MxMIndia

Tag: Hemant Morparia

  • Not even the worst yellow, gutter, ambulance-chasing, tabloid journalism of the past can compare to what these television channels do, writes Ranjona Banerji

    One More Nail in Journalism’s Coffin

    Cartoon by Hemant Morparia in Mumbai Mirror, September 2020. Republished with the permission of the artist-commentator

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Several leading film production houses have filed a suit in the Delhi High Court against the television channel Times Now and its two “star” faces, Rahul Shivshankar and Navika Kumar and propaganda channel Republic TV and its star Arnab Goswami, as well as one Pradeep Bhandari also with that channel.

    The case is about “irresponsible reporting” in the context of the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and the damage done to the film industry with constant derogatory references to it.

    https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/top-bollywood-filmmakers-go-to-delhi-high-court-against- irresponsible-reporting-by-certain-media-houses-2308968

     

    Actress Rhea Chakraborty, who has been extensively vilified by several television channels and was jailed as a result of this malicious campaign against her, in the same Rajput coverage, has filed a case against her neighbour for lying to these television channels. Her lawyer, Satish Maneshinde, has also mentioned legal action against media outlets which went after Chakraborty.

    https://scroll.in/latest/975624/sushant-singh-rajput-case-rhea-chakraborty-files-complaint- against-neighbour-for-misleading-probe#:~:text=Actor%20Rhea%20Chakraborty%20has%20filed,Hindustan%20Times%20reporte d%20on%20Monday.&text=Chakraborty%20in%20her%20complaint%20to,statement%20was%2 0%E2%80%9Cutterly%20false%E2%80%9D.

    https://www.theprevalentindia.com/legal-action-will-be-taken-against-media-house-who-tried-to- spoil-rheas-image-says-lawyer-satish-maneshinde/

    In any other universe, except that of Indian television, I would have sided with the channels. But most of them and all of them at some point or the other, have no or very little association with journalism as it is understood. Not even the worst yellow, gutter, ambulance-chasing, tabloid journalism of the past can compare to what these television channels do.

    And thus, this bit of petulant outrage from Shivshankar of Times Now on Twitter, in response to the film industry case, is nothing short of hilarious: “Cases against journalists of Times Now that have only sought justice for those who are wronged are a bad precedent. The mighty may think they can weaken the resolve of the fearless but they are wrong.”

    The problem starts with the third word of the tweet and just escalates from there. Neither Shivshankar nor Kumar are journalists now, whatever they may or may not have been earlier. They are rabble rousers who are into amateur dramatics. Justice is not the domain of the media in the same sense that it is for investigative agencies and courts. The media’s role is to ask questions, yes, and that begins with those in power. Times Now only questions governments which are not made up of the leading party of the Central government. So that’s its first massive failure. And the very question of this imaginary “justice” in the face of all evidence, not all of which journalists have access to whatever they may claim, is also up in the air.

    And much worse was the deliberate targeting of a young woman to get increased viewership every night. On what basis was Chakraborty made their scapegoat other than some accusations by Rajput’s estranged parents and a vindictive actress who had no connection with Rajput at all? Where was this great “justice” then? And what is “fearless” about attacking Chakraborty? That was nothing but the basest instincts of misogyny and patriarchy.

    Is there anyone that these television channels have not blamed for the death of Rajput, except perhaps themselves? Maybe they should have promoted his movies better, without taking any money from him, and thus made his life happier and richer?

    As for Republic TV and Goswami, what else would anyone expect of them? From the time the channel launched it has been a BJP propaganda medium and Goswami has revelled in the role, gaining more and more supporters as he shouted into cameras year after year. Shivshankar is but a poor imitation of his master and Kumar of course was trained by Goswami.

    It is possible that nothing will come of this case. It is possible that behind the scenes negotiations will happen furiously. But it is also true that Times Now, when Goswami worked there, had a 100 crore defamation case slapped on it by Justice PB Sawant. Because the channel used his photograph in a provident fund scam case involving another judge, PK Samanta. Sawant asked for an apology, did not get that, Goswami ducked reconciliation meetings and so Sawant filed a case. Sawant was assigned the damages, the Supreme Court refused to stay the damages and Goswami apologised.

    The freedom of press does not include making mistakes and then refusing to acknowledge and apologise for them. The case against media credibility gets built up by channels like Times Now and Republic TV – and the rest including India Today, Aaj Tak, CNN-News18 and the rest when it comes to Rajput and Chakraborty – and journalists who actually fulfil their mandate have to deal with public anger and distrust.

    The damage that these channels have done to journalism is dangerous. I do not know a single journalist who agrees with the vilification of Chakraborty and the frenzied coverage and finger-pointing done by these channels after Rajput’s death.

    One more nail in journalism’s coffin.

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes for MxMIndia every Tuesday and Friday. Her views here are personal. She can be reached via Twitter at @ranjona

     

  • Sadly, no. And after the killing of 12 at French satirical mag Charlie Hebdo's offic, cartooning may never be the same again

    Are we free to write & draw on whatever we want?

     

    There has been outrage over what happened in the attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Twelve people were killed including four of the most celebrated humorists in France.

     

    Charlie Hebdo has been attacked in the past for poking fun at Islam. It may be noted that the magazine has also taken off on other religions in the past. We don’t know how other religious leaders and followers reacted when that happened, but we are sure the response to lampooning of Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist beliefs or leaders would be damned, if that were to happen.

     

    Cartoonist Hemant Morparia, who has spent some quality time with Georges Wolinski, one of the 12 killed, writes in the Mumbai Mirror: “The French are different from the rest of us. They take their satire seriously, as seriously as they take their, well, wine,” and adds: “The world of today is getting increasingly censorious. The right to not get offended is not (just) yet a fundamental right. Political correctness rules.”

     

    But what Dr Morparia (oh,yes, he doubles up as a doctor at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital) says is a little worrying, though for many of us in the media a reality for over a few decades now: “We can think it but we can’t say it. Not even for fun. Not even among friends. Intolerance rules everywhere.”

     

    There are many who believe Charlie Hebdo had taken its freedom too far. Especially since it was warned not just by the fundamentalists but even by former French President Jacques Chirac who asked media organisations to avoid provoking Muslims.

     

    So are we saying Charlie Hebdo asked for this? “Yes, the magazine took things too far,” notes Dr Morparia, who has spent time in France a few times over as part of a cartoonists’ exchange programme.

     

    Well, from the reports that we’ve read, they were indeed asking for trouble, but that this “trouble” would be such a vicious attack, one hadn’t imagined.

     

    Various Indian political leaders have expressed shock at the incident. But, as we know, lumpen elements in India too take law in their hands.

     

    Thankfully, this doesn’t mean them using guns. But, we’ve seen enough cases where our political parties damn journalists, ransack newspaper/ TV channel offices if the news entities have upset their sensitivities. The dispute is never really settled across the table.

     

    There’s also fear in our country that the government could ban you using the anti-social handle. Since the 1993 Mumbai riots or possibly earlier, journalists tend to refer to Hindus and Muslims as majority and minority communities. While the objective is never to fuel a riot, there is an unwritten self-censorship employed by most publications.

     

    After this incident, cartooning will never be the same again. Sad.

     

    See also: NewsStand: How Indian newspapers covered the Incident

     

  • Much has been spoken and written about the Tehelka founder's misdeeds. We reproduce here one of India's foremost editorial cartoonist Hemant Morparia's take in Mumbai Mirror

    Tooning Tarun Tejpal’s Toxic Tale + Jaldi 5 with Hemant Morparia

     

    There’s been a lot spoken and written about the young journalist being subjected to sexual assault (rape as per the law). Many mails have been leaked, some officially released. Many statements have been made. And there’s been the resignation later from managing editor Shoma Chaudhury earlier today (Nov 28).

     

    We present here five cartoons by Hemant Morparia, one of India’s best known editorial cartoonists, who draws a daily pocket cartoon for Mumbai Mirror and group publications. These, according to us, tell give us a view that’s sharper and thought-provoking than a lot that we’ve heard and read so far.

     

    There’s also a Jaldi 5 Q&A with him alongside  the toons.

     

     

    Jaldi 5 with Hemant Morparia: The seedy is not necessarily as Sleazy as the Mainstream can be
     

    Hemant Morparia is one of India’s best known editorial cartoonists. Other than a daily pocket for Mumbai Mirror, he toons for various Indian and international publications. When he not drawing, he’s into photography, travelling, archery and assorted reading. He’s also a radiologist and sonologist at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital.

     

    01. They’re funny, but given the nature of the event, you can’t really laugh on viewing the five toons you have drawn thus far on the Tarun Tejpal episode. The one on the ladies bar is perhaps the most telling comment on the state of safety.

    That is my favourite of the lot. Sort of speaks my view that the seedy is not necessarily as sleazy as the mainstream can be. It’s hypocrisy that makes one think so.

     

    02. What happened to the young journalist is reprehensible. But what made things worse was that the assailant was allegedly her boss, someone who has been revered in journalistic and activist circles. From the point of view of an observer of news events, do you think this possibly rates as one of the worst acts of the powerful in our country in recent times?

    That jobs and promotions could be linked to ‘giving in’ is equivalent to trafficking by the perpetrator. One is making an employee a whore, by force – so it’s a grave crime. I have no problems with consensual encounters without professional inducement or threat.

     

    03. Would you now see people doubting all the rich, powerful and famous. As in when you meet Editor X and Y, will you now be asking yourself whether he (or even she) could be in indulging in such acts?

    This is as old as time. Nothing shocking here. All humans are potentially capable of depravity anyway imho.

     

    04. Many well-known cartoonists and commentators have been muted in their response on this episode.  Possibly because they know him? Didn’t you feel the same? No more invites to Thinkfests? If you had been drawing for Tehelka, would you have done the same?

    The test for any commentator is how he sticks to his point of view honestly, without fear or favour. Personal equations colouring views will be the beginning of the end for him.

     

    4a. You attended the first Thinkfest. Regret having attended that? If invited, and if organized by the same set of people, will you attend it?

    There’s no reason to regret. I won’t attend in future. Probably won’t exist in future, anyway.

     

    05. On a lighter note, Do you really think there could be a day in India when we’ll have separate elevators for men and women?

    Ha ha! Someone commented on Twitter that such already exist in Saudi Arabia. Well, it would be safer for both sexes you know. The decent male, due to the pervading issues connected to some bad apples of his gender, is a beleaguered creature today. In this charged atmosphere, false accusations could rise too.

     

     

    Reproduced here with permission from Hemant Morparia. All cartoons published in Mumbai Mirror on dates mentioned along with the cartoons. 

     

  • Bal Thackeray was Hemant Morparia's favourite subject, having done over a hundred toons on him. We asked the well-known editorial cartoonist to comment on Thackeray's tooning

    He was a Bindaas cartoonist: Hemant Morparia

    By Hemant Morparia

     

    Bal Thackeray was a very good cartoonist. He was not a neutral cartoonist… as in his cartoons would not take a view on all and sundry. They were ideological, and hence always took a very strong view.

     

    He may not have been a great cartoonist, but was a very good cartoonist and had a great sense of humour. Some of these were very sharp and pungent.

     

    If you compare him to others of his ilk, he was more direct. Because he was ideological, less subtle and more hard-hitting. They were, as they say in Mumbai, Bindaas.

     

    His drawing style was excellent. Many of the cartoonists – Thackeray, R K Laxman, Vikas Sabnis and including Raj Thackeray – followed the British cartoonist David Lowe style.

     

    It is incorrect for one to compare two cartoonists. RK Laxman, his contemporary, may have been better, but Thackeray was more direct and blunt. Like he was in his personal and professional life.

     

    But for me, Thackeray was a cartoonist’s delight. He was my favourite subject. I may have drawn over a  hundred 100 cartoons on him, all of them in mainstream publications.

     

    Some of these were very aggressive, but I was never really scared that someone will come and attack me, assuming that some professional courtesy.

     

    Hemant Morparia is a well-known editorial cartoonist, living in Mumbai. He draws a daily pocket cartoon for Mumbai Mirror amongst a variety of Indian and international publications.

     

    The cartoon published along with the article appeared in Mumbai Mirror on Sunday, November 19. Published here with the permission of Mr Morparia

     

  • Cartoon cannot be promoting somebody, cartoon is always attacking somebody, says Hemant Morparia

    The Anchor: Hemant Morparia on 5 reasons why cartoons can be more lethal than text

    By Hemant Morparia

     

    1. Cartoons are about satire

    Now satire is something that all people in power fear, because the last thing they want is ridicule. So when they face ridicule from ‘janata’ which they are trying to rule over, that is the last thing they would want. For them to appear ridiculous to a reader is a deadly blow.

     

    2. Cartoon is about making somebody laugh

    Why does that person laugh… because he recognizes that there is some truth in that. So there is some truth being outed, a cartoon cannot be bought. You can have a paid media, there could be a planted story but a cartoon cannot be a plant. Cartoon cannot be promoting somebody, cartoon is always attacking somebody.

     

    3. There is an agreement

    There is an agreement between the cartoonist and the reader on the kind of implicit sense of truth. Reader seems to understand that the cartoonist is trying to say something which is true and correct.

     

    4. Cartoon is also something that cannot be edited

    You can edit a text piece but you can’t partially edit a cartoon. Whereas if it’s an article which has a lot of data, different points of views, and so on, that could still be a plant or not telling you some relevant things.

     

    5. Cartoon is an honest voice

    And the reader also knows it. Cartoon is far from being bought.

     

    Hemant Morparia is a well-known cartoonist. Other than a daily pocket for Mumbai Mirror, he toons for various Indian and international publications