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  • 9 months ago
Barkha Dutt took on an unfamiliar role when she answered Kareena Kapoor Khan's questions on the state of journalism and reporting during the pandemic. The journalist recently lost her father to Covid-19...
Thanks to Filmy Mirchi.
Transcript
00:00Witch-hunting, no matter who it's against,
00:03whether it's against a celebrity or whether it's against a non-celebrity,
00:06is not journalism.
00:07I think what Mr. Goswami has been doing has brought enormous shame
00:12to the journalism that I believe in.
00:14I remember in 1999 when I wanted to go and report the Kargil war from the front line,
00:19initially everybody said no to me.
00:24Would you say, Barkha, that journalists are too hard on celebrities?
00:28So I'm actually glad you've asked me this question
00:30because what I've seen unfold in the mainstream media
00:33or sections of it in the last few months has embarrassed me.
00:36I would never want to practice that kind of journalism.
00:40I don't actually think it's journalism.
00:42Witch-hunting, no matter who it's against,
00:45whether it's against a celebrity or whether it's against a non-celebrity,
00:48is not journalism.
00:49To make allegations that are unsubstantiated,
00:52that have no reporting basis to them,
00:54is not journalism.
00:56To sit in your studio behind a chair
00:58and declare who is innocent and who is guilty
01:00is not journalism.
01:01Because some of what's happening to the film industry
01:04is also, I won't say it's own fault,
01:07but is the price you pay when you don't speak your mind.
01:10It's a lesson also for celebrities
01:12that, you know, don't be too careful, be yourselves.
01:14Because people are going to come after you if you're not yourselves.
01:17But if you're yourself,
01:18agar aap darte hi nahi hai toh wo aapka kya begar sakte hai?
01:21Yeah, but we have, I mean, you know,
01:23everybody has a habit of just living in fear, you know,
01:25not realising ki actually that is causing more repercussion.
01:28I agree.
01:29Tell us the worst journalistic interview you have ever seen.
01:33I think what Mr. Goswami has been doing
01:37has brought enormous shame to the journalism that I believe in.
01:41And I think that he, it's not about one interview,
01:44it's just about bringing journalism down to a level
01:48where it's unrecognisable.
01:49So let me put it to you like this,
01:51if I was a college kid growing up in today's age of television,
01:53I would never have become a journalist.
01:55I think what Aadav has done masquerading as journalism
01:58has brought enormous shame and embarrassment
02:01to all of us in the profession.
02:02That's for sure.
02:03So when you want it all from a story,
02:06what happens when things start looking a bit unachievable
02:09in terms of like sources or interviews?
02:12How do you make sure to get it?
02:14What is my formula?
02:15My formula is persistence.
02:17Do not take anybody else's no as a no.
02:21You know, for example, I remember in 1999
02:24when I wanted to go and report the Kargil war from the front line,
02:27initially everybody said no to me.
02:29They said, you cannot go.
02:30And I kept saying, why?
02:31And they said, look, it's a war zone.
02:33There is no place to stay.
02:35It's an all male zone.
02:36So I said, so, and they said, look,
02:38there'll be no separate place for women to sleep
02:40and no bathrooms for women, right?
02:42And so how do we, how do we look after you?
02:45And I said, look, I promise you, I don't need looking after.
02:47I will go behind the truck car tire or under the tree
02:53or in the cage like the guys do for the loo.
02:55And I will sleep where I have to, in the car,
02:58in the underground bunker.
02:59And I did all of that, but I had to do it.
03:02So I think my only formula is do not take no for an answer.
03:07Nobody can stop you but yourself.
03:10Absolutely.
03:11So, you know Barkha,
03:12I would like to compliment you on your pandemic coverage.
03:15I think it's something absolutely commendable.
03:17Please tell us the experience.
03:19So, Kareena,
03:20I remember when the prime minister announced
03:23ki desh mein poori tarah se lockdown hone wala hai,
03:25I think most of us did not understand what this means.
03:29Toh lockdown ki announcement ke theek baad,
03:32the next day I went to the borders of Delhi,
03:34which is a city where I live in.
03:35And I suddenly saw that there was a massive outflow of people
03:39aur log sheher se bhaag kar jaa rahe the,
03:42khaas kar ke jo gareeb migrant workers hain,
03:45they were just fleeing the city in panic
03:47because they had no income,
03:48suddenly everything had shut down.
03:50So, you know, that began my journey.
03:53The journey lasted 120 days,
03:56all the way from Ladakh in the north to Kerala in the south,
03:59all by road.
04:00So that was the story of my journey.
04:02And keeping yourself safe and not getting COVID yourself,
04:05despite doing all of this,
04:07I think it's just unbelievable.
04:12For more UN videos visit www.un.org
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