The Vogue Empower video ‘My choice’, starring Deepika Padukone (among many others), that went viral recently has invited polarising opinions.
While many have exalted the video as being a feminist triumph, others have accused Padukone of being hypocritical, and dismissed the video as a sham.
However, for Venkatesh Chakravarthy, director of L.V. Prasad Film & TV Academy, it was the ambivalent spaces and ambiguities the video articulated that was the most interesting.
He said, “I find the cultural context of how it becomes possible for a female star persona, who has always been objectified in our mainstream cinema, to suddenly choose to position herself as the subject of desire (in the field of images), and not its object, fascinating. Several years ago, when Kollywood actor Kushboo took a progressive stand on premarital sex in the vernacular media, she was lynch-mobbed for defiling the honour of Tamil womanhood. In comparison, the reaction against Deepika’s video is lukewarm. I think, right now, feminism in India is riding a populist wave. It is only natural that various commercial and culture industries appropriate it in different ways.”
Talking about the backlash that Padukone faced, Swetha Shankar, a volunteer at Prajnya, a non-profit that works extensively with issues of gender, said, “When I scrolled down to the comments section after watching the video, I was appalled. No matter how problematic the video is, the slut shaming and abusive personal attacks on the star were shocking. It pointed to the urgent need of engaging seriously with issues of gender and expanding the conversation.”
BBC starts Tamil
news bulletin
Now you can catch up on bulletins of your favourite news channel in Tamil, with the BBC World Service launching an international bulletin for Tamil audiences through Thanthi TV.
Thanthi TV viewers will be able to watch concise news bulletins with the top international stories of the day, with a 15-minute programme featuring the latest in world news, politics, economy, business, entertainment, culture and human interest stories, on air.
The programme will be telecast Monday to Friday at 7.30 p.m.
Manivannan Thirumalai, editor of BBC Tamil, said, “The launch of the bulletin emphasises BBC’s commitment to regional audiences.” The bulletin is a compilation of the day’s top stories.
“We are not focussing on Indian news, unless it is of international importance,” he said. The team will soon develop its own content as well, he said.
Audiences have welcomed the new programme. R. Venkat, a resident of Madipakkam, was pleasantly surprised to see the news bulletin.
“Now, I get my children to watch this news bulletin and then check what’s on the English BBC bulletin. I would like them to learn English this way,” he said, adding a longer programme would be more informative.
The new TV programme is available online via bbctamil.com and via mobile devices. BBC Tamil is part of BBC World Service.
(Reporting by
Nitya Menon
and Kavita Kishore)
