Film reference: Heroine (2012), directed by Madhur Bhandarkar.
Mahi (Kareena Kapoor) is a star actress in a relationship with superstar Aryan Khanna (Arjun Rampal). The two make a sex tape. After the relationship ends, Mahi sinks into depression; films stop coming her way and her market value collapses. She hires a PR manager, Pallavi Narayan (Divya Dutta), who rebrands her image through sensationalist tactics. Mahi starts a relationship with cricketer Angad Paul (Randeep Hooda), does a few films, but then declines again. She works in a low-budget film that fails to attract attention. She meets Aryan again; a big film offer comes, but the director refuses to cast her because her “sellability” is finished.
Mahi’s low-budget film is about to release, but there is no buzz. At a press conference, journalists mock her, saying another actress has been cast opposite Aryan.
Mahi becomes angry and frustrated. Together with Pallavi, they decide to leak the old sex tape (of Mahi and Aryan) so that controversy is created and the film becomes a hit. The tape goes viral and the film succeeds. The PR and the system then tell Mahi that her market value is over; only scandal can be sold now.
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Lucknow: In these October days, when public trust in mainstream media was slowly returning and discussions about the “transactional journalism” of Congress-supporting former editors and content creators had become common on social media, the Neha Singh Rathore case suddenly hit the headlines. On ABP News, she raised her voice on social media against what she called derogatory reporting about her.
Initially, people sympathized with her and anger was directed at the channel. But soon the entire Congress ecosystem became active. Leaders big and small, along with IT cell workers, began writing on the issue as if some major conspiracy had been exposed.
Suspicion deepened when, instead of treating it as a channel’s mistake, an attempt was made to link it directly to the Modi government. The question is: why would the BJP get such a baseless story run, when “people’s courts” of ideological naxals remain active on social media on such issues, making it difficult for any political party to cross them?
Secondly, if this had come from the BJP side, its IT cell would certainly have tried to viral it. But who is viralling it here? Who stands to gain by amplifying words like “kotha wali”? The entire Congress machinery is writing about it, while no one is asking ABP anchor Sandeep Chaudhary – whom leaders of the Congress alliance often call honest – how this happened on his channel. No one has publicly said that if the BJP did this, Sandeep Chaudhary would settle scores with both Congress and BJP.
Neha’s timeline of posts is even more interesting. Twenty hours ago she wrote that they would meet in court, that justice is wanted, not an apology. Eighteen hours ago she tagged Narendra Modi and the NCW, mentioning the insult to dignity by ABP. Seventeen hours ago she repeated the same thing. Eight hours ago she tagged Smriti Irani; seven hours ago Rekha Gupta. But she has still not gone to court. A social media trial is underway. The gaps between posts are such that the chain of likes and comments continues. What does it indicate that even after twenty-two hours no FIR has been registered?
The irony is that ABP once alleged that Neha was running a sex racket and later apologized. But Neha herself repeated it fifty times. People had forgotten her; now this issue has brought her back into discussion. If the Information and Broadcasting Minister bans the channel over this, the Congress ecosystem will be shocked.
The question is: is this a fight for the rights of journalism, or a calculated attempt by an opposition alliance that depends on content creators? Time will tell.