India [which continued with the Titan Cup after this match]. But the Aussie line-up still had the likes of Glenn McGrath and Paul Reiffel; the latter was moving the ball at will. Hence, it wasn’t an easy bowling attack by any means.

As hardly anyone remembers this innings, it is obvious that the relevance of this knock is also unknown. Mongia got his name included in India’s batting records. At that time, he was just the fourth Indian wicketkeeper to score a test hundred after Budhi Kunderan, Farokh Engineer and Syed Kirmani.

Read the list of centuries by wicketkeepers HERE

Highlights of Mongia’s match-winning partnership with Sourav Ganguly

And Mongia’s score of 152 was just the second highest by an Indian wicketkeeper after Kunderan’s 192 versus England in 1964. Likewise, he also became just the second Indian wicketkeeper to reach the score of 150 in tests.

Maybe because this knock hasn’t been as popular as it should be, there is no video on YouTube with the complete highlights of Mongia’s innings.

Additional reading:

When Australia played against Australia in this World Series

Dhoni could have scored more 100s but…

Yuvraj Singh’s 3 heroic TEST innings that have been forgotten: See videos

SSR case: Why is KARNI Sena forgiven & shown respect?

by 1 Comment

The coverage of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death has been taking place in the media 24/7 over the last many days. In this period, numerous people who claimed to have been close to the late actor are interviewed, in some cases without any verification.

Among hundreds of such interviews, one which has grabbed a lot of eye-balls is that of Surjeet Singh Rathore. He spoke about his experience on Republic channel of him being one of the few ones to have gained access to Sushant’s dead body soon after his death.

He was the one who claimed that the actor’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty said, “Sorry babu,” as soon as she saw his dead body. The founder of the channel and anchor Arnab Goswami believed him at face value.

During the show, the anchor and Rathore came out with the theory that since Rhea said, “Sorry” to Sushant, it meant that she definitely did something wrong to him.

Now whether or not they are right in their interpretation is not something that I wish to discuss here. An important aspect about the interview is the two identities that Surjeet Singh Rathore possesses. One, he is a film producer.

More importantly, he is also the Vice President of the fringe group Rathriya Rajput Karni Sena.

Sushant Singh Rajput-Karni Sena

It was one of the few Karni Sena groups that had been up in arms against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat in late 2017 and early 2018, alleging that the film distorts the history of Rajputs and thereby hurts their sentiments.

So the big question that emerges here is why a member of such a group was given access to Sushant’s dead body. Mind you, only a selected few were given entry there. The anchor Arnab Goswami, who is always eager to ask tough questions, didn’t ask this to Rathore.  

But Rathore himself revealed on the show that he is a member of [one of the] Karni Senas and he was allowed because a member of the ‘Rajput community’ was dead.

This makes it more interesting. As we all would remember, Goswami had slammed Karni Sena members numerous times on his channel back then because of their stand against Padmaavat which lead to violence in various places in the country.

And here he not only believed everything that this Karni Sena member said at face value, but also thanked him profusely more than once for being on his show.

Interestingly, what wasn’t pointed out on the show was that Sushant had subtly made his stand against Karni Sena clear during the Padmaavat controversy by dropping the words ‘Singh Rajput’ from his name on social media. During that time, the same Karni Sena members and followers had trolled Sushant for his act. (Read about it HERE and HERE)

Also read: Expecting MIRACLES from CBI in Sushant case isn’t smart

After doing this, Sushant had also tweeted saying, “We would suffer till the time we’re obsessed with our surnames. If you’re that courageous, give us your first name to acknowledge. #Padmavati.” This clearly indicates that he was against the division of humans into different communities, castes, samaajs and what not.

If you feel this is hypocritical, here’s more. Rathore is the co-producer of a film inspired from Rajput’s death titled ‘Shashank.’ The poster of the film, which you can see below, has words like ‘Nepotism,’ ‘Depression,’ ‘Suicide,’ ‘Murder,’ etc, scattered over the image of a man who is about to hang himself to death.

Let that sink in…

Also read: ‘Anti-nepotism’ brigade has created a TOXIC atmosphere online

Click to enlarge

Expecting MIRACLES from CBI in Sushant case isn’t smart

by 2 Comments

Few days back I saw a video of the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) team arriving in Mumbai after they were handed over the Sushant Singh Rajput suicide case once the Supreme Court (SC) gave its nod. They were hounded by tens of journalists screaming out the same question repeatedly – “Will Rhea Chakraborty be arrested in the Sushant case?”

The CBI team had just taken over the case at that time. So, how can these journalists expect them to take a decision as major as arresting Rhea just less than a day after they started working on it? This isn’t a case of a driver jumping a signal in which an instant challan is issued.

When the media behaves this way, you can well imagine the state of the mind of the keyboard warriors; the ‘die hard’ fans of Sushant who feel they are fighting for the truth by typing out orders on social media for the CBI to arrest Rhea Chakraborty or anyone else in the case.

I have seen countless posts where people have just assumed that the CBI will perform instant miracles now that they have taken over the case. I can understand primary school kids having such expectations. But these are educated grown-ups working at senior levels who are impatiently expecting results in the case.

Sushant Singh Rajput and Rhea Chakraborty
Sushant Singh Rajput and Rhea Chakraborty

All such expectations aren’t surprising though when a large contingent of social media users can start believing that disliking trailers of films starring ‘insiders’ can give justice to Sushant [about which I have written HERE]. These people were literally dancing in joy when the CBI was given the nod to take over the case.

And they were given massive encouragement to go wild by a ‘news anchor’ who considers himself to be the only judge in the nation who matters. He and his panel on the debate literally clapped with wide smiles when the SC allowed the CBI to be involved in the case. Have we forgotten that the very foundation of the case is a tragic death of a talented artiste?

It is also funny to see this anchor put pressure to get the CBI involved and then applaud the same when he has already solved the case on his channel and concluded the suicide to be a murder, much before the CBI got involved. In fact, he refers to the case as ‘Sushant Singh Rajput murder’ after a series of sting operations his team carried out.

Also read: ‘Anti-nepotism’ brigade has created a TOXIC atmosphere online

Right now nobody would like to be in the shoes of the CBI team which is assigned the case. I hope the super excited media and the social media let them work in peace without pressure. I don’t have much hope though going by the crazy expectations from them.

In case, the results of the CBI investigation don’t bring the same results that the media and social media are expecting, it won’t be long before the CBI too is targeted from the studios and the keyboards.

What will they demand then? A CBI inquiry on the CBI itself?

(Additional reading)

An open letter to Arvind Kejriwal

Fact check: Was Deepika Padukone was paid Rs 5 crore to attend JNU protests

‘Anti-nepotism’ brigade has created a TOXIC atmosphere online

by 6 Comments

The debate around nepotism in Hindi film industry has been going on since last few years, ever since Kangana Ranaut accused Karan Johar on his show for favoring star kids.

The incident triggered never-ending debates on social media on whether star kids are plain lucky to get an easy entry into the film world and more chances than someone who isn’t from a film background.

Despite the controversial nature of the subject, the star kids debate was still under control. But Sushant Singh Rajput’s sad demise a couple of months ago has made things go completely out of control. In fact, that’s a mild way of putting it.

Sushant didn’t come from a film family. In today’s times, he is known as an ‘outsider,’ who made it big in the Hindi film world, where there’s cut-throat competition. Slowly after his death, theories started cropping up that he was depressed because a number of big producers from the industry had boycotted him. Strangely, there is no such proof of this except those What’s App forwards and unverified ‘news’ reports.

This thought has become so deep-rooted in the minds of a large number of people that they have started hating any artiste who comes from a film family. Negative comments are being posted against them almost every second, just because someone from their family had made it big in the industry.

Star kids and nepotism

This didn’t start immediately after Sushant passed away. It has gradually increased since last one month and has now reached an unimaginable level. These trollers are making it look as if it is a crime to be born in a film family.

So now films are categorized as those starring ‘nepo kids’ and those with a cast which doesn’t come from a film family. Leave alone general public, I can see such divisions even made by few journalists, who are expected to be neutral and unbiased.

And if you don’t like a film starring an ‘outsider,’ you get judged for being a supporter of the ‘nepo gang’ and an enemy of self-made actors. For example, recently a reviewer didn’t like Khuda Haafiz and the person was judged for the same, not just by Twitterati but also the film’s lead actor Vidyut Jammwal.

It looks like it has also become a crime to judge a film objectively instead of being heavily biased by taking into account whether it has any star kids.

Also read: You might be triggering DEPRESSION in someone without even knowing it

The dangerous levels to which this anti-nepotism feeling has reached became clearer last week when the trailer of Mahesh Bhatt’s Sadak 2 released. This anti-nepotism gang pounced on that trailer like a hungry wild animal pounces on its prey. In just few days, the trailer has got over 60,000 likes and 1 crore 10 lakh [or 11 million] dislikes!

Sadak 2 trailer with 11 million dislikes

But there’s more. Sadak 2 has a Google rating of just 1.1 after as many as close to 20,000 votes.

You don’t even need to be a regular internet user to know this is a powerful campaign against the film because it has the likes of Alia Bhatt, Pooja Bhatt and Sanjay Dutt, who are now addressed as ‘nepo kids.’

Average rating of 1.1 for Sadak 2 on Google

Although the trailer hasn’t been lauded by large section of the audience, having so many dislikes and low rating is not normal by any means. Race 3 (2018) and Joker (2012), two of the most hated trailers in recent years, didn’t receive an iota of such negative ratings.

Also read: Fact check: Was Deepika Padukone paid Rs 5 crore to attend JNU protests?

This is clearly a planned strategy which has spread like wildfire. I hate to say this but this is exactly how political trolls and their IT cells operate. They target a film and start spreading negativity through dislikes, down votes and toxic personal attacks on people related to the film.

Believe me, your ‘dislikes’ isn’t going to give justice to Sushant Singh Rajput but I guess common sense is not very common, especially when the minds are brainwashed so deeply. Also their rude comments and intolerance for a different opinion instantly remind me of these political trolls.

Then there are people like KRK who are making full use of the controversy to gain popularity by trending topics like #JusticeForSSR and #CBIInquiryForSSR. He is the same person who used to personally attack Sushant in his ‘movie reviews.’ On more than one occasion, he also went onto say that Sushant is just a TV actor, he shouldn’t consider himself a film actor.  

Just like these political trolls this anti-nepo gang too believes in the false notion that they are warriors fighting against injustice. But instead they are making things go chaotic and toxic online.

And the world is watching us.

(Additional reading)

An open letter to Arvind Kejriwal

Why people in their 30s should stop believing they are 70