While this is not necessarily a bad thing, the more worrying trend is when cinema takes over all other spaces, replacing less sensational stories on politics, social development or economic frameworks that must be told.Īlso, media coverage of new film releases is rarely in the interest of "news’ alone.
Yet even in the print media, film news has graduated from the glossies of the 80s to find its place in our mainstream dailies – a reflection perhaps of the hold that cinema has always had on the Indian psyche. Here, at least, entertainment is most often treated as a feature story and not news – of course, making an exception for anything that happens in the Bachchan household!īut aren’t the print and television journalists reporting the news to the same audience? Then why do they view the news so differently? Yet in contrast to television, the English language print media has done a far better job of preserving the sanctity of debate in the public sphere. Should English language television audiences should be subjected to a ‘Bollywood’ barrage in the name of "news"? Yet in the mad rush for TRPs, are television channels simply offering viewers what they wish to see? Then, it maybe argued that it’s not the media that shapes news but television audiences that get the media that they deserve. It seemed like more a than a slight deviation for a national newspaper’s discussion around the theme of "leadership"! The questions he fielded here from journalists included a clarification on why Shahrukh had set aside his rule of "no kissing" for this film and whether Katrina Kaif would prefer to work with Salman or Shahrukh. "Jab Tak Hai Jaan" promos had Shahrukh on every English language television channel, and even holding forth in a keynote address at the Hindustan Times’ "Leadership Summit". While it was Aamir who first set the trend of intelligently aggressive film promotion, other Indian filmmakers have been quick to join the bandwagon. So first, there was an overdose of Shahrukh Khan and Katrina Kaif in promos for "Jab Tak Hai Jaan", and now Aamir Khan takes over with the release date for "Talaash" just around the corner. This November, it’s Hindi cinema’s season of film launches.