The main conspirator in the Bulli Bai case in which Muslim women were put up on an online ‘auction’ has been arrested from Assam, Delhi Police said today.
“Neeraj Bishnoi, arrested from Assam by Delhi Police Special Cell’s IFSO team, is the main conspirator and creator of ‘Bulli Bai’ on GitHub and the main Twitter account holder of the app,” K P S Malhotra, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit, told the media.
Police sources said 21-year-old Bishnoi is a second-year engineering student at a Bhopal-based institute. He was arrested from his hometown in Assam’s Jorhat and will be brought to Delhi this afternoon, the source said.
This is the fourth arrest in the case that had sparked an uproar after prominent Muslim women journalists, lawyers and activists known to be vocal on social and political issues were targeted in the disgusting ‘auction’. As part of the ‘auction’, doctored photographs of the targets, who spanned age groups, were put up on social media networks.
The earlier three arrests were made by the cyber cell of Mumbai Police. 21-year-old student Mayank Rawal, 19-year-old Shweta Singh and engineering student Vishal Kumar Jha have been arrested earlier. Mumbai Police has said Shweta Singh is the mastermind in the case.
The controversy surfaced on January 1 as several Muslim women found themselves listed for ‘auction’.
A Hindutva leader from Maharashtra who insulted Mahatma Gandhi and praised his assassin, Nathuram Godse, has been arrested by the Chhattisgarh Police from Madhya Pradesh’s Khajuraho.
Kalicharan Maharaj, whose controversial speech at a ‘dharma sansad’ or religious meeting in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur led to chief patron Mahant Ramsunder Das disowning the event and walking off stage in anger, was charged with promoting enmity between communities after former mayor Pramod Dubey filed a police case.
Raipur senior police officer Prashant Agarwal has confirmed that Kalicharan has been arrested.
Kalicharan booked a guest house in Khajuraho but did not stay there, police sources said, adding he instead went to a rented house some 25 km from Khajuraho to dodge the police, who had been looking for him since the day a case was filed against him.
A case has been registered in connection to the hate speeches at a religious conclave in Haridwar after outrage and condemnation on social media over the open calls for genocide and use of weapons against Muslims. Filed four days after the event, the First Information Report names just one person — a Muslim who recently converted into Hinduism. No arrest has been made in the matter.
Clips from the event — held from December 17 to 20 — were circulated on social media and drew sharp criticism from former military chiefs, activists and even international tennis legend Martina Navratilova.
The police had initially claimed that no FIR was filed as there was no complaint. “The police are monitoring the situation,” said Haridwar Superintendent of Police Swatantra Kumar Singh had said when asked about the videos doing the rounds.
The First Information Report — filed after a complaint by Trinamool Congress leader and RTI activist Saket Gokhale — names one Jitender Narayan, alias Waseem Rizvi, who was earlier the chairman of Shia Waqf board of Uttar Pradesh. The FIR says he and others have given “derogatory and inflammatory statement against Islam” at the conclave.
“Taking cognizance of the video that is going viral on social media for spreading hatred by giving provocative speeches against a particular religion, a case has been registered against Wasim Rizvi alias Jitendra Narayan Tyagi and others under Section 153A IPC in Kotwali Haridwar and legal proceedings are in progress,” read a tweet by the Uttarakhand police.
“I am not ashamed of what I have said. I am not afraid of police. I stand by my statement,” Hindu Raksha Sena’s Prabodhanand Giri — photographed often with BJP leaders including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Uttarakhand counterpart Pushkar Dhami — told NDTV.
In one of the videos circulated on social media, he is heard advocating ethnic cleansing in the manner of Myanmar. “Like Myanmar, our police, our politicians, our Army and every Hindu must pick up weapons and conduct a Safayi Abhiyan (ethnic cleansing). There is no other option left,” he is heard saying.
Another video from the controversial meet shows Pooja Shakun Pandey, aka “Sadhvi Annapurna”, urging violence against Muslims. “If you want to finish them off, then kill them… We need 100 soldiers who can kill 20 lakh of them to win this,” she says.
“The Constitution of India is wrong. Indians should pray to Nathuram Godse (Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin). I am not afraid of the police,” she told NDTV.
The Jharkhand Assembly on Tuesday passed the Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill 2021 ignoring demands of legislators for a discussion and opposition by BJP.
The Bill aims to provide effective protection of Constitutional rights and prevention of mob violence. It includes provisions like registering an FIR for disseminating “explosive and irresponsible” content, providing free medical care to victims and punishment for creating a “hostile environment” for victims or witnesses. It also sets out a maximum punishment of life imprisonment and a fine of Rs25 lakh for anyone found guilty of lynching or abetting the offence.
Congress MLA Irfan Ansari has demanded the government to make a provision for capital punishment instead of life imprisonment. Irfan Ansari, alleging that there was a large-scale incident of mob lynching in the previous BJP government, said that so far 60 people have lost their lives.
Opposing the Bill, BJP MLA Amit Mandal said, “No one has any problem with the Bill, but there are areas which need correction. The word “Mob” has not been described in the right manner. If two or three people have some dispute over any issue, then they will be booked under the Mob Lynching Act which is absolutely wrong and that’s why we are opposing the bill.”
Meanwhile, Minority Welfare Minister Hafizul Hasan said that the Bill will benefit victims of mob lynching.
Union minister for women and child development Smriti Irani on Tuesday said the government recommended the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, in the Lok Sabha be sent to a standing committee. The amended bill proposes to increase the age of marriage of women from 18 to 21 years.
Introducing the amendment bill in the lower House of Parliament, Irani earlier said, “I would like to present that women equality in our country needs to be seen in (terms of) age of marriage. Invoking different marriage laws of different faiths, I rise to introduce the amendment bill.”
However, opposition leaders, including Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Gaurav Gogoi, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Trinamool Congress’ Saugata Roy raised their objections to the bill.
Chowdhury said the government did not consult any of the stakeholders before introducing the amendment and suggested the bill be sent to the standing committee.
Stating that this is the second or third time that the government is aggressively bringing in a bill without consulting the opposition, NCP MP Supriya Sule the former is not even sticking to the business advisory council.
Remembering 15th December: The attack on Jamia Millia Islamia
Winter evenings on the campus are bliss. You could see professors, staff and students from across the globe sitting back in the central canteen, sipping chai and conversing life stories to international politics. December 15 was one such evening. Apart from the large gathering right in front of gate 7, Bab-e-Maulana Abul Kalam Azad against the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Bill (then) and proposed National Register of Citizens, everything seemed normal. The police crackdown on the parliament march on 13th December has pulled more students, locals including women and children, for the protest today despite the ongoing semester exams and chilling weather. A banner by the Jamia Teachers’ Association rejecting CAA and NRC hung down from the top of the gate. Around ten security guards stood in line and verified IDs of students entering the campus. I along with a friend walked into the campus towards the canteen from the protest. Sipping chai, we were scrolling through WhatsApp, and there appeared visuals of Jamia students being thrashed by police and uniform-less people from the neighborhood. There was confusion. And chaos. I don’t remember if we finished the chai or not, we headed towards gate 7. The police were approaching the campus from Sarai Julena. There was a huge crowd right outside gate 7 and the guards weren’t letting anyone, except students, to enter the campus. Inside the campus were us, a smaller crowd of students and staff. The sounds of firing were approaching. People outside the gate were in panic. Nobody wanted to be exposed to the expired tear gas or lose a limb for that matter. The office staff were walking around with packets of salt and advising the students to apply it near the eyes to avoid the irritation of being exposed to tear gas. I don’t know if that works. I didn’t apply it, because I was hoping that they wouldn’t fire it into the campus as they did on 13th December. But I had a handful of salt, just in case!
A Police personnel fires tear gas shell into the campus on 13th December during Parliament March of students of Jamia. Photo: Sreekanth Sivadasan
Tear gases started landing everywhere. Outside the gate, in the roads, into the crowd, into the campus, libraries and buildings. We all moved inwards from nearby the gate. Some towards the reading halls which were already packed with students preparing for the ongoing exams. Some towards the central canteen, university polytechnic and wherever they felt would be a tear-gas free space.
Gate 7 hosts the important departments and faculties and is one of the busiest spaces on the campus. It has two gates with tight security apart from the main entrance from the road. One opens towards the Jamia Masjid and the other goes towards the hostel and health centre.
Tear gases made it difficult to breathe. Some fell down gasping for breath. Some others stopped to help. People were suggesting the girls move to the library or the reading hall as it would be safer. Little did they know that the worst atrocities are to happen there. Some girls went but some were not even able to make a move as they couldn’t even open their eyes. Some of us knocked on the doors of the Centre for Nanotechnology for help. Never had we seen that centre open. But we knocked. And everyone asked the girls to stay inside the centre if it opened and guys were to find a way out after moving girls to a safer space. The police broke into the campus through the smaller gate that hostellers use, by breaking the locks and thrashing the guards. We kept knocking at the door non-stop. We had less than a minute to move girls in and leave for our safety as the police were rushing towards us. Some didn’t wait for the door to open and ran away. I don’t remember who appeared first; the group of armed men shouting curse words or the lab worker from inside the centre. He asked all of us to get in and we got in. He closed and locked the gates of the building, turned the lights off and rushed us all to the topmost floor. It was difficult to make sense of what was happening.
Police personnel barged in to the Library and Reading rooms in Jamia Millia Islamia and unleashed brutal attack. Photo: Sreekanth Sivadasan
Some of our friends couldn’t make it into the building. We could hear the police yelling and lathis swing into action outside. We thought they would break in and thrash us all any moment from now. Thoughts came to a halt. There was no light except for our mobile screens. Not a drop of water to quench thirst. The sounds of tear gas firing never stopped. We had no idea of what was happening outside. WhatsApp forwarded visuals were brutal. The images of bloody students were making rounds in the groups. Our friends were brutally beaten up in the libraries and reading rooms. The police lined up the students, making them keep their bags on their heads and made them walk with hands raised. They used students as human shields to enter the neighboring localities! News of a student death on campus, which later turned out to be fake, shattered us. Concerns of police breaking into hostels including the J&K girls hostel spread. Hate speech and cries for help flooded our inboxes and walls. Metro trains didn’t stop in Jamia and the nearby stations. Reports of another police crackdown at Aligarh Muslim University was concerning. Amongst these, solidarity marches, messages and posts from across the country and the globe was giving us hope. Hope that a small step we, the students, took would make an impact. We sat in the barely lit veranda for more than three hours. We replied ‘Safe’ to the texts of friends not knowing what more to say. Around forty of us were safe from the police brutality. But the trauma and toll it had on ours and the students’ mental health isn’t accounted for. A friend was recalling the night saying, ‘Some events are so traumatic that memories of it make you relive the horror’.
Protest outside of Jamia Millia Campus on 15th December. Photo: Ahammed Fazariya
They might have been able to torture us physically and mentally but we didn’t lose our self-esteem and courage. The students who went back to their homes, went carrying the flame Jamia had lit in them. They helped spread the message and gathered people in large numbers against the unconstitutional act. The ones who stayed back led the protests on the campus, despite getting no support from the admin. Giving up was never an option for us because our and the nation’s very own existence was at stake.
The protests that the university students began gained support globally and grew into a mass movement. When looking back, I’m glad that Jamia resisted this fascist regime’s atrocities, withholding the morales our founding leaders, the freedom fighters set 101 years back. I’m surprised at the coincidence of NAAC accrediting JMI with an A++ grade the day before the second anniversary of a state-backed police crackdown. What a sweet revenge to those who call it an ‘anti-national university’! I remember the late Prof. Mushirul Hasan addressing Jamia fraternity defending students in the Batla House fake encounter case in 2008, “You are as patriotic as anyone else. You don’t need to prove your patriotism to ANYONE else.”
All the unjust regimes will come down to dust. But their atrocities won’t be forgiven and our stories of resistance won’t be forgotten.
Union Home Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra has informed the Lok Sabha that the government does not intend to make Hindi the national language of India. He was responding to a query raised by TN Pratapan MP on this issue.
According to the Constitution, India does not have a national language. The government does not intend to establish Hindi as such. The Government of India has formulated a special policy to protect the various indigenous languages. There are also plans to give special consideration to the languages that are dying and disappearing. The Central Institute of Indian Languages in Mysore preserves 117 such languages. These are languages spoken by less than 10,000 people.
The University Grants Commission also focuses on this area, by allowing state-level universities to conduct research in this area.
Hindi has been selected for the official administration of India under Section 343 of India, along with English which is also used for official communication.
Changing the world is a universal topic of interest. Regardless of the situation, there is an opportunity to be discovered. Discover it, chase it, and make it happen. I’m Rehna Shajahan, whose life was changed with a positive note during a phase of personal and global hardship. Have you ever been harshly criticized by those around you? Knowing my story will prove that your future is like clay in your hands. Being born and raised in Bahrain, I was not a brilliant student at a young age and was always compared with my sister, who was a topper. Despite not being a bright student, I used to do well in the subjects I liked. Since I struggled with science subjects, I decided to study Commerce for my Plus Two. Due to the insistence of my parents, I chose science, returned to Commerce a month later to prove myself. And my grades began improving. Since I did well in my 12th grade, I got into a government college in Kerala for graduation. As my sister was pursuing higher studies at a central university in Delhi, I began dreaming of getting into one. The name of Jamia Millia Islamia caught my attention while researching the best central universities, so I began preparing for its Mcom (Masters in Commerce) entrance as I did Bcom (Bachelors in Commerce) for my graduation. Finally, the results of the entrance examinations were released and I cleared the previous year’s cut-off. I moved with my whole family to Delhi with the hope of clearing the cut-off. It was unfortunate that I lost my admission by only 0.5 points when the cutoff was announced. I didn’t look for a second option even after scoring almost 90 percent for graduation during that time when my life was a big question mark. It taught me 2 lessons: “Confidence is good however overconfidence usually sinks the ship” and “Be geared up with an alternative in case you aren’t certain about something”. Not even in my wildest dream, I thought that 0.5 marks could have such an effect on my life. Even being a zero in front of my friends and family, I had a spark of hope and I strongly believed that in every hardship there is a relief. With the support of my family, I continued to stay in Delhi. It was the time when I decided that if today I couldn’t achieve my goal, I would try to reach a higher goal tomorrow. And that’s how I joined for two masters through distance mode, MSW (Masters in Social Work and PG Diploma in Guidance and Counselling) simultaneously.
Some people come into your life and help you out in difficult times without expecting anything in return. There were two such people in my life. One of them was Dr. Habbebul Rahman, professor of social work, Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi. He was the one who gave me a great opportunity to work on a government project by trusting me. And the other was Dr. Sharnas Muthu. She is the one who made me a social activist in Delhi, working with Women’s Manifesto, an NGO, which aims to empower women. And she was the one who inspired me to set a world record. I’m mentioning this because many people experience success and then forget about those who helped them to get there and I don’t want to be one of them. A person of dignity will never forget the people behind their success, and a person without will. At this stage in my life, my personality was fully formed and my goals were higher and I started preparing for my MBA. And when the results came out, I was the only person in our state to get an MBA in Entrepreneurship. Sometimes you have to go through hard times to understand how capable you are. My education continued online right after my second semester when COVID hit the world.
With everything digitized, online courses have flourished everywhere. Online courses are a relatively new form of learning, allowing students to access their programs over the Internet through a new learning environment. E-learning can benefit people of all ages. No matter what your experience, many online course certification programs can help you expand your knowledge and become a better person in today’s competitive job market. Online certification programs remove financial and geographical barriers to quality education. As an MBA student, I decided to improve my resume by taking certain online courses. So I decided to start researching online courses and their scopes. Research is important because it helps to have a detailed analysis of everything. When you have a proper in-depth analysis of any topic, the result comes out to be fruitful, and also the knowledge is enhanced. After several months of intensive research, I have found that many multinational companies offer online courses that are too free. I have mentioned a few names that have an eLearning platform. I believe knowledge increases by sharing but not by saving and it’s a way to achieve immortality. And always remember nobody can steal your knowledge and we should try to give it to those who need it.
Google- Google Digital Unlocked YouTube – YouTube Creator Academy
Microsoft – Microsoft Advertising Certified Professional
Always thoroughly research the free online courses available before paying for online courses. There are many free online courses available on well-known platforms. An online certification program from a reputable institution can result in quality employment. The sky’s the limit for students who wish to enhance their knowledge and wish to get jobs in the public or private sector, thanks to the availability of skilled faculty and high-quality learning resources. Recorded activities let you learn at your own pace, no matter where you are. Online learning and assignments allow you to learn on your terms and save time and money on travel. Online courses also provide the opportunity to learn without investing in expensive software and reduce maintenance costs and infrastructure investments. Decent job creation is a positive result of accredited online courses from reputable educational institutions.
Meanwhile, I was able to pass about 55 certificates at one time and, I mentioned that with Dr. Sharnas Muthu in a casual talk. She kept that in her mind and asked me to try for world records after a few weeks. First I took it as a joke, then I thought that I was a woman branded as useless, and now I am chasing three masters with real-life experiences. Why not give it a try? You never know if you can do it or not until you try it yourself. Then I decided to give it a try with a little hope. The category of world records I tried was ‘maximum online certification in 24 hours and the previous record was 75 certificates per day. On November 28, 2020, I started taking online courses in the early morning. I was able to earn 15 certifications at a time and, as always, I believed in myself and continued. When I counted the certificates at 11 pm, there were only 66, I had to pass 9 more in an hour to set the world record. My energy was all drained out as I was sitting in front of the computer since morning. Then I stopped the process of counting certificates as I was losing concentration and continued pursuing. When the time struck 12 am I stopped, closed my eyes, and prayed for one min before counting. The moment I realized I had crossed 75 certificates, I became the happiest person in the world. Following the world record, I have been recognized worldwide with national and international awards. I also had the opportunity to share my life story on Josh Talks, India’s leading motivational platform, and now I am working as HR at Malabar Gold and Diamonds (International Operations) in Dubai, helping 1000s of people around the world to achieve their goals. Always remember don’t be ever afraid of “change” because God will never take anything from you without replacing it with something better.
Everyone is born with inborn talent, and the only task is to identify and chase it. There will be times when no one will support you. Prove it and make it happen in front of them. People will start to trust you as soon as you start to believe in yourself and start working for it. Now my family supports me. For me, giving up is not just an option when I have a supportive family, especially my husband, Ebrahim Riyaz, who works as an engineer. Always try to stay away from poisonous people who aren’t worth your time. When someone treats you badly, remember that it’s because they have a problem, not you. Normal people don’t wander around and don’t ruin other people’s lives. You don’t have to feel guilty about removing toxic people from your life. No need to make room for people who hurt you or make you feel small, whether someone is a relative or a friend. It is one thing for a person to acknowledge their actions and try to change them. But if a person disregards your feelings, ignores your boundaries, and continues to treat you in a harmful way they need to go.
Never be disappointed by what you haven’t got because something better is waiting. You never realize how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have. And I have proven it with my life. The only predictable thing about life is its unpredictability so just go with the flow.
Rajinikanth, Rajini, Thalaiva, Super Star-these are a few names which make a million hearts pound by mere utterance! The Super stardom of the actor remains unmatched in Tamil Cinema, giving birth to thousands of fan clubs and millions of fans across the globe. Here is an attempt to understand the phenomenon of ‘stardom’ through the lens of fandom.
‘Fandom’ by its definition is the state or condition of being a fan of someone or something. The word ‘fan’ finds its etymological roots from the word ‘fanatic’.
The individual fan gives way to the collective fan base, and eventually a Rasigar Mandram (fan club in Tamil).
It is not long before the Rasigar Mandram becomes a subculture through the ivory towers, however, for fans, it’s a collective indescribable craze.
The Rasigar Mandram becomes a locus of streamlined and organised support system to the Star. As Sara Dickey mentions in her book ‘Cinema And The Urban Poor In South India’, the fan clubs are a form of tightly organised state-wide or nationwide networks. Sara even went on to conclude that certain fan-clubs displayed a caste make up and were eager to give their so called ‘party line’ in sensitive matters.
Rituals and Psychology
Many Rasigar Mandrams have Rituals and events pre-planned before and during the release of the movie. Humongous cut outs of the star are prepared, garlanded and anointed with milk. But, why such cut outs?
Tapping into the fan’s psychology, the reason for such massive size of the cut outs could be traced to show the star to be larger than life! The fans treat the aura of the star through the cut outs as worth fixating their own aspirations.Moreover, the tangibility of the cut out gives them a sensorial satisfaction of having accessed the star himself!
Most cut-outs would have the star in a manner that he would gaze right at the audience, furthering a more personal connect with the onlooker.
BABA ( 2002)At the release of KABALI
The Fans thronged the theatre for the first day first show at 4:00am. Attending the first ever show is still treated as a benchmark In the instance of say, the movie ‘Kabali’, the Fans thronged the theatre for the first day first show at 4:00am. Attending the first ever show remains a benchmark for ‘loyalty to the star’, among many Rasigar Mandrams. Some of the fan clubs even went to the extent of booking multiple shows in a single day in order to facilitate the tickets for all its members.
Veera (1994)
The fans mimic, embody and imbibe the idiosyncrasies of the star, in a bid to consume their hero as much as possible. These may be the famous sunglasses swirl of Rajini, the walk, mesmerising smile or the other mannerisms specific to Rajinikanth.
A section of fans even tend to ‘reorganise’ their lives and everyday activities to consume more of the star. In recent years, social media presence has allowed the worshippers to enter the network of stars. This has shifted the balance to some extent. The attention that the fan manages to get from the star even through intangible mediums is considered worth the effort (by them) and hence, the fans often become obsessive and start to enjoy stardom themselves.
The fans and a new narrative:
It has often been observed that the fans, both individually & collectively, become the carrier of a plethora of information about the Star. To such an extent that they sometimes act as Historians by providing details about a star’s life that even the ever-so active media might have missed. This way, the fans create a new narrative for the star. For example, Yasuda Hidetoshi, a man mesmerised by Rajinikanth’s character in the movie Baasha, gave himself the name ‘Japanese Autokaren’ (an Autorickshaw driver in Tamil)
Interestingly, Yasuda even went onto learn the Tamizh language to be able to converse with his idol one day.
The components of a fan club:
Sara Dickey’s experiences reveal another interesting facet of the fan clubs ie. the gender component. The Clubs constitute majority of men, usually late teens. Three reasons that a scholar like Sara deduces for such a lopsided gender composition and representation in fan-clubs is that women, especially in the same age group, are expected by the Indian Society to marry, making it difficult for them to remain ‘active participants’ in public activities of the fan club. Couple this reason with the fact that women of the same age group face more restrictions of movement as compared to men, making it a difficult task to contribute by presence in the day to day running of the fan clubs.
In terms of economic standing in the society, Sarah deduced that the lower middle class and middle class formed the majority in any fan club. The level of education was also found to be low in the fan clubs, which could be an area to be exploited as it makes the majority more gullible and impressionable. As a result, the star can use the majority to reinstate his political views and gain instant support. In other words, the fan clubs become a vehicle of propagating political agendas and messages, outrightly. The songs may also provide lyrical support to the political ideology of the star. Specific lines of songs like ‘Ethana Sandosham, Veera Thurandara, Katravai Patravai etc. and dialogues also contribute in this regard.
The lower level of education directly correlates with the occupations that the majority of fans be in (lower on the occupational hierarchical rung). The star resonates manifolds by playing characters of downtrodden humans fulfilling aspirations, thus empowering the fans—even more so Rajini himself comes from humble beginnings. For example, Rajini plays a charioteer cum servant in Muthu, an auto driver in Bashaa who is revealed to be fitting as the don of Mumbai.
A poor milkman in Annamalai, goes on to achieve the status of a millionaire.
Rajinikanth’s songs carry the message of revolution, hard work, determination, etc. and portray a certain profession to be larger than life. Example:
Vandenda Palukaaran (I, the Milkman) from the film Annamalai, sings the virtues of a milkman.
Autokaaran from Bashaa portrays the autorickshaw drivers to be a godly figure.The profession too, is glorified.
Enthralled the audience as a porter (coolie) in Uzhaipaali (Hard worker) and the list goes on where songs would convey the messages of grit or good human values.
For example: Oruvan Muthalali (there is only one Boss), Vazhkaiyil Ayiram tadaikkal (Turn even a 1000 boulders into stepping stones) Vetri Nichchayam (our victory, inevitable), Ammavai Azhaikada Uyir and Uyirum neeye signify the glory of motherhood.
The commercial logic:
Different industries emerge and thrive around the Star, thus giving stardom, a commercial logic. Over the years, it has even displayed a syndicated organizational character. From special edition accessories with printed Punch Dialogues such as pens, T-shirts etc. to a full-fledged aircraft or a sky scraper carrying the theme. When Rajinikanth’s movie KABALI released, the Malaysian Airlines unveiled a special Kabali Aircraft to carry fans from Malaysia to Chennai (India) for the first day first show of the movie. Kabali themed taxis joined the fleet in many countries.
Kabali Special Aircraft by Air Asia to fly fans to Chennai to catch the first show.Jewellery companies designed pendants and rings in precious metals with Superstar’s dialogues, making this another example of movie-specific merchandising.
The autorickshaws in Chennai either had the poster or at least the famous dialogue from the teaser, inked on the back and front. Some fans prefer to tattoo these punch lines on themselves due to hyper-affection. The commercial logic covers a large spectrum.
The fan clubs also perform other functions.
Which eventually become a tool of promotional activities and branding for the movies that the star is involved in. Actions such as charity and merry events Rajinikanth’s birthday celebrations, mass prayers (when Rajini underwent surgery) were carried out by the Fan clubs. Example: Malararattum Manidaneyam, an initiative to distribute welfare measures for the poor in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, was conducted by die hard Rajini fans.
Rajinikanth’s decision to enter politics had caused the Rasigar Mandrams to act as a vehicle for conveying, furthering and outrightly propagating political agendas and messages. The recent songs also provide lyrical support to the political ideology of the star. Specific lines of songs like ‘Ethana Sandosham, Veera Thurandara, Katravai Patravai etc.
Dialogues have also immensely contributed in this regard.
Small Differences in the mundane and innovation peppered with style; all this with highly relatable day to day activities and situations. It may be flicking sweat, tossing a coin, lighting a match, wearing shades or even dusting a speck off oneself, when Rajini does the same on screen, it becomes a trend! His punch dialogues resonate with the fans due to their relevance beyond the reel world.
Example: Andavan Sollaran , Arunachalam Mudikkaran (Arunachalam) , Magizhchi (Kabali), Idu eppudi irukku? (16 Vayadiiule),Yen vazhi Thani vazhi! (Padayappa), Seeviduven! (Murattu Kaalai), to name a few.
One mood, one dialogue, one song, that’s all it takes for the charismatic Rajini to connect with millions, across generations. He has been an addiction to many for over four decades now. A human given a godly status by many, to be referred or looked upto, in all situations of life. Thaliava, Superstar, Rajini —he, on many occasions, has transcended beyond the glorious taglines. Rajinikanth, simply put, is an ‘emotion.’
References:
Dickey, S. (n.d.). Note on transliteration. Cinema and the Urban Poor in South India,(37-39),(137-149). doi:10.1017/cbo9780511557972.001
A very thoughtful and fruitful session was conducted by The Compass with Swati Jagdish, a psychologist, sex educator and a trained lactation counsellor, who is a clear communicator on topics varying from sex education, female sexuality and how parenting needed to be evolved in current times. Sex education is still considered as a taboo in Indian society against which Swati Jagdish is continuously trying to raise her voice. She conducts online and offline workshops and counselling’s which is an eye-opener to a wide section in the society. She questions the wrong assumptions related to sex education that bring up controversies which are prevalent in India. She stresses the idea that sex education does not only revolve around the factor “sex” but have different components in it. She connects consent as one among them where it becomes a part of daily life; from the dining table where the parent takes over the eating habits of their children. This non-sexual consent is found everywhere and Swati Jagdish states that such activities of parents could even lead to children’s silence over any sexual abuses against them. Thus, she stresses on the need to respect and realise the boundaries and consent of children.
Being a great mother, Swati also shares her thought on parenting. She says that there should be a new way to approach the idea of parenting apart from the age-old concepts. She also motivates parents to know more about basic ideas of eating habits, nutrition, diet and lifestyle which help them to clarify and clear the doubts of children.
The idea of female orgasm and pleasure are way more marginalised like sex education in male dominated patriarchal society. The shame and embarrassment associated to these terms are taken away so effortlessly by Swati. She positively responds to female orgasm as not complicated but very natural until the woman herself is comfortable with it. She says that along with continuous conversations and discussions in the public domain there can be a better understanding and the taboo related to this domain shall be clogged. She also brings up the idea of equality in pleasure where both the partners should respect the personal space of their opposites and the free interaction among them eventually leads to healthy relationship. Along with general conclusions related to this topic, she also shares her experiences from counselling’s on how women are not aware about orgasm or pleasure.
Swati Jagdish is a major figure in the field of psychology and sex education where she conducts webinars, counselling, workshops and events in collaboration with educational institutions like schools and colleges. She deals with classes concerning parenting, pregnancy, sexuality, sexual abuses and lot more which are equally helpful to all genders. She excitedly shares to The Compass that how such piece of knowledge should reach everyone and eventually brings up the idea of how Government should promote such events.
This optimization and rigidity towards her passion makes Swati a great mom, mentor and a brilliant sex educator. The interview was a success as the ideas and knowledge had a broader access to the listeners who have better understanding about their own body and society.
