Hafta letters: Changing narratives in India, Samrat Prithviraj, thoughts on free speech

Email 1

Some points on Samrat Prithviraj. I believe Akshay Kumar commented on what he feels about history is just to promote the film. He does the same for all of his films. Here he is commenting on the meaning of 786 for his film Khiladi 786.

And your assumption that the director Chandraprakash Dwivedi is unaware about history is totally incorrect. He has directed Pinjar which won a national award for national integration. and is based on Amrita Pritam's novel of the same name. He is a really well-read man. He also directed and acted in the TV series Chanakya which aired during the late '80s. Here is a video of him and your columnist Ajay Brahmatmaj discussing their time making Chanakya and about history of that time.

I believe he compromised on the film due to (1) the presence of Mr Kumar who is known to interfere with the scripts; and (2) the fact that his earlier film Assi Ghat was banned by BJP.

Ashish

Email 2

This mail is in continuation of the previous mail regarding your comments on the director of Samrat Prithviraj. Since the word limit was 200, I could not complete what I was saying. So kindly read the two letters together.

I just wanted to share some words by our own Atul Chaurasia on him in this article: "हिंदी फिल्मों के संवाद भी रोमन अंग्रेजी में पढ़ने वाली हिंदी फिल्मों की दुनिया में चंद्रप्रकाश द्विवेदी सुगंधित बयार की तरह हैं, भाषा पर उनकी पकड़, विषय का ज्ञान, हमेशा हिंदी में ही लोगों से बातचीत और सेट पर हिंदी में ही कमांड देते देखना सुखद अनुभूति देता है और साथ ही यह विश्वास भी कि वे भेड़चाल की मारी फिल्मी दुनिया में कुछ अलग किस्म के जीव भी हैं. उनके इस व्यक्तित्व के कायल काशी का अस्सी के लेखक काशीनाथ सिंह भी हैं."

So I would advice the "progressive lot" to also read up on who's who of the Hindi world, just don't keep on reading other progressives.

Ashish

***

First of all, congrats to Manisha. Your work was referenced many times in one of the recent primetime shows by Ravish Kumar, and I felt proud of being a subscriber to such an organisation which punches way above its weight.

Second, the question of the Indian government being soft on Khalistani sympathisers and hardliners is an interesting one. Right now, the traditional political parties in Punjab are insecure, their businesses suffering, and having no issue left at hand to target the AAP government, they have chosen the path of radicalism and supposed tenuous security situation.

Emotions are high after the murder of Shubhdeep Sidhu who, being a turbaned Sikh, is being utilised by the SAD and other groups to rile up religious sentiments. The statement by Akal Takht chief telling Sikhs to get trained in modern warfare follows the same script. Right now, there is no organic support or yearning for an autonomous state but tough times are not far away if the AAP government is not careful.

AS

***

Hello NL team,

I had this question for a very long time and never received a concrete response. I often used to bring this discussion up with my friends while having a few drinks but suddenly it use to change into a hate-mongering situation.

Forceful religious conversions are illegal and now, there are laws around it. However, in my opinion, an individual can only change his/her religion to attain financial benefits or out of divine intervention. Why not caste conversions instead? Most of the conversions I have come across are from economically backward castes.

Syed

***

Hello all,

First come first, you all are fantastic. Specially I am a fan of Raman Sir (his calmness and experience are amazing) and Abhinandan.

I heard the Hafta 384. As a lover of free speech, I think comments made by Nupur Sharma on the Prophet should have best been ignored rather than criticised. Although I am not an expert on Islam, but what if what was said is true, then why should she be punished? I mean, I am not saying she didn't have bad intent but as a lover of free speech, how can we defend outrage against her?

To be honest, I want to be on the other side of her but I am nothing but forced to think that what she said should be ignored, as she has the right to free speech. I mean, are you saying we can't make fun of gods in this country anymore? I am atheist.

Raghav Dev

***

Dear NL,

I discovered NL through Clothesline and Dhobi-ghat and have been listening to Hafta since its inception. I love a lot of what you do and have often felt like I was amidst friends and family in India, listening to your podcasts.

In the last few years, following the news from India has been scary and is progressively becoming more depressing. A cataloguing of snippets from your programmes in the past decade would probably show how the narrative and discourse was changed in India. In fact, I try not listening to Hafta and Charcha or watching Newsance as regularly as before.

Needless to say, this has nothing to do with NL but more with the bleak state of affairs. However, I do make it a point to listen to A&A without fail and I think you should put it behind the paywall. It is a source of much-needed humour and distraction!

Stay safe and take care :)

Affectionately,

Indu

(PS: Have been a subscriber for over six years)

***

Hi,

Thank you for your excellent work. I have been a subscriber for more than a year now.

The thing I want to ask is, how is ONI's FIR affecting you and their other partners they have invested in?

Feedback:

(1) In the last Hafta, Manisha kept speaking over Seema and Raman Sir. Please don't do that. And would request the other panelists if they can participate more in discussions rather than only address when they are asked some questions, please.

(2) I agree that when we talk about news, we talk about facts and what's happening. But there is another side to it. It seems from the discussion that we are trying to paint one religion as better over another. I would request you to please consider making it more balance in stories, podcasts and articles as well. I would love to hear all your opinions on it.

(3) I hope to see articles and podcasts on tech and finance.

Aaditya