- 2 days ago
The big talking point of this episode of To The Point is the big Dhurandhar divide.
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00:00The Dhurandhar Firestorm
00:08Critics Audience Divide
00:15Ideological People Divide
00:22The Right Left Divide
00:29Propaganda vs. Portrayal of Reality vs. Pure Cinema
00:49The Big Dhurandhar Divide
00:53Hello and welcome, you are watching To The Point.
00:55We come to you on a very chilly winter afternoon from Vijay Chowk, Delhi.
01:00But our top focus, well, is a heated debate which ensues.
01:04While the makers of Dhurandhar are laughing all the way to the bank,
01:08strangely that film has led to a binary debate of sorts
01:13between the intellectual liberals and the intellectual hardliners.
01:18And within shooting range of this battle are film critiques.
01:22We are going to break it all down, the entire controversy as it's playing out.
01:27But first up, allow me to take you through the headlines.
01:31After the government's crackdown on Indigo, the airline has now appointed a chief aviation advisor to probe the mess.
01:42This comes after the DGCA terminated four flight operations.
01:46Inspectors over the airline's recent spate of flight cancellations.
01:50Game over for Goa club killers.
01:57Lutra brothers brought to Bangkok en route to their deputation to India.
02:01Embassy to issue travel certificate after their passport was suspended.
02:05Second smoking showdown in Sansad in two days.
02:12After Ranurag Thakur accused a TMC MP of using an e-cigarette in the house.
02:17Another TMC MP, Shoghata Roy, confronted by BJP MPs for smoking.
02:22Shoghata stays defiant.
02:28India today's big impact. Rahul Gandhi demands a discussion on air pollution.
02:32Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiran Rajiju opens the door to a pollution debate.
02:39Landmark moment for the India Today group on the 50th anniversary of the ITG media legacy meets market history.
02:47As the leadership rings the NSE bell.
02:50All right, so our top focus, our debate number one is focused on one film that is doing exceedingly well at the box office, but it's got the gentry divided like some others in the past.
03:10A disclaimer right at the onset, I haven't quite watched a film, but the debate is all the more interesting.
03:16Like I pointed out earlier, a binary sort of debate between those who are perceived in the stereotypical way of the liberals versus the hardliners.
03:25This is how it fanned out.
03:34One film, two ideology.
03:37Dhurandar has sliced open the proverbial left to right divide.
03:41While the right hails it as a patriotic epic, a growing chorus is calling it Islamophobic, ultranationalist and polarised.
03:53Dhanveer Singh's starer Dhurandar, an action drama set against the backdrop of India-Pakistan tensions has become far more than a movie.
04:08It has turned into a cultural flashpoint.
04:11The rout started when veteran film critic Anupama Chopra's review landed, one that was far from flattering.
04:23Within hours, an aggressive online campaign targeted her, turning the critique into an us versus them war on social media.
04:33The attacks were so intense that the review has been made private.
04:36Soon, filmmakers and fellow critics began calling out the hate, warning that trolling had crossed all limits.
04:46And as the debate intensified, Bollywood's internal cracks widened.
04:51Hrithik Roshan said he may not agree with the movie's politics, a comment that triggered a massive backlash.
05:00But after the pushback, he posted another social media post,
05:03praising the movie's performances and technical craft.
05:07Meanwhile, Akshay Kumar, Madhur Bhandarakar and even Smriti Rani publicly backed the movie,
05:14strengthening its patriotic appeal.
05:18A divided Bollywood added more fuel to an already raging fire.
05:22As the trolling grew toxic, the film critics' guilt issued a strong condemnation, calling the attacks on critics a threat to free expression and healthy cinematic debate.
05:35The controversy then spilled beyond India's borders.
05:38Dhurandar was banned across six Gulf nations, including the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, over concerns about its anti-Pakistan theme blocking a major international market.
05:51And at the heart of this entire storm lies one simple question.
05:56Why is it wrong to have an opinion?
05:59Actors, critics, audiences.
06:02Everyone should be free to express a point of view without abuse, intimidation or hate.
06:08In a democracy, films should spark debate, not hostility.
06:12Bureau Report, India Today.
06:15All right, viewers, as we kickstart our debate, once again giving out that disclaimer, I haven't quite watched the film Dhurandar.
06:25I'd like to, maybe over the weekend.
06:27So I'm going to let my opinion rest.
06:29But we've seen a fair amount of opinion come at the back of this film.
06:34Is it propaganda?
06:35Is it pure events?
06:37Have we become too skittish to actually recall events in the manner in which they actually unfolded?
06:43Or, ultimately, is it just cinema?
06:45Much ado about nothing.
06:46Take it for what it is.
06:47Great piece of cinema for those who like it.
06:49For those who don't, not so good.
06:52And let it just be.
06:53Not the first film that has witnessed a similar controversy.
06:56But right now, Dhurandar finds itself in the eye of a storm.
07:00But nonetheless, the filmmakers would be very happy, laughing all the way to the bank.
07:05So, let's break it down on what we've witnessed over the course of the last one week.
07:10Joining me this evening on the debate.
07:12Komal Nahata, film trade analyst.
07:14Vati Chaturvedi, senior journalist author.
07:17Rakesh Bedi, actor.
07:19Ashutosh, political analyst.
07:21Because there are two facets to this film, viewers.
07:23At one end, you know, it is a product of Bollywood.
07:27But the repercussions, the ramifications of it has been felt across, not just politically.
07:34But in terms of debate, in terms of narrative, all of that.
07:38Like I said, a binary debate in what are traditionally considered the hardliners versus the liberals.
07:44Let's cut across to one such stereotyped liberal.
07:49Ashutosh joins us.
07:51And Komal Nahata as well that we have.
07:53Ashutosh, have you watched the film?
07:55What's your opinion?
07:56Because ultimately, in all of this, there might be a raging battle between ideologies playing at the back of this film.
08:03But for the first time, we've seen critics, you know, in the line of fire, within shooting range.
08:10See, Preeti, I'm a movie buff, but I have not seen this movie.
08:14And let me honestly confess this.
08:16But yes, I have seen the kind of reaction this film has invited.
08:21And the kind of blockbuster this has become.
08:25So obviously, this has invited a lot of criticism and a lot of appreciation also.
08:30But fortunately and unfortunately, today, a film is viewed from the ideological point of view.
08:36Like a film like Uri.
08:38A film like Kashmir Files.
08:40They are viewed from the different perspective.
08:42And you will find a lot of people who will be coming on the Twitter and on the Facebook and saying,
08:48let's make this movie hit.
08:50And then you will find another section of the people who will say, this is a movie which is communal in content.
08:56And this is a movie which is creating a kind of fear psychosis against certain communities.
09:03That's the sad part of it.
09:05A movie has to be seen and as a creative art.
09:10The movie should be criticized not because it divides society.
09:14Not because of the ideological divides.
09:16Not because it seems to be venomous or poisonous in its nature.
09:21But because of its creativity.
09:24If the movie is like, I still remember there are enough movies.
09:29Like when the Christ movie was there, I'm forgetting that the passion.
09:33The passion has invited so much of reactions that there is so much violence in the last few hours of the Christ.
09:42And the whole Western country was divided on the line of Christianity.
09:45Somebody supported it.
09:46Somebody did not support it.
09:48So that kind of reaction really scares me.
09:52Otherwise, I have no problem with that.
09:54A director, an actor has a right to take the creative liberty.
09:57But if they are fictionalizing, even if you can fictionalize the history also.
10:05Look at the Quentin Tarantino's movie, if I remember correctly, in which even Hitler's death was fictionalized in a theater and a bomb blast happens and it goes.
10:17I think the Inglorious Bastard, if I remember correctly, the name of the movie.
10:20So the director takes these kind of creative liberty, but it should be clearly saying that this is not a part of the history kind of a thing.
10:28Unfortunate part of it that when this becomes a Hindu-Muslim divide debate, unfortunate part is that you like the movie because you adhere to certain ideology.
10:38I like the movie because I don't subscribe to that ideology.
10:41Then it's a problem.
10:43No, but there's always been opinion.
10:45And just because, you know, Dhurandar is not the first.
10:48And away from what the ideological communal divide, Ashutosh, that you actually spoke of.
10:52There have been films that have gone to divide the viewers in the past.
10:55Animal with one in the kind of violence, misogyny that was portrayed.
10:59Ultimately, also, which you speak of, the Kerala files, Kashmir files, all of that.
11:03But, you know, it's one thing to say you don't like a film.
11:07It's the other to suggest that, oh, you know, blasphemy has happened.
11:11There is propaganda.
11:12There's agenda behind it.
11:14I want to bring in Komal Nahata.
11:15He's one such critic who actually endorsed the film, thought this film would be a blockbuster.
11:20It's on its way, Komal, to be a blockbuster.
11:23But do you feel that, from both sides, the sheer fact that one of your colleagues, a critic, a movie reviewer today,
11:31has to make her own review private because of the hate that she's got at the back of it.
11:36Everyone's entitled to an opinion.
11:38She didn't like it.
11:39Komal Nahata loves it.
11:40What's the big deal?
11:41Yes, I agree with you, Preeti.
11:44Reviewers will rarely agree on a review.
11:50I mean, Tere Ishmae, I thought, was a lovely film.
11:53Most of the reviewers felt it wouldn't work, but it worked.
11:56So, I think to force someone or to create a situation where some journalist, and a respected journalist like Anupama Chopra,
12:04if she has to pull down her review, it's a sad thing.
12:08It's a very sad situation.
12:10And I think there are critics who view films from their personal point of view.
12:17In the sense, they will say, I like this, I did not like this, etc.
12:21I am not a film critic, I am a trade analyst, so my reviews are generally from the box office point of view.
12:27And I genuinely and honestly believe that this film would be a super blockbuster, which I said in my review.
12:34I also said that there will be people who will be saying that there's so much of violence and therefore women won't come.
12:40Don't believe them, because women will start coming in after a couple of days.
12:45And that has happened.
12:46Now, women are coming in such large numbers that the men seem to be outnumbered.
12:51So, even then, I would say that if someone has not liked the film, and someone has not gone personal, then he or she is justified.
13:02Casting personal aspersions, casting aspersions, and going personal, that should be avoided.
13:09What Ashutosh rightly said, a film should be viewed and reviewed for what it is, not for the ideology, etc.
13:16Because Aditya Dhar, in this case, is not asking you to follow the ideology which he follows.
13:23It's a film, and a film is a film is a film.
13:26Why are you looking at it from the point of view of ideological differences or this is the ideology trying to be propagated?
13:33Nobody changes his ideology after watching a film. Nobody ever does.
13:38Like, nobody learns manners or discipline because a film teaches you to do.
13:44All that is for the school and college and your family to inculcate in you.
13:50Films are purely entertainment, and there can be a debate that this is it or this is not it.
13:56But the debate has to be done in a very civil way.
13:59Threatening someone, etc., is not the right way.
14:02And sadly, it's a binary debate.
14:04Like I said, the hardliners, at least in the political spectrum of it, versus the liberals.
14:08And propaganda cuts both ways.
14:10And Swati, I want to bring you in on this.
14:12Propaganda or, you know, reality portrayal of how exactly the events have been portrayed to what they were.
14:21We're always a little skittish sometimes to accept and portray reality exactly of what it was.
14:27Or pure cinema, which side of the divide do you stand?
14:30Thank you so much.
14:32It's a pleasure to be on India today again.
14:34Well, you know, it's a strange place for me to be because, you know, in my opinion, if you don't like a film, don't watch it.
14:41This is my position.
14:42But I've watched Durandar.
14:44And I, as part of the Indian Express Investigative Bureau, actually covered the IC814 hijacked.
14:50I have covered all of the events referred to in this film as a reporter.
14:54You know, mind you, as an objective investigative reporter.
14:57And I can tell you one thing, after having watched it myself, the movie has really not taken any liberties with quack.
15:04So that's one.
15:05And I don't see, you know, this whole bit of propaganda.
15:09Propaganda is when you, you know, when you're showing, when you twist things, when you show things which are not true.
15:15I don't even see, and let's catch the bull by the horns, that, you know, is there any Islamophobic, anti-Indian Muslim propaganda in the film?
15:24Because that's one thing.
15:25I went out, you know, when I went to watch it, I was, you know, my, my, my radar was up.
15:30I honestly didn't see it.
15:32And as far as covering, you know, as far as the factuality of the events, as far as the real nature of the events, I can tell you one thing.
15:40As a reporter, each one of them is true.
15:43Now, the other thing, Preeti, which is very important is that if a movie targets Pakistan, I mean, let's face it.
15:49Pakistan is a terrorist state, which we fought for major wars with.
15:54We've had Kargil.
15:55We've had IC 814.
15:56We've had parliament attack.
15:58We've had Pahlgaon.
15:59We've had Balakot.
16:00I mean, I could go and go on.
16:02I mean, you know, I could spend the entire show reciting what Pakistan has done to attack India.
16:07It stays in a, in a, in a bizarre zombie zone where it only exists to attack India.
16:13So I don't understand why should anybody in India have a problem with a filmmaker,
16:18with creative license, depicting Pakistan for what it is.
16:21You know, and, and Ashutosh, maybe I'd draw you in on that.
16:25Because what I'd pointed out earlier is, well, sometimes, because we are so well entrenched in our ECU chambers,
16:31you haven't watched the film, and I'm glad the kind of opinion that you've, you know, brought forth,
16:35is that you just subscribe to something, oh, this is Islamophobic.
16:39Sometimes, why do we need to pussyfoot around real-time events as they unfolded?
16:45Why are we so skittish that it might offend someone to actually portray things as they were?
16:51See, Priti, unfortunately, we are living in a world where the world is divided between the two.
17:00And one, one word is not subscribing to the other word, and the other word is not subscribing to the other word.
17:05And so, basically, they are, they hate each other.
17:07You know, that's, that's the problematic part of it.
17:10I still remember when the Parjaniya was released, Parjaniya could not be released in Gujarat.
17:15And, but later it was released in some theatres in 2007 or something like this.
17:19When the fire was shot, was shot in Banaras, the sets was burned,
17:23because few people did not like the way the women were depicted in that movie.
17:26So, this can be a personal opinion.
17:28Like Padmavat, the, the violence did happen.
17:31And the, and the name of the movie was to be changed.
17:33My opinion is if you don't like the movie, don't watch the movie.
17:36They don't watch the movie.
17:37But these kind of things, this is not true to the history.
17:40This is not true to the history.
17:41I don't buy that argument.
17:42Unless it is written, they're claiming that these are the historical events.
17:46And they are, they're only then the history can, can be judged on that issue.
17:50But the, but the problem which is, which is coming up late is that as I, as I said earlier,
17:56movie is not watched the way it should be watched.
17:59Movie is watched because somebody has gone there to get endorsement for his or her views.
18:05And second point, which is very important point is that I think till 2014,
18:11we are used to a kind of narrative.
18:14We are used to a kind of, kind of movies.
18:18I think there is an alternate narrative now.
18:21There is an alternate agenda.
18:22Now there is an alternate history.
18:24Now there's an alternate value system.
18:26So we all have to understand to live with that understanding.
18:30If we are not there, then in my opinion, we are not democratic at all.
18:34That we subscribe to only this kind of movie should be there.
18:37If the other kind of movie is there, if the alternate reality is there, then we have a problem with that.
18:42You can have a problem with that.
18:43But if you are a Democrat, you will go and watch the movie and criticize.
18:46Criticism is your democratic right.
18:48Criticize it.
18:49Criticize it.
18:50But if somebody has been pushed to the corner that he or she is pulling down the content,
18:54that's where the problem is.
18:56And that's what I condemn in the strongest possible words.
18:58Whether it is done by right-wingers or it is done by the left-wingers or liberals.
19:03Whosoever.
19:04Content is a content…
19:05No, fair point.
19:06No, fair point, Ashutosh.
19:08Because there is intimidation.
19:09We've seen in the past, the makers of Tandav are still making rounds of courts in Uttar Pradesh
19:14at the back of what they projected in the OTT series.
19:17So, you know, there is one form of cinema, you know, which is celebrated.
19:22Some might call it propaganda, but which is accepted and should be accepted.
19:26And if you don't want to see it, don't see it.
19:27But there is no avenue for someone who has a contrarian point of view.
19:31And Komal Nahata, I know you don't want to really, you know, want to get into politics of it all.
19:36I want to bring you in.
19:37Because the fact is, Hrithik Roshan comes out and makes a statement where he says,
19:41great film, blown away by the film, don't agree with the politics.
19:45And the kind of hate he gets at the back of it.
19:47Very similar, you know, to other stars who have taken what would one call a contentious stand in the past
19:54and then paid the price for it.
19:56And the ultimate, you know, the reason, you know, what happens ultimately is
20:02that then any of these stars refuse to say a word when it comes down to what they actually believe in.
20:08Because they are hounded.
20:11Yeah, actually, in modern times, it pays not to really be politically aligned.
20:18For the stars, for the celebrities, it is best to maintain a very neutral stand.
20:23Because with Twitter being such a democratic platform, people go hammer and tongs against stars and celebrities who don't align with their thinking.
20:32If they are offended, then they troll those stars so badly that then those stars withdraw and they say it's best not to open our mouths.
20:40So that is what the social media has made, you know, it's a very democratic setup.
20:47And therefore, anybody faceless creatures can get away by saying anything and trolling.
20:52And there are trolling armies, you know, so it's like an army unleashed on a star.
20:57I don't know what made Hrithik Roshan say that, especially because he liked the film.
21:01He could have easily avoided.
21:03Exactly.
21:04He could have easily avoided the latter part, but I really don't know what people say.
21:07But the sad part is, no, Komal, the sad part is, why should he have avoided the latter part?
21:12He liked the film.
21:13He didn't agree with the politics.
21:14He should be able to say it openly.
21:16I'll tell you why.
21:17I'm saying because the way the trolls happen.
21:20Fair point.
21:21I'm sure he didn't bargain for this.
21:24He must have said it very innocuously.
21:26So I'm not saying what he did was wrong.
21:27But I don't think he's ever doing anything again.
21:29Because he immediately came out with a counter tweet saying, I love it, love it, love it, love it.
21:33You know, nothing to do with the politics of it.
21:35But that's the sad reality of today.
21:37I want to bring in Rakesh Bedi, who is actually a part of Dhurandar.
21:40He's joining us now as an actor.
21:42He has worked in the film.
21:44First up, Rakesh Bedi, congratulations.
21:47What a blockbuster you've delivered.
21:50I haven't seen the film, but there are people on this panel who can't stop talking about it.
21:56Komal Lahata said, I saw the film.
21:57I knew it would be a blockbuster.
21:59In terms of sequence of events, how you've portrayed a time period.
22:04How well researched was it, Rakesh?
22:07When, you know, the film was when you sat on workshops, mannerism, time periods, events.
22:14How well were they corroborated?
22:16I think it's conceived by the director, Ajit Idhar.
22:22You know, he only wrote it, conceived it.
22:24I, or all the actors for that matter, came at a very later stage because he was writing this film.
22:29But I can tell you one thing today, I mean, through the medium that I did a film with him called Uri, the surgical strikes of Uri.
22:40So, in that I had a very small piece.
22:43Only one scene I had.
22:44And it went off very well.
22:47And I don't know what transpired into Ajit Teh after seeing that, after the shooting of that film.
22:53He immediately came to me.
22:54I mean, it was supposed to be a one-shift scene and I could, I mean, we could both together finish it in two and a half hours in Serbia.
23:02So, he came to me and put his hand on my shoulder and said, Rakesh Ji, I'm going to pay you back for what you did for me today.
23:09So, because I almost did it free of cost for him, that film, almost.
23:14And then last year, he called me up and said, Rakesh Ji, remember, I told you I'll pay you back for it.
23:21I said, yeah.
23:22He said, I'm doing it now.
23:23So, he just said that it's a very beautiful part in this film.
23:28So, he gave me an outline.
23:30I won't say that what the outline is because that outline also contains the part of the second half which is yet to come.
23:35So, I won't say that what I'm doing in the other half.
23:40But, I mean, in the recent times, I don't think anyone of us, not only me, anybody from the film fraternity has tasted such success, such kind of adulation, such raving, you know, I will say involvement into the film, not only in India, anywhere in the world.
24:02And, this is the first time I've seen a Hindi film, which is about 3 hours, which is about 3 hours before 3 hours.
24:11This is the first reaction here.
24:13But, in one week, people have seen it 3 times.
24:16This is a very unusual thing.
24:19Now, where I'm prepared, yes, I worked on it.
24:23I made my notes on some lot of Pakistani ministers, how they speak.
24:27I wrote their transcripts.
24:29I wrote them with my own hand.
24:31I wrote them and then I...
24:33I cultivated a voice.
24:35And I impersonated one particular minister.
24:38And I remember one day...
24:41Who did you follow a particular minister to learn mannerisms?
24:46Now, many people are saying that...
24:48My look is that Nabeel Gabol is meeting with those people.
24:52So, many people are saying that.
24:54And Nabeel Gabol is saying that I haven't done anything, but I'm not like that.
25:00So, one day I was going in the car with my wife and the shooting was just around the corner.
25:06So, I was going again and again into my...
25:08You know, the voice...
25:09Kind of a...
25:10Things that I've recorded.
25:12And I was hearing it over and over again.
25:14To just get into that mood.
25:16So, I was sitting at Nabeel Gabol.
25:18So, what are you doing?
25:20You're listening to a man a half hour.
25:22Who is this?
25:23Who is this?
25:24Who is this?
25:25Who is this?
25:26Who is this?
25:27I said...
25:28This is my voice.
25:33Well, that's a job.
25:34Well done, Rakesh Ji, I must say.
25:35But Rakesh Ji, while you were making this film, you were a part of the film.
25:39Did you ever imagine that this would be the storm?
25:42You know, the film is done superbly.
25:44Well, it's a blockbuster.
25:45But did you think that this could be the storm that it would create?
25:50Or the divide that it's created?
25:52I'll tell you why we all felt that.
25:54We knew that it will be good.
25:55But this good, nobody.
25:56Nobody can judge anything about any film.
25:58Even anything about any film.
26:02Every film is what we call our other films.
26:04It's called a summary of its own film.
26:05It's true.
26:06But one bit.
26:07When this narration is done,
26:09In all of this narration,
26:10every actor was there.
26:12As you are watching all of the actors, all of the HODs were made by camera, costumes or sound or whatever it is, you know, sets.
26:22Everybody was there from every department and a huge hall in a five-star hotel had been booked because to accommodate so many people.
26:30And it was an audio-visual kind of a narration that was given with fake, you can say, scenes created, not locations, locations created.
26:40And fake people created, actors created on screen, you can say, you can say, you can say, you can say, you can say.
26:45And that narration was about three, three hours ago.
26:48And all actors were sitting there, one man didn't move, one man didn't move.
26:54And lunch break, we had no idea after that, four, four, four hours ago, because time didn't move.
26:59And everybody was glued to the narrative, the way it was given.
27:04But how it will become, it will become, it will become, it will become, it will become.
27:11And after that, it will become.
27:12Rakesh Ji, I wish you all the best for Dhurandar too, and revel and enjoy the success of Dhurandar.
27:23You know, it's clearly caused a storm in a good way for you.
27:26But thank you for taking the time out and joining us in India today.
27:30I'm going to quickly, you know, go back to our political debate.
27:33I'll bring in Swati and Ashutosh who are with us.
27:35But Swati, you know, on the way with what Komal and what Ashutosh was also saying, you know, there is no avenue for where the other space is concerned.
27:44While we have film after film, some of them, you know, which are spoken of as propaganda films, some of them which portray reality and we don't need to be skittish about them.
27:54But there is no avenue for a film that has a contrarian point of view.
27:59If stars speak up today, where they actually believe they are castigated for it.
28:05We've seen it in the case, go all the way back, a Deepika Padukone in JNU, a Shah Rukh Khan on intolerance, on Amir Khan who said that he wanted to leave the country.
28:14That's what his wife suggested.
28:15They've all paid a price for it.
28:24You're on mute, Swati.
28:25You're on mute, Swati.
28:29I'm not on mute.
28:32I don't know.
28:33There was a problem.
28:33Do you hear me?
28:34Go ahead.
28:34Go ahead.
28:35Yeah, we can hear you.
28:35Go ahead.
28:36Yeah, yeah.
28:36You know, you're absolutely right.
28:38All of the people that you mentioned have paid a terrible price.
28:41And I was hearing on your panel, Mr. Nahata saying that, you know, Ritik shouldn't have said the second part of this thing.
28:46Now, this, why shouldn't he have said it?
28:48You know, it is terrible that you have to censor your opinion on a creative endeavor because, you know, people will start an organized trolling of you.
28:58Like, you know, not just Ritik, the amount of PDA here he was forced to display.
29:03Like you said, I love it.
29:03I love it.
29:04And the way his partner, you know, who is surely entitled to her own view and her own perception is also being attacked for Ritik's views.
29:11I mean, she's expressed no views so far.
29:12But even she's being attacked and you know that I have written a book which has exposed what organized trolling is.
29:18And, you know, how Aamir Khan was dropped as the brand ambassador of so many, you know, big brands because of the fact that he said publicly that his wife wants to move out of India because of intolerance.
29:31So, you know, there is, you know, one, it is okay to glorify and say, you know, you know, India, India shining and India brilliant and new India.
29:40But where is the space?
29:42And we have, we need that space as well for a, for another opinion, for a contrary opinion.
29:46Now, Ashutosh talked about Parzania, precisely, can we make a Parzania today?
29:50I mean, Deepika Padukone is heading to cut her nose off, you know, for, for acting in a movie.
29:56I mean, it's, it's insane what we've reduced in the amount of, what baggage movies are carrying today.
30:03Ashutosh, would you want to come in?
30:04Because, you know, at one end, because there is this situation that continues to ensue.
30:11On the other end, Ashutosh, you have, you know, maybe they're a little more oversensitive on certain films.
30:20And Dhurandar could very well be one of those.
30:23See, Prithya, first of all, I want to speak on the, on this strolling thing.
30:27In 2013, I learned that how useless this strolling is.
30:32You don't have to go after writing.
30:34You don't have to go and read how people are reacting.
30:36I stopped doing that for the last 13, 14 years.
30:39I don't even look at how people are reacting.
30:43And on the Facebook, one day I sat, I removed 3,700, I unfriended 3,700 because there I have no other option than to look how people are reacting.
30:54In Twitter, just avoid this.
30:56If you are getting upset, then please don't be on the social media.
31:00If you feel trolled, threatened, intimidated, don't be on the social media.
31:03Because what, you know, the kind of people who are getting upset, because for them, narcissism has become, has become a second personality.
31:14And you write and immediately you go, how people are reacting.
31:17If people are not reacting positively, then you take it very badly.
31:21If people are reacting positively, you get very happy.
31:23I can understand that at times there are very threatening messages.
31:28I understand that.
31:29But I have faced in the last 10 years, most vehemently than many of my colleagues.
31:35So I know how it feels.
31:37You get phone calls.
31:38You get, you get people writing emails.
31:42And on the emails, threatening, I'll come and kill you, some of these kind of things.
31:45The best is to ignore.
31:46If you ignore, there's no trolling at all.
31:49About the movie, I think the movie should be left to the viewers.
31:54If they like it good enough, if they don't like it.
31:56They're the people who made other kinds of files.
31:59How many films ran into the millions of dollars?
32:02How many?
32:03Just one.
32:05So that means not because you're back by an ideology, not because you're chasing a kind of a narrative.
32:11So your film will get very happy.
32:13I know there are many, many movies.
32:15Right-wingers has come on the Facebook and the Twitter and said,
32:18Let's make this movie hit.
32:21That, that, that pull.
32:22That doesn't help.
32:23It gives you to the, yeah.
32:24The viewers are smarter.
32:26And they have a mind of their own.
32:27No, the viewers are smarter.
32:28See, Chava, Chava movie, a section of people did not like it.
32:32But I personally liked the movie.
32:34What's wrong in it, yeah?
32:36I, Padmavat, I liked it.
32:38So, like, it's, it's like somebody's watching a kill bill, the second part,
32:41and say that the, the, the, the killing, the, the, the murder has been dignified.
32:47No, but you're right.
32:47But there are a lot of people out there who enjoy these well-entrenched binaries,
32:51like I pointed out, between the hardliners and the liberals.
32:54There's nothing in between.
32:55But final comments.
32:57Komal Nahata.
32:57I think we all, we all cinema lovers should celebrate the fact that Duran Dan is turning
33:06out to be one of the biggest blockbusters of Hindi cinema ever.
33:10I know it's too early to say that, but the first week closed at more than 170 crore.
33:15I think the second week will close at almost 170 crore.
33:19And I'm talking of only Indian net figures, which will be a first for any Hindi film.
33:24I'll tell you, it's Monday collections were extraordinary, but Tuesday was better than
33:32Monday, which is normal.
33:33Wednesday was as good as Tuesday and Monday.
33:36Thursday was as good as, better than Wednesday.
33:39This is unprecedented in my entire career.
33:42I haven't seen these kind of collections.
33:44And therefore I would say, who cares what they say, this is wrong, that is wrong.
33:50It is a box office blockbuster.
33:52And that is what finally matters because entertainment is what the film was offering.
33:58Entertainment is what it has offered.
34:01And entertainment is getting in the money, the moolah.
34:03You know, we film people constantly crave, aaz kal koi film nahi chalti hai.
34:07And when films start doing well, from within the film industry, people say, oh, but this
34:11is wrong and that is wrong.
34:13Nothing is wrong.
34:14They set out to make a blockbuster.
34:16They succeeded in making a blockbuster.
34:18So congratulations to them and joy, joy all around.
34:22All right, we're going to end it there.
34:24We're going into a very joyous festive season.
34:26And for the film fraternity, you know, this would, you know, these are good comings in
34:30terms of a blockbuster of this expanse.
34:33And where films are concerned, I think one thing is on what we all agree.
34:38A film is a film is a film.
34:40You know, leave it to the better imagination of the viewers.
34:42If they want it, they like it.
34:44Let them like it.
34:45If they reject it, they reject it.
34:46Don't have to see it if you don't like it.
34:48A quick break.
34:48Thank you for joining us.
34:50Swati Ashutosh and Komal.
34:51Let's shift the focus on pollution.
34:54And it's not just the national capital that suffers from polluted air, where the AQI index
35:00very often touches severe and very, very severe.
35:04Finally, though, the parliament has decided after days of heated debates on electoral reforms,
35:11right before that, even one day, Mataram, they have finally, the parliament has finally
35:16decided to debate pollution.
35:19It's not something that just impacts Delhi, but the rest of the country.
35:24An exchange between Rahul Gandhi and the parliamentary affairs minister, Kiran Rajiju, resulted in
35:29opening the door to this very, very crucial debate.
35:32Most of our cities, major cities, are living under a blanket of poisonous air.
35:42You know, this is not an ideological issue.
35:44This is, everybody in this house would agree that air pollution, the damage it is doing to
35:51our people, is something that we would like to cooperate on.
35:55I think the government should have a discussion in parliament.
35:59We should all have a discussion in parliament.
36:01And we should try, we should try and not make it a discussion where we are abusing you and
36:11you are abusing us.
36:12I think we should make it a discussion where we are participating, we are showing the country
36:19that on this fundamental issue there is agreement and the best minds are going to be put into
36:24place to solve this issue.
36:26Government from the day one had made our position very clear that on all important matters, government
36:32is ready to discuss and also to find out a solution, taking along the suggestions from
36:39all the members, including the principal opposition party led by Rahul Gandhiji.
36:44Government is always prepared to have discussion under any rule, but only what the point I want
36:53to make is, since the matter was brought in the BAC, we will come back and let us see
36:58how we can structure the discussion into and then we are ready to take up this matter.
37:05While one is very, very glad that the parliament has decided to pick up pollution to debate,
37:10finally, after days of debating other issues, some would suggest not as important and pressing
37:15and urgent as discussing the rising levels of pollution in our cities.
37:21But there is a certain amount of delusion that also continues to be displayed by the government
37:26where most global rankings where AQI is concerned put Indian cities like Delhi as the worst.
37:34India has now decided that they don't believe in those rankings, they have come up with their
37:38own markers. And that, in fact, has caused quite a bit of a controversy.
37:44India is sticking to its own rule book. The government has called global pollution rankings
37:49unofficial and set its own air norms. The government told parliament today that the
37:54international air quality rankings from groups like IQ Air and even data sets linked to the WHO
38:02are unofficial and not issued by any recognized authorities. Responding to a question in the
38:08Rajya Sabha on India's position in global indices, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh
38:15said the WHO's air quality guidelines are advisory, not binding rules, claiming that they are meant
38:21to help countries craft their own standards. He went on to mention India's own pollution ranking,
38:27including the annual Swatch Vayu Survection, which ranks 130th Indian cities and national ambient air
38:34quality standards for 12 pollutants. Many seem to suggest that this is a tad bit delusional and one
38:43should actually look and reflect at the world rankings. Where all traditional pollution markers, AQI markers
38:53are concerned. I'm standing right now near Lodi Road and the pollution here is over 388.
39:00Just let that sink in. But on the other hand, while now pollution thankfully will be discussed in
39:06parliament, we on my podcast on politics caught up with one parliamentarian, Rajya Sabha MP Manojja,
39:14who reflects on the Bihar loss and whether Tejasvi Yadav is being ill-advised by a few.
39:21The murmurs were that it was Sanjay Yadav ji who was constantly advising Tejasvi Yadav ji on what to do
39:34and wasn't the best decision. Okay, you say it's okay, you know, there's nothing wrong with that.
39:38No, I'll tell you, probably, I don't know whether you have interacted with ASUG or not,
39:45whether you have interviewed. It's limited. I'll tell you, I've worked with many people.
39:52Lalu ji had a fantastic mind and his way of picking up things or listening to people.
40:02Tejasvi ji, I have not seen a better listener than him. I'm yet to see. Yes, results were not
40:11according to our perception. I myself was away. And you know, my father was actually
40:21being treated for a very advanced stage cancer. I'm sorry, I was not there. But I was watching
40:28everything. We never imagined this results. I'm telling you very frankly,
40:33Okay, so you're saying, okay, he was not ill-advised. No, two elections I'm yet to come to terms with.
40:40This one? My Bihar election and Maharashtra election.
40:42Okay, so he was not ill-advised. Should he have left for a foreign holiday?
40:46No, no. Priti ji. This is a normal, this is a valid question. The people who have voted
40:52Tejasvi ji would want to know that he takes off on a holiday after a loss like this.
40:55I'm responding to your ill-advised advice. You know, a leader has to look at multiple things.
41:02He could be picking up three from here, two from here. At times, these three and two,
41:09five could be all productive. At times, three could not deliver or two could not deliver.
41:16But a leader also takes time in coming to terms. We are undergoing that process. I'm assuring you.
41:24And we'll come stronger. And I repeat what I had told two important people in 2010.
41:31We'll change ourselves. And that change will not be reinvention of the wheel, number one.
41:38Number two, do we realize for past 18 months, Tejasvi ji was on roads?
41:46Almost every second night, he was in a district headquarter or commissionery headquarter.
41:52So you're saying he's earned the holiday? No, I don't. I mean, these are corporate terms,
41:57earning the holiday. I'm just saying that the results came and he'll be there with the people.
42:04He knows what his mandate says. Through you, I'm assuring him also that next election is after five years.
42:19We'll be with the people. I'm telling you, in their struggle, in their fight. Now, small thing I used to
42:27share, this 10,000 rupees, it was through whisper or what we call in propaganda, grapevine,
42:39that two lakh rupees is in the offering for any enterprise. We'll work towards that. People of
42:47women of Bihar shouldn't be cheated by one time payment.
42:51It's a larger perception, Manoj ji. It is leaders, you know, old leaders from, you know, your own party,
42:56which is Shivandan Tiwari saying what you do. Many would suggest you're being very graceful,
43:00but says that you've been completely distanced from the core team, which is Tejasvi ji.
43:06You know the reality.
43:06No, I'm just, I'm giving you examples. And then you have a Rohini Acharya ji,
43:09who actually goes on to say that violence was used against her in her own house.
43:13I'll tell you.
43:14Optics, no? Important in politics.
43:17If I give the family to resolve things on their own, they'll resolve it. I know this family. I
43:22know Lalu ji. I know Tejasvi ji. I know all the sisters. They are capable of resolving it on their
43:28own. And very soon it shall be resolved. There's no succession battle within the family.
43:32I mean, you know. The propaganda that you speak of the grapevine. No, no, no. I'll tell you something
43:40which we miss. We are in a democracy, yet our terminologies are drawn from monarchy.
43:47What is succession? A person who has won the election, got his MLA's elected, has gone into
43:54a fresh election. Maybe the success is not at that level. But at the same time, there is no dispute
44:03about it and rest for all other things. People will sit down and resolve. I think they have the
44:09maturity. They have the wisdom, including Sivanan ji. His advises are well taken.
44:16All right. For the entire podcast, you can tune in to 9 p.m. Saturdays and 8 p.m. Sundays on
44:23Unpolitics. Manoj completely unfiltered, taking practically every question, including the Bihar
44:29debacle of the RJD. With that, let me quickly cut across to a big moment today. The India Today
44:36group is completing 50 years in journalism, in excellence and in influence. And who better
44:43than to pick the leadership of the India Today group to ring the ceremonial bell at the NSC.
44:54The iconic bull at the entrance to the National Stock Exchange in Mumbai
44:58and holding it by the horns, Arun Puri, chairman of the India Today group,
45:03Kali Puri, vice chairperson and managing director.
45:08Bringing India's biggest newsroom and India's biggest stock market together
45:13in a moment that blends media legacy with market history.
45:19This afternoon at the National Stock Exchange, the leadership of the India Today group marked a historic
45:24milestone. 50 years of journalism, credibility and influence with the NSC's ceremonial bell-ringing ceremony.
45:35A walk through India's financial nerve centre. A quiet reminder of how markets and media together
45:43shape the national narrative. The exchange and the newsroom. Two institutions that have questioned
45:49and powered India's growth story. Inside the NSC atrium, the stage was set to chronicle the 50-year
45:57journey of India Today group from print to television to digital dominance.
46:02Today, journalism at the India Today group is digitally empowered where storytelling transcends platforms
46:14and where credibility and candid, constructive conversations, not clicks and TRPs become the most valuable currency.
46:22We carry forward the same promise that defined us in 1975. To always ask the difficult questions.
46:33To always stand tall in the face of power. To always serve the people of India with integrity and courage.
46:42Thank you to our readers, our viewers and the extraordinary teams who pour their passion
46:48into this institution every single day. To all of you, I offer my deepest gratitude.
46:55Thank you NSC for this honour. Thank you India for 50 remarkable years. The bell we ring today is for
47:04the next chapter for India and for India Today. The NSC bell, a timeless tradition. An icon that echoes
47:12the exchange's genesis and symbolizes confidence, momentum and the next chapter in India's financial story.
47:2050 years from print to television, to many television channels, to business channels and now through
47:30social media, through web and the same people, same team doing that is amazing. And for me,
47:37literally we all grew up reading India today. And now we actually go to sleep watching Aaj Tak. And so,
47:50that is what tells you that honest journalism has a place in life and in the life of AI, life with AI.
47:5912 seconds, 11, count with me. The countdown begins, all eyes on the bell. The chairman,
48:07the vice chairperson and managing director, the India Today Group CEO, the NSC MD and CEO.
48:15Together, at the heart of India's financial marketplace.
48:18Congratulations, congratulations, sir. Please do stay on stage, Mr. Puri.
48:29A historic ring, a landmark partnership and a moment that brings together the power of information
48:35and the force of markets. Interestingly, the partnership on the floor pushed the nifty over
48:40the 26,000 level for the first time in five days. From the trading floor, the celebrations moved to the
48:48iconic Business Today Most Powerful Women Awards 2025, honoring leadership, excellence and impact of women
48:56in corporate roles in corporate roles.
48:57Bureau Report, Business Today TV
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