RHEA & THE MEDIA – A disgraceful condemnation
As much as I avoided to write this piece, not because I am afraid of the criticism that will come along with it (Twitter is mean), but because I found this Sushant-Rhea news extravaganza grotesque and petty.
In fact in order to refrain from listening to or even talk about this particular topic I cut off from news, social media platforms, even from people because all anyone could do was talk about this. (By the way, if any one of you wants a little break, dive into the Marvel universe, even if it’s a repeat. Nothing better)
Nonetheless, waking up to this nonsense everyday in my own home, didn’t help. The kindest people I know who don’t see any wrong in the world have said the most bizarre and meanest things about this woman, Rhea. My day would begin with over-hearing these discussions and eventually it did affect. But what hit most was a piece by author Shobha De, that I unfortunately read yesterday, where she has dissected Rhea’s interview, her comments and even her appearance. “She discarded the sati-savitri, head-covered, white salwar kameez, grieving girlfriend look for a more contemporary and casual-girl-next door appearance,” De wrote. Even though I have the lowest expectations when it comes to reading anything from Shobha De, this was still shocking. Would a man being interviewed in Rhea’s place have his clothes so closely scrutinized? Anyway that’s a different problem altogether. The thing is that her article was so disturbing that I couldn’t help but write this.
There have been instances where the media decides if a grieving person ‘looks sad enough.’ And that is difficult to prove in case you don’t get enough opportunities to shove your camera in the person’s face. So what do you do? You hold prime-time debates where a number of so called mental heath experts, actors, activists and possibly every clown available, collectively decode whether a person “looks the part.” ‘Why isn’t she crying? She doesn’t look sad enough, not emotional enough. How can this person be depressed, he smiles in all pictures?’ And thus begins the media trial.
First of all, let me very clearly state that I have absolutely no knowledge or opinion of what happened with this actor. The courts will decide that. This piece is only being written from a third person’s perspective. So if you opened this article hoping to find more “juicy” details about the case, you’d be disappointed.
There is no science here to understand the fact that why is everyone, and I mean ‘almost’ everyone so obsessed with this piece of news. The same reason why Crime Patrol and CID are some of the longest running shows on Indian television. (CID fans, I’m with you) And that’s fiction, even if they tell you otherwise. But in this story it is as real as it can get.
A somewhat popular and successful actor living with a girlfriend is found dead. The girl has allegedly manipulated him, exploited him, drugged him etc. and finally drove him to kill himself or even killed him, herself. Now that’s a story. The most intriguing one in a very long time. And we may relate with it too. After all we’ve all had those people in our lives who we’ve liked to blame for our failures, sufferings and other troubles. For some of us, may be, subconsciously, this woman is a representation of all the evil that has fallen upon us, at some point in life. May be, in Rhea, you see your girlfriend who dumped you, or a partner who cheated on you, or a boss that is so mean and selfish he wouldn’t let you live. That’s how it works, right? This is why people are so pissed. Not because anyone actually cares about the deceased, but because you think you connect with him. Those news channels orchestrating this story 24*7 know this quite well. They feed off our anger and make money off it. (Best job, ever)
But I’d like to believe you’re aware of this. I don’t think most of us are that vulnerable to not see right through of what’s actually happening. And yet we’re still hooked to this story. Why?
Ever wondered why a person ‘chooses’ to stay in an abusive relationship? Not because they’re stupid, but maybe because they have become so used to it that they don’t see any harm in it. They actually bond with their abuser. And it’s a condition called the Stockholm syndrome.
And I guess that’s what has happened with us. We have become so used to this nastiness that we’re okay with it.
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We don’t see the wrong that comes with a media trial, we don’t see any harm when we are constantly spewing hatred on people we don’t even know. We refuse to acknowledge the existence of mental health issues like depression as severe and legit health conditions that are more dangerous than we know.
We don’t see how the investigative agencies have conveniently leaked private information of a probe to select “news” channels. Doctors who have broken all confidentiality by going public with a patient’s personal mental health history. Ethics be damned.
And who are the gatekeepers or watchdogs here? Absolutely no one. Its like a witch-hunt where blood thirsty hounds are unleashed on a family, which may or may not be guilty, to rip off whatever they can. They talk about justice and have self elected themselves to deliver it. But that’s not even the worst part. The worst of it is that we’re all buying it. Enjoying every bit of it. No accountability, no facts, no verification, even no significance, and somehow this has been the most important news for months now . So who is to blame for creating this stagecraft here? Just the editors and journalists? I don’t think so.
It is each one of us who has been hooked to this story like a crazy person, sent WhatsApp forwards of private chats, dead bodies and other unverified conspiracy theories. Passed constant judgments on an ‘accused’ (please google that word) calling her a gold digger, a murderer, a witch, even a drug addict. Honestly, ask yourselves how many of you would not qualify as ‘drug addicts’ if the Narcotics Bureau got an access to your private life and conversations. Sounds funny and scary at the same time. The NCB and ED investigating a case involving weed-joints and a few crores, do we really not see the joke here? Do our top most federal investigative departments have nothing better to do?
Please know, that I understand that there are some genuine fans out there who want to support the actor’s family and seek justice but the method adopted to seek that justice is questionable. This write-up is neither to defend or justify anyone’s side of the story. Mainly, because I don’t think I know enough (neither want to) about the personal lives of these people to call anyone innocent or guilty and neither do you or those news channels, whether you believe it or not. I am only questioning the system here.
What initially was an extremely sad incident of the passing of an incredibly talented actor, has become a circus where every performer whether relevant or not, has an act to do and we’re watching it. Why?
Because the real issues, like the pandemic (where we have the fastest growing cases in the world, by the way) or the severe economic depression (which is an act of God apparently according to the FM, no less) are too boring to be talked about.
We like drama, gossip and there’s no harm in it. But we do have different platforms and mediums for every genre. Just stop looking for them on your news channels. (If you don’t find any, let me know and I will suggest you the best crime thriller shows and movies to watch, some of it based on real events.) The point is if you like watching something, make sure you’re watching the best of the lot. This isn’t worth it.
Destroying someone’s life for your entertainment isn’t worth it. Damaging the sanctity of the press to feed your anger isn’t worth it. News media is supposed to be the fourth estate of any democracy after executive, legislature and judiciary. And as stupid as I feel writing this last line, I do believe that the press is supposed to be respected. The judiciary is supposed to be trusted. Wait for the courts to decide. After all this is the same country, that elected a prime accused in one of the biggest riots in the country as its Prime Minister, twice, because the courts let him free. So why not have faith now. This phenomenon of media trials and public execution of people’s reputation needs to stop. The case of Arushi Talvar was more than enough to understand this.
The least that could’ve come out of this pandemic situation could be empathy. We’re all in this together. And if we’re so busy in digging into a person’s misery, someday we may find ourselves or a loved one in the same position too. After all, all that it takes to tarnish a reputation is the ability to type and access to internet.
Thanks for the read, really.
[Image source: TOI]
